wii fit plus

Last year when Wii Fit Plus was originally announced it was going to include an "improved, updated balance board with better measurement metrics". This turned out not to be true, and of course I had already decided to sell my Wii Fit on Craigslist in preparation for the new game complete with new board. Fast-forward to Wii Fit Plus getting released and of course it has the same old board, AND they release it as a just-software option for like $30 if you've already got the board.

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hey kids, history IS interesting!

Lately it seems like video games that deal in historical plotlines or recreate monumental events from history are growing in popularity. This is of course not a new development; game designers have been delving into the past for game ideas and story lines for years. Having majored in history in college, I find myself drawn to genres of games I wouldn't even normally play if they appeal in a plot-based way to an interesting part of history. Still, with the video game industry growing into the billion-dollar machine that it has, representing an entertainment option to a much more mainstream demographic than ever before, people have started to notice when a video game manages to be rooted in historical substance and yet still catch the attention of today's jaded and disconnected youth. The American Library Association has established November 14th as National Gaming Day in U.S. libraries and recognizes the benefit of adding video games and interactive activities into the suite of learning tools that libraries offer to help kids learn. More and more game developers are picking up on this interest as well and tailoring their games to be not only historically interesting but also accurate:

Gary Keith Brubaker, a lecturer in game study at The Guildhall at SMU in Texas, said historical games always have to try to balance accuracy and fun. "Just as movies about the past adapt the story to medium, so do games. However as limited as this history is, it can be a gateway for further exploration and interest for players," said Brubaker.

Academics hope history in video games spurs interest

bridging the online-offline gap

Seattle-based startup company Smith & Tinker has announced its plan to launch a line of interactive toys and computer games that will seek to bridge the gap between online and offline play, at least when it comes to 7-to-12-year-old boys. Apparently toy companies are freaked by the prospect that more and more kids are putting down actual toys in favor of video games at earlier and earlier ages, so of course bridging the gap between toys and online games has become a target goal in new product development. The Nanovor game system (which reads a lot like a Pokemon ripoff) features digital monster pets and accessories that game users can buy with Nanocash (surprise, you pay for it with real cash!). The game can be played online on a PC or with other players via handheld game machines that actually connect together so your Nanovor can fight with the Nanovor of others. Sounds a little like Cube World. I guess only time will tell if this kind of integrated toy offering will tempt kids who are currently completely addicted to solo-player and online video games.

Start-Up Plays Offline

siren: blood curse on psn

We downloaded an awesome game from the Playstation Network this weekend called Siren: Blood Curse and have been really loving it so far. Siren: Blood Curse is a Playstation 3 game based on the PS2 title Siren and its sequel Forbidden Siren 2. For U.S. consumption the game is packaged in 12 episodes that can be bought and downloaded individually or as a whole. The game plays almost like an interactive movie as you control several characters exploring and fighting ghost-like bad guys called “shibito”. The graphics are lifelike and beautiful to look at and the music and ambient noise is creepy and haunting. One interesting gameplay aspect is Sight-Jacking Mode, in which your character can take on the perspective of other characters and also of the shibito, letting you anticipate their actions with more inside knowledge. If you’re a PS3 owner and a fan of survival horror, especially with a Japanese flair, Siren: Blood Curse is definitely a must-have.

take2 delays bioshock 2 and others

Take 2 Interactive, developers of several high-profile game titles slated for release in the next year, have announced that they are delaying some of their more highly anticipated game releases in order to ensure quality in the finished product. The titles that will be delayed are all franchise sequels: BioShock 2, Mafia II, Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption. The company feels that the titles will benefit from more development and a less competitive release quarter than the upcoming holiday season:

Take-Two CEO Ben Feder also said during the conference that the development delay was not console specific, and that he believes the game will benefit (financially) from being released outside of the crowded Christmas schedule.

