Olympic Exergaming with London 2012

The release of Sega's official video game with both Microsoft Kinect and PlayStation Move compatibility may conjure images of swan diving off the back of the sofa or hurdling over the cat in the living room. However, the exergaming aspect of the game out of the box is limited and non-existent for PC players.

There are nearly 50 events in Sega's offering for the official video game of the London Games, but only a handful of these can be played as exergames with Move and Kinect. The game is available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 and far from being a sporting legacy from the games is basically one of those exergames we'd rather not talk about.

Why is there so little exergaming in this most obvious of titles? The reason is the motion sensor technology of the consoles is at odds with game play. The puppeteering control required to make the game playable is simply not possible using the confines of a living room. The vast majority of events use tried and tested game pad controller input, even to the point a game pad is preferred over a PC's keyboard and mouse.

The lasting legacy of the games, however, is not lost for those wishing to be active whilst re-living, or improving, their countries gold medal count. Gamercize is compatible with every event! The advantages of using Gamercize with London 2012 are the space needed is no more than sitting or standing and the control of the game is not degraded. Exercise to play is all we ask!

Gamercize has a number of options for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with our range of mini and full sized exercise machines. Check out http://www.gamercize.net to find out more. Gamercize helps Olympic exergamers to Reach the Next Level!

Sphere: Related Content

---

Are video games sport?

Health Promotion in the Golden Decade of Sport

When you watch sport on TV how would you choose to participate, join a local club or go buy the video game?

This presentation explains what the Golden Decade of Sport means, and how it relates to increased physical activity and healthy lives. If video games steal the show, how can this be of benefit to health promotion? Find out more...

Health Promotion in the Golden Decade of Sport

View more presentations from Richard Coshott.

Sphere: Related Content

---

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.

Sphere: Related Content

---

Can Video Games be an Olympic Sport?

If so does it need to involve exercise?

There are many Olympic events that require skill only, and are not based on physical exertion. So there is a fair point that if air pistol shooting can be a recognised event, then why not Rainbow Six? The skills for both are very different but some would say R6 edges out in front for skill. Could there therefore be the chance of London 2012 hosting the first gaming disciplines?

I think that there is very little chance for video games on their own to become recognised as sport, but with Gamercize there is a better chance. Adding physical effort to a skillful game and raising the bar could make the difference. We have seen this getting great coverage and response for our event. But, just for now, let's see how video games get on in their own right.

Vote in the poll on Zimbio.com at http://www.zimbio.com/Olympic+Games/polls/1/results/Can+video+games+Olympic+Sport
that puts the question to the public - Can Video Games be an Olympic Sport?

Sphere: Related Content

---

International Exergame Championship

UK vs USA Video from BBC and NBC TV Coverage

See http://www.youtube.com/v/9EnRd0Guegk

Check back for news on the next tournament with more countries, more players, more games and more fitness. Start training with Beijing 2008 for Xbox 360 and PS3 now and maybe you can make the team and represent your country.

Sphere: Related Content

---

Video Games Literally Saving the Planet

Online Gamercize Tournament Equivalent to planting 140 trees!

As the utility bills come in it is easy to see the cost of energy is rising painfully. Apart from the cash cost of using fuel there is also the environmental costs, most easily measured by carbon calculations.

Most people can have a little leeway in the miles they drive or tweaking the temperature setting by a few degrees, but the most obvious cost and carbon saver is leisure and sporting activity.

I read the Beijing Olympics are going to produce some 1.18 million tonnes of carbon which works out at 225,000 lbs per entrant. That is very nearly a quarter of a million pounds of carbon per participant!

Curiously, I looked into what Gamercize's online exergaming tournament cost in terms of carbon, and what it would have cost had we flown one of the teams to make the event a face-to-face competition.

Taking into account heat, light, transport, electricity for consoles and equipment we used less than 6 lbs of carbon per participant for the tournament; going online with Xbox 360 for the games and Gamercize for the exercise.

Comparing this to the massive spend of the Olymipics is a little unfair, so I ran the numbers again, this time as if we flew one team between California and England. We came out at more than 2,800 lbs of carbon per participant.

Although I am not a great fan of carbon offsetting (i.e. just use less energy to start with!), I checked, and in order to offset a face-to-face tournament against the actual online Gamercize tournament would have required planting 140 trees.

So the next time someone asks you what your are doing playing video games, you can say, quite literally, "I'm saving the planet".

Sphere: Related Content

---

Beijing 2008 Official Olympic Video Game for next Gamercize Tournament?

Following on from the World's First International Online Exergaming Tournament.

It has been an interesting journey of discovery for everyone involved in the first tournament combining both video games and exercise in a single competition. The outcome was Team Gamercize UK won four of the six soccer matches, Team Gamercize USA won one, and the last game was a tie with seconds to spare before the end of the event.

Adding the game points and the exercise points gave the bragging rights to the "World Exergame Champions" title to the UK with 14,981 points against the US total of 6,472. When I have all the pictures and video together I will post a full write up.

Now we don't like to hang about at Gamercize, so we are looking to the next exergame tournament where we can officially put the championship title up for grabs. So far there are six countries interested in fielding a team and we can use what we have learned so far to make the next competition bigger and even better!

There was some concern, on both sides of the Atlantic I must add, to choosing a soccer game as the basis of the USA vs UK event. For the next event we are looking at running with multiple titles over different game genres, or maybe we should use just one title - Beijing 2008, the Official Olympic Video Game.

I like the concept of this game because it allows online play and supports Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Due to the unique interaction between game and exercise in Gamercize there is no other exergame product that can be used with this game title. The control requires a multitude of inputs on buttons, bumpers, triggers and twin directional sticks, people just don't have enough arms and legs for non-gamepad control!

Come to think of it there is no other exergame product for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC anyway, so this title looks like it's top of the list for now. I tend to let the experts be the experts in my approach, so if the Olymipic committee has already sought agreeable sports for all countries, then why not follow their lead for our own Exergame Olympics!

Sphere: Related Content

---

Gaming and Exercise Join for Gamercize Olympics

Get Involved with the Live Tournament on the Net!

Next week we will be running the first ever console exergaming tournament between school children in the States and here, in the UK. We’ll be using Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 over Xbox LIVE with our very own Gamercize Pro-Sport providing the exercise element.

The Team UK is based out of a school in Derby, England and Team USA comprises of pupils from Green Valley, California. Due to the time zone differences the US team will be kicking off at 8am PST which makes it just after the school bell in the UK.

Microsoft, the console manufacturer, and Konami, the game publisher, have both wished us good luck – which we’ll need considering the technology involved in live TV, online blogging, US/UK feeds, live webcasting and playing the games over the net!

The teams will introduce themselves to each other later this week by videos on YouTube, as this international sports competition will be the first where the competitors don’t actually meet face to face! Maybe this eco-friendly way of competing with a minimal carbon footprint is how the Olympic Games will be run in the future? I wonder!

Here’s how you can get involved and give your support to the two teams. Follow them on twitter – Find the UK Team at http://www.twitter.com/TeamGamercizeUK and the US team at http://www.twitter.com/TeamGamercizeUS. Don’t expect much response from them now, as they are practicing hard!

You can also join up to the Gamercize Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gamercize/8863157725 where you can select to attend the UK or US supporters event page which has pictures, videos, links and behind the scenes content added daily.

Sphere: Related Content

---