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XBox Now Your Personal Fitness Trainer?

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the get-on-up-get-into-it-get-involved dept.

Analise writes "First there's the DDR Workout, and now a game developer out of Portland, OR has come up with Yourself!Fitness, a video game targeted at women and to be used on your friendly neighborhood XBox - the title 'features a computer-generated personal trainer who guides users through a customized set of exercises and diets.' The game [the original NYT article includes a small screenshot] is slated to be released this fall and the Sony Playstation version is expected to be ready by the end of the year. The game company's co-founder is quoted as saying, 'We're creating games that are good for you.'"

38 comments

  1. My eyes! by sckeener · · Score: 3, Funny

    I actually do see a need for this sort gaming. My niece, who loves video games, is 194lbs and turned 13 this month!

    I'll just have to remember to close my eyes while she is playing. Of course the sight might be like that Simpson's x-files episode where Skully is watching Homer like a lava lamp.

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    "Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
    1. Re:My eyes! by Analise · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I actually do see a need for this sort gaming. My niece, who loves video games, is 194lbs and turned 13 this month!

      Uhm, they already have gaming to help with that. It's called, "going outside and riding your bicycle, or climbing a tree, or running around like a chicken with your head cut off". I know a lot of people around here are the kind of people who spend a lot of time indoors (yes, me included), but there's a great big world out there in which kids should spend time. Seems like a video game for exercise is just going to encourage people to sit around inside more and complain about how they need to go to the gym.

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      >insert witty sig file here
    2. Re:My eyes! by sckeener · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Uhm, they already have gaming to help with that. It's called, "going outside and riding your bicycle, or climbing a tree, or running around like a chicken with your head cut off".

      I'd recommend that, but hopefully she'll take my first recommendation. My first recommendation is to move somewhere you can go outside and ride a bike.

      This is a 13 yr old girl in a neighborhood where standing on the porch can get you high.

      Sometimes inside is safer.

      --
      "Only one thing, is impossible for god: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet." Mark Twain
    3. Re:My eyes! by Inda · · Score: 3, Funny

      My niece, who loves video games, is 194lbs and turned 13 this month!

      That must have been one hell of a big birthday cake.

      --
      This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
  2. Expect a nude patch... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball for a previous example.

  3. google link by xiopher · · Score: 1, Informative

    Google link here

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    7680 MB Disk,192 GB Transfer,
  4. I worked on this. :) by Polyphemis · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I worked on Yourself Fitness for a couple months earlier this year, designing the interface. The product looks terrific and could really work. The team they've put on this is comprised of highly skilled professionals from all around the industry.

    Some people are confused when they first hear about it, thinking it may not work, but you'd really be surprised. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say about it, but from what I've seen, they've got a very well-thought out plan for the game and they're hitting all the right notes as it develops. It looks like a really solid product that I'd recommend for women everywhere.

    1. Re:I worked on this. :) by TeamSPAM · · Score: 1

      Are you trying to imply that all women are fat or out of shape? >;-)

      --
      Brought to you by Team SPAM! where we believe: "Information in the noise!"
    2. Re:I worked on this. :) by bigman2003 · · Score: 1

      Kegals man...it's all about the Kegals

      The workout that every woman should do.

      --
      No reason to lie.
  5. another game for $9.99 bin? by Numeric · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I see this as a candidate for worst games of all time.

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    -- ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space!
    1. Re:another game for $9.99 bin? by hal2814 · · Score: 1

      I don't know. There's some pretty stiff comptetion to be one of the worst games of all time.

    2. Re:another game for $9.99 bin? by xCepheus · · Score: 1

      You have obviously never played any of these gems

  6. game?? by ack154 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm sure it's been addressed, but how is this actually a game? It sounds to me like it's just a "video game version" of an excercise tape. Or something very close. Same with the screenshot.

    Don't get me wrong, I can see the benefit and I think people will probably find it useful, but I don't really understand why it's on the Xbox (or PS2 later, for that matter).

    1. Re:game?? by fireduck · · Score: 2, Informative

      apparently if one digs through the website deep enough you'll find the FAQ, which indicates the "game" comes with a heart rate monitor (one would think this would be prominently announced, as it's a big thing setting this apart from an exercise DVD). I presume this is where the game part comes it. You increase your heart rate for 20 minutes a certain amount, and you unlock new content. some of the the screenshots at the website support this (the bottom one, for instance).

      So, unlike DDR or other games, you really aren't playing anything or trying to accomplish anything, other than exercising along with a game; with the heart monitor measuring your progress and unlocking new content. so, it's a really personalized exercise DVD.

    2. Re:game?? by ack154 · · Score: 1
      so, it's a really personalized exercise DVD.
      That's exactly how I was picturing it... personalized because it adapts to your height, weight, etc - but still just a personal trainer/excercise tape type of thing at the core.
    3. Re:game?? by Polyphemis · · Score: 1

      It also tracks your progress over time, plans your diet, and has a series of interesting unlockables over time as you progress. It's extremely interactive, personalized and customizable.

      (I worked on it.)

  7. Reminds me of by Metroid72 · · Score: 1

    The old Nintendo Power Pad games.

  8. I want Prop Cycle! by kisrael · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I just want a game like propcycle at home that will give me interesting in game rewards/explanation for improving my physical performance. Just rig up a sensor thing for an exercise bike than comission a decent "Pilot Wings 64" like game, and as I improve, make me work harder and harder to stay aloft.

