Millions of people around the world have experienced the revolution in home fitness since last spring with EA SPORTS Active™, the number one rated fitness program for the Wii™**. Today, EA SPORTS™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced that EA SPORTS Active 2.0* (working title) is now in development and will be available this fall on PlayStation®3, Wii™, iPhone® and iPod touch®. The new EA SPORTS Active 2.0* fitness program will deliver true fitness results by featuring an innovative wireless control system, powered by new leg and arm straps with motion sensors, a heart rate monitor to capture intensity, and a new online hub to track and share workout data. EA SPORTS Active 2.0* will make working out simple, effective and will go with you wherever you are.

“The launch of EA SPORTS Active 2.0* will define a new era of interactive fitness with the use of innovative motion sensor peripherals and a heart rate monitor that provide users with a fitness experience delivering real, measurable results,” said Tarrnie Williams, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS Active. “As the number one rated fitness program for the Wii**, EA SPORTS Active proved itself as the industry leader and provided the foundation for our fitness franchise. The success stories we’ve received from our users show that EA SPORTS Active is changing lives and we’re so proud to be part of it.”

The new EA SPORTS Active 2.0* innovative wireless control system will give users complete freedom of motion, making it even easier to get a workout that delivers great results. Using innovative heart rate detection technology, the heart rate monitor will help users monitor intensity, providing constant on-screen monitoring throughout the workout and tracking user data over time to optimize performance. The EA SPORTS Active 2.0* online hub will allow users to track and share all of their workout data, providing a centralized destination for all fitness, wellness and training needs. It will host a thriving online global community of EA SPORTS Active users who can share their fitness journeys, interact with workout groups and send messages to each other online to stay inspired and engaged. Users will also have the ability to download new workouts and exercises to their online connected PlayStation3 console to keep their workouts fresh and maintain motivation***.

EA SPORTS Active 2.0* provides total body conditioning using progressive exercise in new prescribed programs. A three-phase, nine-week program provides a fitness roadmap to help keep users motivated and on track of their fitness goals. Additional mini-programs will also be available to add on, keeping workouts fresh and inspiring. The EA SPORTS Active personal trainer will walk users through their workout and provide continued encouragement with feedback to ensure an optimal workout experience.

EA SPORTS Active 2.0* is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver. It has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI; visitwww.esrb.org and www.pegi.info for updated rating information. For more information please visit www.easportsactive.com.

* Working Title

** According to Metacritic.com, March 9th, 2010

*** Internet connection and EA account required

Related Posts

• May 19, 2009 -- Fitness Goes Virtual: EA SPORTS Active Arrives in Stores Offering Benefit of Personal Trainer in a Box
• November 13, 2008 -- EA Sports Active: More Fitness for Wii
• May 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active – 30 Day Challenge starts June 1st
• May 28, 2009 -- NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer coming to Wii in September
• June 16, 2008 -- Wii used for Physical Therapy, Fitness Ultimatum 2009 coming this fall

When doctors disassembled the board, they found the accelerometers and strain gauges to be of “excellent” quality. “I was shocked given the price: it was an extremely impressive strain gauge set-up,” said lead researcher Ross Clark, in an interview with New Scientist.

Impaired standing balance has a detrimental effect on a person’s functional ability and increases their risk of falling. There is currently no validated system which can precisely quantify center of pressure (COP), an important component of standing balance, while being inexpensive, portable and widely available. The Wii Balance Board (WBB) fits these criteria, and we examined its validity in comparison with the ‘gold standard’—a laboratory-grade force platform (FP).

Thirty subjects without lower limb pathology performed a combination of single and double leg standing balance tests with eyes open or closed on two separate occasions. Data from the WBB were acquired using a laptop computer.

The test–retest reliability for COP path length for each of the testing devices, including a comparison of the WBB and FP data, was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland–Altman plots (BAP) and minimum detectable change (MDC). Both devices exhibited good to excellent COP path length test–retest reliability within-device (ICC = 0.66–0.94) and between-device (ICC = 0.77–0.89) on all testing protocols.

