BREAKING NEWS! NEW Active Video Games Energy Expenditure Study Released!

"Wii Don't Have the First Clue about Exergaming" say Wiisearchers

I came across this gem of a study that's been published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. The wiisearch, from New Zealand has stumbled across some ground breaking findings...

- Playing Active Video Games (AVGs) uses more energy than doing nothing.

- Playing Nintendo Wii is no more active than aimlessly walking in circles.

Wow guys, this is impressive stuff. Who knew?!

What is the complete waste of time in this study is that researchers, co-authors, peer reviewers and editors have been tied up on the most pointless and over studied "exergame" in history. It would not surprise me if Nintendo have fronted the money for this work, which they do under a number of covert "charities" and "consultancies". If this is the case then I have been too harsh on the academics of New Zealand.

What would NOT have been a waste of time would have been comparing OTHER exergames against Wii. Gamercize is easily four times more energy expenditure than Wii Sports and almost infinitely more sustainable (due to the ability to play any game on Xbox360, PS3, etc etc).

At this point I do wonder - the "no news wii" stories are damaging the reputation of exergaming and undermining the effectiveness in the eyes of the public - is this deliberate by the Journal? Make your own mind up at http://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(10)00154-4/abstract

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Five Wrongs of Exergaming

Exergaming is the 2010 Fitness Trend News!

Exergaming has been in the spotlight a lot in the last four or five days and it's not surprising. Make fitness accessible to all, make it fun and put that idea in front of people at a time New Year's Resolutions, exercise and diet are foremost in the mind - it's a winner. Mainstream media though has a few misconceptions of exergaming. Time to right the wrongs.

1. Exergaming isn't good exercise - We, in the exergaming industry, tend to see this from a lot of mainstream media outlets. There's really no excuse for this "con" as many exergames are based on full body movements or genuine fitness machines.
2. Exergaming is just a craze - This common statement does make me smile, exergaming may be news to the unwitting reporter, but it's been around in one form or another for 25 years, with the last five years being the most exciting. There's many more years left for the premier fitness option.
3. Exergaming won't get you fit - This is a concerning statement that you often read from unresearched articles of the big news outlets. What they are looking at here are a few studies that show one single exergame failing, it's not the majority experience, but I guess it makes news.
4. Exergaming is just for Seniors - Again and again we see stories of exergaming helping seniors with unstrenuous movements. Isn't this great? Don't forget that there's exergames out there that really kick out the numbers in calories, up to 650 calories an hour!
5. Exergaming means Wii - The worst misconception, and the company that's responsible for all of the above shortcomings, and branding exergaming with the failings. If authors want to write about Wii and point out how it fails, call it Wii - if you want to write about exergaming, look a little deeper and you'll find answers to all the concerns in other products.

For a balanced view of exergaming take a look at The Exergame Network, a non-profit, non-affiliated collective of exergaming industry experts, industry captains, researchers and today's students forming the next generation of educators. Join this network and get answer to your questions on LinkedIn.

With my own experience with Gamercize I can personally dispel the misconceptions with genuine exercise from real fitness machines, genuine sustainability from the latest and future game releases , genuine enjoyment from ability to play any game and appeal to all ages from the support of all consoles and all genres of video game.

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World Exergaming Championships

Active Gaming Competition with Gamercize.

Here is a quick reminder of the "first" we achieved using Gamercize last year - the first ever international exergame tournament. This playlist of three videos gives an introduction to both UK and USA teams, plus the live TV coverage of the event.

For 2009 year we are starting to put together teams from more countries, with more players with more fun and definitely more fitness!

Very soon we'll be facilitating tournament practice using NBA Live '09 on Xbox 360 and the Gamercize Power Stepper. Check back for more details on practice and the dates for the 2nd ever international exergame tournament - where Team England will be putting the title on the line!

Get practicing - see you online!

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BBC Sport - Olympics on World News

Be Interactive in your Fitness Training!

Watch the coverage of the Gamercize PC-Sport and check out some other fitness advice for interactive Olympic coverage addicts from BBC Sport here!

Don't switch off after the Gamercize segment, or you'll miss the five-ringed Olympic bicycle - or should that be quincycle?

My Games is an interactive TV show, broadcast live on BBC World News throughout the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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