The sedentary nature of most games has drawn the ire of health experts over the years. However, as fitness games like Wii Fit and EA Sports Active have caught on, interest in the genre has increased from all quarters. The fifth annual Games for Health Conference in Boston is quadrupling its attendance this year to 390 developers, investors and medical experts.
"Healthcare is 18 percent of the GDP of the United States and so games for health is probably the largest sector of activity in the serious games field long-term," said Ben Sawyer, co-founder of The Games for Health Project to Reuters. "If you add up the 18 month sales of Wii Fit and the sales of EA Sports Active, Konami's Dance Dance Revolution and other healthy games, the worldwide retail numbers are over $2 billion."
Dr. Michael Levine, executive director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, thinks the Obama administration should actively promote fitness games. Dr. Debra Lieberman, director of Health Games Research for the foundation, wants all state governors to look at games like Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Fit to for physical education purposes.
Virtual Heroes, a serious game developer, is making a virtual nurse training program and a sequel to their Re-Mission FPS. "We're taking their existing concept and trying to raise the fun bar and creating more lifelike and enjoyable environments within the human body," explained Jerry Heneghan, CEO of Virtual Heroes. "Players will take control of Roxy, the protagonist, and have new weapons to battle cancer with thanks to input from cancer patients."
2 Comments
June 30, 2009
Yeah there's nothing like the illusion of getting in shape while staring at a tv screen to drive sales in America. Go to the gym. Go outside! You'll burn more calories, get Vitamin D for energy, as well as countless other advantages.
The American Council on Exercise released a study that compared the two. Here are the results...
Wii Golf: .8 calories per minute
Driving range golf: 3.9 calories per minute
Wii bowling: 3.9 calories/minute
Real bowling: 7.2 calories/minute
Wii baseball: 4.5 calories/minute
Real baseball (pitching): 7.3 calories/minute
Wii tennis: 5.3 calories/minute
Real tennis: 8.1 calories/minute
Wii boxing: 7.2 calories/minute
Real boxing (sparring): 10.2 calories/minute
Ok, so I guess its better than nothing, but not by much. GO outside!
June 30, 2009
I agree Jay. These games certainly are no substitute for real exercise. However, if the people who are playing them were leading very sedentary lives beforehand, at least they're now a little more active. Not ideal, but it's a start.