How Do 'Exergames' Effect the Public?

According to many surveys of health in America, a majority of American adults are overweight or obese. (http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/) With those kinds of statistics, the last thing we should probably do is spend more time watching television and movies. Fortunately, the quickly-growing trend of ‘exergaming’ is a possible solution to this problem.

Even though exergaming has existed since near the beginning of video games, it isn’t until recently that the trend has really exploded in popularity. With the release of games such as Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Wii Fit, more people are finding enjoyment in exercise. Games such as these create goals for people to reach in fun environments. People often don’t go to the gym and exercise on their own because of cost or lack of motivation to do so. These games are a one-time cost that last for a good period of time and also overcome the lack of motivation, seeing as video games are often an alternative to motivating oneself.

When I used to play DDR, I would go to the arcade with my friends and we would take turns playing or even play together, since the arcade game allows for two players to compete. We would all motivate each other by trying to beat each others’ scores. Our skill levels at the game would increase with practice, therefore increasing the difficulties we would play at. Higher difficulties meant more exercise, but none of us saw it that way. It was simply a fun thing to do on the weekends. I met a lot of people through that medium. When I bought the home version, my parents would even play, even though they rarely took interest in other video games. These sorts of games seem to transcend normal generation gaps and boundaries even.

With the Wii being so unusual in its controls and general gameplay, it has been able to draw attention from many people who wouldn’t normally play video games themselves. It has gained the interest of all ages and genders. Since this system already supports more physical interaction than previous systems, it is easier for developers to release different sorts of exergames for it. When Wii Fit was released, stores couldn’t keep it on the shelves. The game still sits at number 7 on the sales charts after 14 weeks, since its release date in June of this year. (http://www.vgchartz.com/aweekly.php#hard) And after its 92^nd week, Wii Sports, another exergame for the Wii, sits even higher at number 4 on the charts. These numbers really show the popularity of these games with the public.

With games like these being so popular to the public, many gamers and non-gamers alike are becoming more active in their own homes. People are hanging on to the things they enjoy doing, but at the same time are becoming more active and often even losing weight from games like these. Exergames are proving to be a great alternative to traditional methods of staying fit and don't seem to be losing their momentum.