Examination of the BAP revealed no relationship between the difference and the mean in any test, however the MDC values for the WBB did exceed those of the FP in three of the four tests. These findings suggest that the WBB is a valid tool for assessing standing balance. Given that the WBB is portable, widely available and a fraction of the cost of a FP, it could provide the average clinician with a standing balance assessment tool suitable for the clinical setting.

More information: Science Direct, New Scientist

Related Posts

• June 16, 2008 -- Wii used for Physical Therapy, Fitness Ultimatum 2009 coming this fall
• January 21, 2011 -- Wii Fit helps Woman Diagnose onset of Parkinsons
• March 10, 2010 -- EA Sports Active Adds Heart Rate Monitor, Wireless Motion Sensors
• November 20, 2009 -- Wii: Great for Exercise and Senior Centers
• July 14, 2009 -- Using Nintendo Wii to Teach CPR?

The amount of energy adults expend playing active video games may equal that of moderate-intensity exercise, according to a new study.  Also, Los Angeles City Department of Aging and SCAN Health Plan have joined together to provide Wii consoles to the city’s 16 Multipurpose Senior Centers (MPC).

Japanese researchers measured the metabolic equivalent values (a standard method of estimating energy expenditure) of 12 people ages 25 to 44 as they played Wii sports games and did Wii fitness programs. The study was funded by Nintendo, which makes Wii.The study found that nine Wii activities had less than two metabolic equivalent values (METs); 23 activities had two to three METs; nine activities had three to four METs; and five activities had more than four METs. The least intense activity was lotus focus (1.3 METs), and the most intense was the single-arm stand (5.6 METs).

Light-intensity exercise is less than three METs, moderate-intensity exercise is three to six METs and vigorous activity is more than six METs, according to the American Heart Association. An adult walking at 3 miles an hour on a flat surface expends about 3.3 METs.

“The range of energy expenditure in these active games is sufficient to prevent or to improve obesity and lifestyle-related disease, from heart disease and diabetes to metabolic diseases,” the study’s lead author, Motohiko Miyachi, a project leader at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Tokyo, said in a news release from the American Heart Association.

The findings were to be presented Monday at the association’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Though yoga and balance exercises are much less intense than resistance and aerobic exercise, they help improve flexibility and reduce the risk for falls, according to the researchers.

Not only that, but here’s more about the senior centers use of Nintendo Wii:

Los Angeles-area seniors will soon have the opportunity to be bowling champions, and they don’t have to be able to heave a heavy ball down a waxed runway. That’s because the Los Angeles City Department of Aging and SCAN Health Plan have joined together to provide Wii consoles to the city’s 16 Multipurpose Senior Centers (MPC).”SCAN’s mission has always been to promote healthy and independent aging in the communities we serve,” said Roger Lapp, senior vice president at SCAN, a not-for-profit health plan. “One of the best things you can do to remain healthy and independent is to keep moving. Virtual bowling is a fun and easy way to do that.”

This type of bowling has become popular among seniors as it provides them a chance to engage in an activity that they might otherwise not be able to do. The game involves pressing a button on a wireless controller and moving your arm to mimic the motion of rolling a ball.

“Thanks to this technology, seniors who were once confined to a sedentary lifestyle due to hip, shoulder or knee pain can now enjoy the sports they once played,” said Laura Trejo, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Aging. “This is an excellent opportunity to engage in a fun, physical and social activity in support of a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Seven of the city’s 16 MPCs have received their consoles from SCAN already: St. Barnabas MPC, Freda Mohr MPC, Hollywood MPC, Felicia Mahood MPC, PCS West MPC, Theresa Lindsay MPC and Bradley MPC. At St. Barnabas an 83-year-old who had never played before was showing other seniors how to maneuver through the game by the end of the morning.

“When Wii came to our center, we believed it was easy enough for anyone to play, but we were surprised how quickly our seniors took to it,” said Rigo Saborio, executive director of St. Barnabas Senior Services. “It provides an opportunity for our participants to engage in a different kind of active program that offers fun physical exercise as well as mental stimulation. The collaboration and support of SCAN Health Plan and Los Angeles City Department of Aging will truly enrich the lives of our participants.”

