Wednesday, September 17

97% of Teens are Potential Exergamers

Video games provide the next generation in fitness!


A survey of video game behaviour was carried out for 12-17 year olds in the US, and reports the following.


  • 97% Are gamers.

  • 65% Are social gamers.

  • 80% Play five or more game types.


I'm pleased to see the emphasis on the positive aspects of video gaming. The almost universal appeal of gaming is a prefect foundation for exergames, it shows that if the fitness industry want to connect with teens then these games are the right level you can do it!

I've been connecting on this level as the core principle of Gamercize and these figures are a prefect confirmation we have it right, well 97% right! We are 100% right on supporting Xbox 360, PLayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii though, just so we can be perfect on something!

Notice that kids do not stick with one video game type, let alone a single title. As an exergame a single genre or a single title will not cut it. I've been advocating this with Gamercize supporting every type of inactive video game, and I'm 80% right here, our survey says.

Other exergaming options, that only support one console, or only one type of video game obviously can't get to the 97% we can, but none the less, the figures are great news for the industry. The only slight issue being while 99.99% of teenagers know about games consoles, the number who know about the exergame industry (as a whole, not just Wii Fit!) is probably less than 5%.

It's also interesting to draw on my experience too, before taking the potential market to 97% - I have found it's not just kids who want to lose weight, nor kids that want to excel in sport that take to exergaming. Almost every teen who has tried Gamercize for themselves loves the idea of being active, they just don't need a reason and that's probably just as well - getting a straight answer out of a teenager is never easy!




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