Fitness is not a game people!
Now we're having fun with our consoles by keeping fit... or are we. Let's go running and watch counters on the screen! No, let's not. Ok, let's go biking!! What, in a game where you don't actually travel anywhere - no thanks!
I think there's a place for fitness games, the ones that offer virtual workouts and electronic exercise programs. That place would be on the shelf, next to the exercise DVD, covering up the exercise videos behind. If you are workout motivated then these titles will do a far better job keeping you moving than the aforementioned DVD. You may even call them "fun", but consider this... if everyone enjoyed workouts there wouldn't be an obesity crisis, drop of in school sport or need for massive government health campaigns.
Yes, that's right - most people find workouts really really boring. That's why exergaming is way more than just workout games. Some people have even argued that video games are not an integral part of exergaming!!! (Those people are often recaptured quite quickly, so don't worry too much about them)
Gamercize is exactly what exergaming is all about - fun. Fun from video games. Fitness is there, for sure, but it's not the focus... it's like the exercise involved shopping; It's only when you get home with your bags of goodies after a mammoth day's shop do you notice how much effort you must have spent walking and how tiered you feel.
Exergaming needs to be fun, and needs to be fun for long enough to make a difference to the user's health. You may get a week's use out of a fitness game, but that's nothing compared with the immersion of compelling gameplay you get from the real videogames that Gamercize uses.
Need convincing? Mario Kart Wii has been in the UK charts for 76 weeks - Gamercize compatible and what's more damn good FUN!
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