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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.'"

9 of 38 comments (clear)

  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.

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      "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.

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      This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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
  5. 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