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    SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
  9. Re:Who needs a program for that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (Score:1 Troll)

  10. Re:Who needs a program for that? by hambonewilkins · · Score: 1

    Xbox is teh huge! Har har har!

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    God Bless America. Why? Did it sneeze?
  11. Makes Sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    "a video game targeted at women" I guess only women care about fitness and health. Why not make it gender neutral?

    1. Re:Makes Sense by wibs · · Score: 1

      Almost every other video game ever made is targeted at men, why not make those gender neutral?

      I'm male and no feminist, but if you're going to ask the question you have to ask it of both sides.

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      If you get nervous, just remember that there are a few billion other people who don't really give a damn.
    2. Re:Makes Sense by Analise · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Same reason most exercise/aerobic videos are targeted at women. Because women will buy them. Men generally wouldn't. Men, if they're going to exercise, are much more likely to simply go outside and exercise or go to the gym.

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      >insert witty sig file here
  12. Why is this geared towards women? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The only video games women play, for the most part, are ones like "The Sims." XBOX, for example, is hugely male (yes, the pun is intended).

    Don't they realize that all the fat gamers are guys? What's the deal?

  13. This has been done before. by hal2814 · · Score: 1

    Instructional and fitness-based games have been proven time and again to be unpopular. Why would this be any different? Who remembers the "Dance Aerobics" for the Power Pad? I remember there being a ton of instuctional-type games on the CD-I and look how popular that system turned out to be (and this is from a CD-I owner)! People use video game systems to play games. Any derivation from that purpose will lead to failure.

  14. I love fitness games by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

    As a big fan of high-quality fitness games such as DOA XBV, I hope that they got the jiggle right. :-)

    (/me ducks to avoid attach from feminists, avid gamers, and real fitness professionals)

  15. Xbox DDR by MBraynard · · Score: 1
    I guess this thread might be the place to ask.

    So yesteray I happened by an arcade and decided to try this DDR thing. I did NOT get very far. And the girl who was at the desk saw me and immediatly came over afterwards and schooled me.

    I've always wanted to get into the DDR thing and would getting the Xbox DDR2Ultra or whatever approximate the arcade? Are the floor mats about the same size? Can you stand on carpet to play it?

    1. Re:Xbox DDR by clu76 · · Score: 1

      I have it for XBOX. You can get different pads. I bought the Red Octane softpad that's about the same size as the arcades. I play on the carpet. It cost me about $100. Worth it if you're serious about playing. If you're really really serious, you can get the $200 version, which is a solid floormat, similar to the arcade.

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      the cosmos in 20 words or less: thumbuki.com
  16. Re: Grammar Nazi by wan-fu · · Score: 1, Informative

    The team they've put on this is comprised of highly skilled professionals from all around the industry.

    You should have used "... comprises highly skilled professionals..." Sorry, but 'comprised of' is one of the worst abuses of the English language.

  17. Re: Grammar Nazi by Polyphemis · · Score: 1

    Doh! You're right. I checked dictionary.com to be sure:

    The traditional rule states that the whole comprises the parts and the parts compose the whole. In strict usage: The Union comprises 50 states. Fifty states compose (or constitute or make up) the Union. Even though careful writers often maintain this distinction, comprise is increasingly used in place of compose, especially in the passive: The Union is comprised of 50 states. Our surveys show that opposition to this usage is abating. In the 1960s, 53 percent of the Usage Panel found this usage unacceptable; in 1996, only 35 percent objected.

    Thanks for the correction. Duh me. :)

  18. Why Xbox? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've got to wonder about this one. Xbox is clearly targetting adolescent males since most of the TV adverts are of sports and FPS type games. Targetting women with this game on such a console seems to almost assure a retail failure. Why not just go with the PS version only? Even the GC would seem to be a better bet than the Xbox.

    1. Re:Why Xbox? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PS2 and PC version will follow, from what I've read. Personally I would have started out on the PS2, which is where the highest installed base is, but maybe they know something that I don't.

  19. Multiplayer elements by Peter+Cooper · · Score: 1

    It's good to see games like this coming out, but I'd really like to see them do some Internet multiplayer action.

    I'm naturally very competitive, and would be more likely to play for longer (and harder) if I was trying to whoop someone's ass on the Internet. Beating the game itself is one thing, but I guess I just want to kick someone else's ass. A lot of people jog or run in clubs, rather than alone, for this reason, so it could easily work online with dance games.

    It's also the only reason I'll play DDR if I'm out with friends, so two of us can play, and I can win *g*

  20. OT: International Herald Tribune design by HomeGroove · · Score: 1

    I'm glad this article linked to the IHT website because until this article, I haven't heard of the site before. It's beautiful (as far as newspaper sites go). Other newspapers should take a hint from them. You have to love standards. Plus no advertising in the content. There's a novel idea.

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    Spam subject of the moment: Offshore account secrets -nashville disrupt

  21. Re: Grammar Nazi by kisrael · · Score: 1

    I'm probably the opposite of a prescriptivist, but still, your cite seems to indicate that your usage is gaining acceptance...

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    SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
  22. This is actually a good idea... by i8urtaco · · Score: 1

    I wonder if hardware companies would start to develop devices to help you along in these types of games, like a pulse meter that will allow the game to speed up or slow down based on your target heart rate, etc. They might even be able to market a weight scale that will monitor your weight loss progress.