Bandai will be releasing two new PRG pedometer games for the holiday season and for about $45, you might be able to get more physical activity while playing an egame. The game is designed to be played over 90 days and it would be interesting to see what changes people considering that many people tire of playing a new game/exercise routine quickly. It would be really neat to have access to some of that data to look at the amount of steps and frequency of use over the 90 days, especially at days 30,60, and 90. I think it would be a great research project. Hmmm, anyone know someone at Bandai? If so, please e-mail me.
Earlier I posted the latest Nintendo pedometer that had yet to be announced with a game, well now we know the name of the game.... "Your Life Rhythm" built for the DS. According to the Kotaku post, it will need to be plugged into the DS like the My Weight Loss Coach pedometer. At least it certainly looks more streamline and not so bulky and obtrusive. And here is the rest of it. [Via Kotaku, ]
Podcast your dining experiences! Upload photos of your meals and share delicious descriptions of the foods consumed.
If you enjoy your food, you'll be more mindful when you eat it. If you're mindful when you eat, you'll be conscious of what you're putting in your body. If you're conscious of what you're putting in your body, you'll be likely to choose healthier foods (most of the time, anyway.)
My exergaming colleague Biray Alsac (Befitt with Biray) showed me this website that allows you to upload audio, video, photos, and text to your Utterli account, which you can in turn share with your friends. Always the fitness "Maverick" of social networking, Befitt teaches her students how to use technology to assist their fitness and wellness plans. She created the Utterlicious month long podcast challenge to help us all be more mindful of what we eat. There have been many past research projects that made participants photograph everything they eat and many of them showed a change (at least in short-term) in eating patterns. But, isn't that what most of us in the health, recreation, wellness, fitness, physical activity, physical education, and therapy fields want for our audience...to be more mindful of our actions, bodies, thoughts, food as well as our impact on others and the environment.Wouldn't it be nice (channeling some Beach Boys here) to have all the food you eat tracked using something like Utterli or one of the other mobile device. Once the meal is loaded to a website like CalorieLab, (featured elsewhere) the nutrition values would be added to your daily intake. For example, you eat at PF Chang's and order the Chang's Chicken in Soothing Lettuce Wraps (thanks Julie), all of the info including the calories (energy intake) would be collected. And since your mobile device probably has a heart rate monitor, GPS, accelerometer, or pedometer assessing your physical activity levels (See miCoach, GameBullet, Sony F305, iPhone, Flaik, Sportio, Bones in Motion, Loopt, Motion Based, PerDiemco or others featured in an earlier post). - your energy expenditure would be tracked. The intake and expenditure would be automatically calculated and it would really show you what you're doing or not doing to your body. Hmmm...
The "GZ Spin Trainer" will be formally announced in October by Gamercize (UK-based), and exhibited to the public later that month, as a solution for high end sports training, suitable for athletes and sports people who demand an even higher level of exercise in active gaming. Check out the larger shot of the specially modified spinning bike and other details. (*Note: the group of spinning bikes is not the new GZ Spin Trainer and came from the NY Times.) A little bird shared this photo of the last prototype before the first production run comes from some small country named China. The photo was shot from the rider's position looking down at the armrest bars and the GZ Spin Trainer display. I believe it is the first full-sized Gamercize exercise machine and it is obviously more solid than their Gamercize Power Stepper or Gamercize Endurance Cycle. The maximum capacity of the Power Stepper is 220 pounds and I'm not sure if the Endurance Cycle has a maximum. For individuals of normal weight, the weight limit is not a huge problem but I've come across a couple of instances where heavier subjects (210lbs) and overweight youth were on the cusp of being too heavy for the Power Stepper as they could feel the flexing in the frame. I know nothing would break but they felt a little awkward using the stepper and I'm sure using a full-sized machine like the GZ Spin Trainer would make them feel more comfortable. Originally written on 09-13-2008. Updated 10-03-2008
I posted earlier about Ubisoft's pedometer game for the DS, but this is a new pedometer patent for Nintendo and according to the links there's no telling into which platform this pedometer will be integrated. Seeing as the DS already has a pedometer, fit would make sense that this is being geared up to use with Wii games and maybe even the Wii Fit Board (if they don't already have too much dust on them). Click on to see my thoughts on the amount of motion sensing devices being let loose. It's really interesting to see how many more devices that are coming to market lately. Between the FitBit (FitClip), miCoach,jOG, and the many undisclosed projects, it's a pretty exciting time for those of us in the physical activity and motivation fields. [Via Gizmodo, and OAMI via Kotaku]
After reading some interesting posts on the GFH (Games for Health) listserv, call it a coincidence, but look what popped up on the radar, Helix a WiiWare game. For a very low price-point (10 Euros - still have to check if it's available in US) you have essentially DDR for the upperbody (a la EyeToy) using the existing Wiimote and nunchuck. The debate has been going for a long time about why we don't see more "exergaming" titles by major studios, and typically it boils down to the millions of dollars it takes to design, develop, produce and market a typical game title. With Helix and more like it to be released as WiiWare and for PS3 Live, maybe this could be a major focus for the smaller (and bigger) software companies to develop physically engaging games that use existing hardware.
Bandai will be releasing two new PRG pedometer games for the holiday season and for about $45, you might be able to get more physical activity while playing an egame. The game is designed to be played over 90 days and it would be interesting to see what changes people considering that many people tire of playing a new game/exercise routine quickly. It would be really neat to have access to some of that data to look at the amount of steps and frequency of use over the 90 days, especially at days 30,60, and 90. I think it would be a great research project. Hmmm, anyone know someone at Bandai? If so, please e-mail me.
[Via Gizmodo, via Trends in Japan via bbGadgets]
