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Wii Fit - The Death of Video Game Exercise?

The public and media have picked up Wii-Fit as the iconic exergame - combining video games with exercise, but has the frenzy gone too far and put people off the idea of exergaming altogether?

When the Wii was first announced it was brilliant news for the industry. A huge multi-national company waking the world up to combining video games and exercise. The industry was young and needed the big cash boost of publicity and advertising awareness Nintendo could offer. The fighting between Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo over the newest consoles furthered the interest of the press and public and things could not have been brighter.

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Dream Machine

Incase you were under the misconception that only Wii promoted fitness, they you need to be introduced to The Dream Machine. Inventor Robert James-Herbert has created the world's first multi-modal physiointeractive computer game control simulation system. In simple terms, it's a contraption that gives you both rotational and four-way pan tilt action to play any game on any platform. It was first demonstrated at E3 in 2005. The players need to use their entire bodies in order to control the virtual car, bike, plane, or skateboard they see on screen. Its fully adjustable for all ages and fitness levels and costs $1,700.

Exergames Fitness

Gamercize

Exercise motion is detected in the same way calorie counter and exercise computers count repetitions on individual exercise machines. When exercise motion ceases, for the period of time dependent on the difficulty setting, the game controller input is stopped. Any game can be used as this approach does not interact directly with the game control.

Exercise machines are only suitable when balance can be maintained and hands are free to operate game controllers. For this reason treadmills and rowing machines are not suitable and could be dangerous.
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EXERGAMING-----

Exergaming (a portmanteau of "exercise" and "gaming") is a term used for video games that also provide exercise. Exergames have one element of exercise and one element of gaming. The "gaming" aspect is a short form for video gaming. "Exergames" sub divide into two main implementations, those with a game specifically designed to use an exercise input device and those implementations using a genre of, or a generic game.

Games fit in to the category of entertainment, and similarly Exergames are a category of Exertainment (formed from "exercise" and "entertainment"). Exertainment includes one aspect of innovation or entertainment to an exercise work out.