IGN: BioShock 2 Pushed Back to 2010

pedometer no worky

So I've really been enjoying using Personal Trainer: Walking to keep track of my daily walking/step activity and one of the best things about it is wearing the pedometer all day as a motivator to rack up the steps. I had one of my busiest days in awhile yesterday between work and finishing up a move to a new apartment so I was really looking forward to seeing my daily activity last night, but unfortunately when I took the pedometer out of my pocket the little green light was no longer flashing. Not sure what happened but it totally stopped working - it won't connect to the DS cartridge at all, making both the pedometer and the game pretty much useless. Luckily I bought this game not too long ago and am good about keeping receipts so I should be able to get a new one but I'm a little concerned that I'll have the same thing happen with a new pedometer... Hopefully not as the boyfriend's is working just fine. I'm a firm believer in the quality of Nintendo products so hopefully it's not a matter of shoddy craftsmanship. Boo.

personal trainer: walking

I’ve been using Personal Trainer: Walking on my DS for a couple of weeks now and I have to say I am really enjoying it. It’s kind of like a tiny version of Wii Fit – you even use Miis (either wirelessly imported from your Wii or created on the DS). The included pedometers are small and not a bother to carry around, plus uploading your day’s walking data is literally as easy as pushing a button on the pedometer. My boyfriend and I have been carrying them around and while I have been pleasantly surprised with how many steps I take on an average day (generally between 4,000 and 6,000 with a daily target of 3,000) he’s averaging more like 9,000 to 14,000! The game gives you an easy-to-read spectrum of your day’s activity, rated by how often and for how long you walked. It even assigns time of day and animal comparisons to each day’s activity – for example, an early day full of nonstop walking with little breaks makes you a Morning Horse. All in all if you’re a fan of fitness games and you want to get an idea of just how much ground you cover every day, Personal Trainer: Walking is a pretty good buy!

playing wii could help treat parkinson's

Since the Wii's release it has been lauded as not just a cool game system but also a revolutionary tool that can aide in keeping people healthy, active and mobile. Now a researcher at the Medical College of Georgia has released a study that concludes that using a Wii can tremendously improve the treatment of Parkinson's Disease, a degenerative nervous system disease, by encouraging hand-eye coordination, precision movements and general activity. The full-body movements of Wii games like Wii Sports bowling and tennis help to promote continued use of physical motion in patients with advanced Parkinson's:

Studies have shown that exercise and video games independently can increase the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter deficient in Parkinson's patients. He suspects that's the case with the Wii’s exercise effect. Dopamine also helps improve voluntary, functional movements, which Parkinson’s patients "use or lose," Dr. Herz says.

Nintendo Wii May Enhance Parkinson's Treatment

duke nukem apparently still in the works

If you were ever a fan of Duke Nukem 3D back in the day you may have been paying attention to the never-ending saga that is the development of Duke Nukem Forever, the supposed next installment in the franchise. Well, it turns out that developer 3DRealms is in fact still planning on finishing and releasing the project, which has been in development for years now. The road to finishing the game has been paved with bitter legal battles between 3DRealms and publisher Take-Two Interactive, who are understandably pissed about the decade-long process of trying to get this game to market. Will Duke Nukem Forever ever actually make it to store shelves, and if it does, will it ever make enough to cover what it has cost 3DR so far? I guess only time will tell at this point..

Duke Nukem Forever Still in Development

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.

exciting wii fit news

One of the (many) exciting upcoming presentations Nintendo is expected to give at E3 2009 this week is the unveiling of a new, more precise Wii Fit balance board! The Wii Fit Plus will come out in Japan first of course and will feature an improved balance board accessory plus an updated game with new and more varied exercises. This is pretty cool and I am fairly sure I will spring for a new Wii Fit when this one comes out.

Nintendo Wii: Wii Fit Plus Details Revealed Ahead of E3

ea active is kicking my butt

I’ve been crazy busy with work lately but luckily I’ve had a chance to play EA Sports Active a few times and I am already feeling it for sure. EA Active uses the Wii’s motion controllers to map out a series of intense and effective exercises. You use the Wii remote and nunchuk as well as an included resistance band to perform strength exercises like squats, lunges and other extensions along with cardio activities like running, baseball, and in-line skating. So far I’m having a lot of fun and the easily customizable workouts make it no problem to pick up anytime and use your free time to the fullest extent. The graphics are a nice realistic step up from Wii Fit and the flow of the workout definitely gets my heart rate up. If you like Wii Fit but have always wanted something a little more geared towards real exercise, EA Active is a good bet.

personal trainer: walking

It's not often that a game has a title as seemingly obvious, dim-witted and heavy-handed as Personal Trainer: Walking and can still make me excited for its upcoming release. Yes, we all know how to walk and the jokes are endless - what's next, Personal Trainer: Breathing? etc. Still, I had a chance to scope this one out recently and at least according to the box art it looks super awesome. The latest in the Personal Trainer series of DS games comes bundled with two small personal pedometers which can be kept in a pocket or purse to record your daily walking habits and keep track of your pace, distance covered and other metrics. The latest entry in the growing genre of fitness/self-improvement games, Personal Trainer: Walking will launch this Tuesday. I maintain my opinion that gamers as a demographic are an excellent target for these fitness-oriented titles and should embrace them!

ea active tomorrow!

