EA making Wii Fit game

[Queasy]

Link

Watch out - Peter Moore wants to make you sweat. The EA Sports president has revealed his division is working on a fitness game for Wii that utilises the balance board peripheral. The unannounced title will release under the newly-created Freestyle label and focus on more "western" cardio-vascular workouts, compared with the "eastern holistic fitness" of Nintendo's Wii Fit.

Speaking during a major three-day EA Sports showcase at the publisher's Vancouver HQ, Moore spoke of his admiration for Nintendo's breakthrough hit and the opportunities it has created.

"We're watching very closely what the Wii Fit board does," he said. "We think we have to have a role to play with that mum - the kids have gone to school, she's got 45 minutes on her own, the Wii is there, it's the first console she's ever liked because she can do things herself. And we're working on stuff, trying to work out how we can use EA Sports applications there."

But Moore, a former physical education instructor, insisted EA's product would go down a different route from Wii Fit, with a greater focus on strenuous fun.

"I need to have a point of difference," he explained. "We also need to make sure we're delivering something that's truly exercise. I'll call [Wii Fit] more eastern fitness, where it senses weight and balance, like Tai-Chi. It's more about holistic fitness. I don't think the board is going to take a pounding. We need to look more at western fitness in which I can actually be moving and start to sweat a little bit, and that's what we're working on right now."

While the former Xbox boss would not be drawn on specifics, he was keen to emphasise that EA, like Nintendo, was focusing on fitness through "fun". "It can't feel like a workout," he added. "The team has to figure out, how do I smile while I'm doing this? You play soccer for 90 minutes; if I say you're going to run five miles you're not gonna want to do that. But you run for five miles playing soccer and you've had a good time.

"The difference is you're distracted. We need to distract people and not make this exercise feel like work, but like they're having fun. So mini-games, things where you're actually laughing out loud, that's the stuff we're working on. It's something I've always been passionate about, and who better than us to go and play in that market?"

Moore a former physical education instructor. Who knew? <shrug>

It's good to see others making games for the Wii Fit board though. That way it doesn't become an essentially useless peripheral because there is only one game for it.

 

[jdport]

I hope that this type of thing spreads to other consoles. I think wii fit sounds fun, and I'd buy it if I had a Wii. But I don't... so if they every create the peripherals and games for the xbox360 i'm there!

 

[purbeast0]

I had a beer with Peter Moore at 0h 😛

Okay well maybe not but I met him, and he smelled like beer when i met him hah.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Since it's EA, I expect bugs to cause permanent and/or fatal injuries until it's patched 😉

"Yes, Madden Fit '09 still rarely causes broken bones, but we will not be patching this version any further. Buy Madden Fit '10 for its new 'No Achy Breaky' feature."

 

[Xavier434]

Sounds like he has the right idea. I hope they are successful.

 

[skace]

Let the fitness game wars begin! Woooo

 

[RandomFool]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Since it's EA, I expect bugs to cause permanent and/or fatal injuries until it's patched 😉

"Yes, Madden Fit '09 still rarely causes broken bones, but we will not be patching this version any further. Buy Madden Fit '10 for its new 'No Achy Breaky' feature."

Somehow I don't think Madden would be the best mascot for a fitness game.

 

[Baked]

Wii Fit pre-orders sold out on Amazon.com. Got my pre-order in. /flex

 

[AstroManLuca]

When I saw the subtitle of this thread all I could think of was, "Peter Moore is going to make you his bitch."

 

[Elcs]

Had my Wii Fit for 12 days now... doing 30 minutes a day and I can feel a difference. Im a naturally slim guy... used to be fit due to playing a load of football but fallen out of favour with the sport after injury/surgery etc.

The balance games give you a better sense of balance, they make you focus on your back, posture and try to make you awaye of your centre of gravity. The games play like normal short games but subtley help you develop both mentally by making you aware of posture, muscles etc and physically by strengthening those muscles.

Being 6 foot tall, Ive been starting to suffer from bad backs.... the useless chairs at work dont help much but a bad back was occuring regularly. After using the Wii Fit for the first few days, my back muscles and side abdomen muscles ached like no-ones business but now 12 days in, my posture has improved and I am suffering less with my back and a persistant shoulder problem.

Its not the be all and end all, it should never be classed as a complete substitute to exercise like walking the dog or a proper gym workout but it does go a long way to giving people a base level of health and awareness.

EA releasing a fitness game? The board would either self-destruct with buggy software or the board would kick you off causing injury. Whilst I think another use for the balance board would be cool, plenty of avenues for Wii game makers to search through here.... EA making it doesnt fill me with optimism but we shall see.

Games for the Balance Board is a positive, good thing.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: RandomFool

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Since it's EA, I expect bugs to cause permanent and/or fatal injuries until it's patched 😉

"Yes, Madden Fit '09 still rarely causes broken bones, but we will not be patching this version any further. Buy Madden Fit '10 for its new 'No Achy Breaky' feature."

Somehow I don't think Madden would be the best mascot for a fitness game.

Now if they had Wii Chicken Wings and Nachos...