Health benefits of ExerGames backed by American Heart Association
Health benefits of active games backed by American Heart Association December 10, 2010. Activity-oriented videogames can help users to become more engaged in other physical activities, according to a survey backed by the American Heart Association. The health organization allied with console manufacturer Nintendo to conduct the poll, which showed that 58 per cent of respondents have taken up a hobby such as jogging or tennis since playing games such as Wii Fit or Wii Sports Resort. According to data from the survey, users consider such titles to be good ways of remaining active when in the...
read moreHow to get fit, keep fit and love it!
What motivates you to get or keep fit? You may be surprised to know that the two most powerful motivators in getting or keeping fit are FEAR and GUILT. Are you surprised? The times of the year when guilt and fear rear their persuasive heads is less surprising….*drum roll*…the end of Spring and New Years Eve! FEAR: When our health deteriorates we instinctively seek to gain back control. Our anxiousness drives us to sign on the gym contract’s dotted line and we enter a 3 month period of fear-fueled determinaton. GUILT: 70 – 80% of us never return to the gym for the...
read moreLive Exergaming Skype Sessions
Exergaming has another ‘voice’ so to speak with our newly introduced Interactive Fitness and Exergame Network Skype Discussion Sessions – phew : IFEN Skype Sessions If you are curious or you are already a convert to the amazing fitness potential that exergaming offers, then you are very welcome to be an active ‘vocal’ participant in the Skype session. You are equally welcome to follow proceedings as a silent spectator in the background should you feel more comfortable. We can only take a max of 24 people for the event, so please get in early as you may miss out...
read moreSerious money in Serious Gaming
The South Korean government has pledged to invest 80 billion Won (US$63m) into the nation’s growing serious games market – http://bit.ly/fPN0v “The government expects these investments will catalyse the nation’s Serious Games sector growth to reach a market value of $400 million by 2012.” The South Korean government and associated partners are to be applauded for the foresight. The market in Serious Gaming, Gaming for Health and Exergaming seems patently obvious, I hope the Australian government is being approached by lobby groups and can take some inspiration...
read moreEA Sports Active just tested in Australia!
Exergaming and the Wii begin another beautiful relationship. Two days before the ‘official’ release in Australia, I got my mitts on the game and have just now finished two 25 min workouts. One a preselected workout and the other customised. So I’ll give a very brief overview of my findings: In short, it does so many things right, that you can excuse most of what it doesn’t do, or what it does poorly. Comparison with Wii Fit is inevitable, and you can well understand the logic behind the comparison, but they are apples and oranges. Wii Fit is light-hearted, with its BMI...
read moreExergaming Part 1: – Chameleon Fitness
Innovation, evolution and revolution are human imperatives, no doubt. In the realm of technology, these imperatives extend across the entire software/hardware process, from conception to manufacturing and roll-out. However, when you apply these mainstays to more ‘emotive’ areas of our lives, it becomes all too easy to ‘box’ or package arising trends and technologies, in an effort to understand what may initially seem odd, alien or even ridiculous. Exergaming certainly engenders a diversity of reactions, often resulting in bewilderment or confusion, depending on the...
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