I'm so excited... And I just can't hide it.... I'm about to lose control, and I think I like it! Actually, I am really excited because tomorrow marks the release of EA Sports Active, the latest Wii fitness game by Electronic Arts. While EA Active is independent of Wii Fit, it has features that can use the Fit balance board if you've already got one, which I do of course. I've seen a few TV spots for Active so far and it looks awesome - it seems to take the cardio and higher-intensity activities from Wii Fit and step them up in a big way. I'm looking forward to the kickboxing exercise as well as trying out the pretty nifty resistence bands that come with the game, allowing you to anchor the Wii controllers to your arm and leg to measure your activity during exercise. With summer coming up even gamer girls want to wear cute bikinis so EA Active is arriving right on time. To get you as psyched as I am, check out this in-depth Q&A about Active from GameSpot.

take 2 interactive settles in court

Take 2 Interactive, makers of the Grand Theft Auto series, have agreed to pay $3 million for a settlement in a stock options lawsuit related to backdating options to an all-time low price.

“Take-Two’s seven-year backdating scheme was egregious and pervasive, and caused the company to materially misrepresent its financial condition to investors,” Christopher Conte, an S.E.C. attorney in Washington overseeing the case, said in a statement.

The S.E.C. contended Mr. Brant and other former senior executives had “fraudulently enriched” key employees by granting them stock options backdated to days of historically low closing prices. Mr. Brant pleaded guilty to falsifying records and was sentenced to five years’ probation.

Video Game Maker to Pay $3 Million to Settle Stock Options Case

wii fit has outsold halo 3!

Love it. New figures show that Nintendo's Wii Fit game and balance board have outsold copies of Halo 3 in the US. I think this says good things about future trends in gaming and also most likely means more Fit-compatible games targeted at gamers and families who already own the balance board. I am also looking forward to Electronic Arts's entry into the fitness game market with EA Sports Active. Compatible with the Fit board but not requiring it, EA Active will ramp up the activities that Wii Fit started with more intense cardio targeting like running, kick-boxing and other exercises. Due out in May, I think EA Active will probably sell well alongside the Fit, assuming stores can keep it in stock!

it's baaaack

Everyone's favorite reason to buy a bunch of games he or she doesn't need has returned - GameStop's undeniably attractive "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" on used games this weekend only. Sure, I have eight or ten games with active save files that still need beating one of these days but... um... eventually I will finish those and then I will need to play Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Super Princess Peach and whatever other awesome games I end up taking home this weekend. Also I think we'll be picking up at least a few of the old GameCube Resident Evil titles in place of splurging just yet on Resident Evil 5. More commentary on newly acquired games to follow.

wii fit has its pros and cons

Now that the world has been graced by the Wii Fit for over a year, many out there wonder just how good the game really can be for you. Folks seem to agree that any video game that combats couch-potato-ness is a good thing, meaning that Wii Fit's get-up-and-do-stuff system can help you get more active and do less sitting around. Which is definitely a good thing, especially with video games. Still, most also feel that the Wii Fit isn't comparable to actual physical activity like sports or real cardio exercise, which is also true. Mostly all this means is that if you are already physically fit, the Wii Fit isn't going to offer more than your gym does. Also, its metrics are a little questionable, especially the Wii Fit age determined by your activities and measurements. Whatevs, I still love it and can't recommend it highly enough. In my opinion, much like anything else in life, you get back what you put into it.

Wii Fit a Promising Tool For All Ages, Though Game's Health Measurements Are Flawed

nintendo hearts old gamers

A new study has shown that twice as many older gamers prefer Nintendo to Playstation; big surprise, I know! This statistic is definitely the effect of a calculated marketing strategy on Nintendo's part to target the 40+ market with game titles like Brain Age, Wii Fit and other self-improvement games that can help keep the grayhair gamers out there sharp. Also, turns out that chicks make up the majority of the older gamers! While women make up 46% of 18 to 24 year old gamers, they are 55% of the 65+ers!

Nintendo Wins the Graying Gamers

these games look silly

So I was doing some Google image searches when I came across the image at right and had to follow the link and find out what the hell it was. And thus I bring you via Random Good Stuff the Weirdest Interactive Video Games nobody wants. The Spiderman game is really the crowning achievement but the others look pretty goofy too so check them out.