Will GTA 4 be the best selling weight loss game of 2008?
Yes, the stories have already started to appear claiming Rockstars latest release should be banned and highlighting the effects of video games on children.
Given that the game is M or 18 rated, the effects need to be considered in context, which is exactly what the Globe and Mail points out here.
The $1.5m government funded research quoted points out "much of the information in the popular press about the effects of violent video games is wrong." So much of what you will read will be misleading with the most disturbing content being in the accompanying real life news stories, not in a game.
Instead of looking at these blockbuster games in a negative light, think about those players using Gamercize with them; putting the hours of gameplay to much better use, i.e. keeping fit.
If the average player (over 18 years old, of course) was to play GTA IV for 10 hours a week with Gamercize; they could burn up to 26,000 calories in a month which would equate to losing around 17 lbs in weight. I don't know of any better weight loss game!
What is brilliant about Gamercize is that playing the game takes your mind of the exercise effort; so GTA, and in fact any game, can be enjoyable enough to make this high level of effort sustainable.
I doubt any copies of GTA IV will be forgotten, unused and stored away after just a couple of weeks. In fact, Rockstar say the game will take about 100 hours to complete here, so that could equate to losing 43 lbs before you head off to the online arena!
