video games vs. video game software

I’ve been reading a lot of reviews of new stuff coming out lately and it is occurring to me more and more that so many people just can’t make a distinction between games and software these days. There seems to be a huge contingent out there that is threatened or something by the success of “games” like Wii Fit, EA Active and the Personal Trainer DS series. I just don’t get why reviewers seem to harp on small elements of animation or game play mechanics in a piece of software designed not to entertain but to assist. Even worse, these games take time to get used to and trying out EA Active for like 5 minutes before declaring that the motion controls don’t work is doing a disservice to your review audience, in my opinion. Being a fan of fitness games as well as more traditional video games, I just don’t get the need to lump them together. So, if you’re considering starting something new like EA Active, don’t lean on reviews to decide whether you’ll like it for fitness or not.