Jewish Family Services received their game console last month. “Our clients have said they can’t wait to begin participating on a regular basis,” said Susan Mendlowitz-Belgrade, LCSW, director of Freda Mohr Center, Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. “We can’t thank SCAN enough for supporting us.”

In the coming weeks, SCAN will complete its donations by delivering Wii units to the nine other LADOA MPCs throughout Los Angeles.

Related Posts

• November 13, 2008 -- EA Sports Active: More Fitness for Wii
• June 16, 2008 -- Wii used for Physical Therapy, Fitness Ultimatum 2009 coming this fall
• January 21, 2011 -- Wii Fit helps Woman Diagnose onset of Parkinsons
• June 30, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 29 – Final Day of Challenge
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 28 – Upper Body Workouts

Real Heroes: Firefighter is a first-person action game that is exclusive to the Nintendo Wii.  It is being developed by Epicenter Studios and published by Conspiracy Entertainment.  The game is made to be a realistic firefighting game that puts you into the career of a firefighter, answering calls to save lives.

It features voices from stars such as Michael Jace from the hit TV series, The Shield, as well as Buffy and Angel star: James Marsters. Other familiar voices include comedian Jamie Kennedy, as well as Jenette Goldstein from the film Aliens, character actor Jack McGee and Gears of War’s voice actor John Di Maggio.

Part of the proceeds will be used for supporting real life firefighters.

You can learn more about Real Heroes: Firefighter by visiting the Official Epicenter Studios Website.

I’m betting that if this one does well, we might see other games in the same vein, such as Real Heroes: Police Officer and Real Heroes: Paramedic.  I can dream, right?

Related Posts

• May 19, 2009 -- Wii game Real Heroes: Firefighters to Donate to Firefighter Cancer Support Network
• January 26, 2009 -- Real Heroes: Firefighters coming to Wii this Spring

ProCPR has long understood the value of keeping your skills fresh between classroom visits, which is why we’ve been able to train so many people online for many years now.  Our students also recognize that value. So it comes as no surprise that CPR training is coming to the Wii.

The American Heart Association has pledged $50,000 to fund the work of University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) biomedical engineering undergraduate students who are working to develop a computer program that teaches CPR using hand-held remote controls from the Nintendo® Wii video game console.

UAB researchers test the Wii CPR program

Students James McKee, Jack Wimbish, Haisam Islam and Zach Clark began work on the project as seniors at UAB. Along with faculty advisers Greg Walcott, M.D., associate professor of medicine, and Jack Rogers, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical engineering, the team has been developing the Wii CPR technology for the last seven months. Based on an idea initiated by Walcott, the technology is a computer program that can be downloaded on home computers and synched with the wireless technology of the Wii remote to teach users proper CPR technique.

“We began talking about the possibility of using the Nintendo Wii to teach CPR last January, and that is when we initially contacted the American Heart Association about the idea,” Walcott said. “The Heart Association wanted a better sense of how it might work, so we assigned the research to our senior year biomedical engineering students this past spring semester for their senior project.”

The UAB team worked on the Wii CPR project for its Design in BME biomedical engineering course, which required the students to successfully design and construct a prototype of the technology for real-world use in order to pass the course. After a successful class presentation in May, which showed the students’ progress and the real potential for the technology, the American Heart Association contacted UAB to offer the education grant, Rogers said.

“The Heart Association’s high interest in our students’ innovations points to potential of this project and how it fits in with its desire to deliver reliable CPR education to the masses,” Rogers said.

When completed, the UAB Wii CPR program will become available on the American Heart Association Web site as an open source code download, which would make it free and available to anyone with Internet access. The UAB team says it could complete its program development by early fall of 2009.

My question is, if it’s a download for the PC, how does it actually interface with the Wii Remote? It sounds good on paper, but I’ve only heard of things like this working with hacks.

UAB Engineering Students use the Wii for CPR from uabnews on Vimeo.

Related Posts

• April 2, 2008 -- Hands-Only CPR
• May 28, 2009 -- NewU Fitness First Personal Trainer coming to Wii in September
• February 17, 2009 -- Padres reliever Heath Bell credits Wii Fit for Weight Loss Help
• November 25, 2008 -- For Cardiac Arrest, Gasping is Good
• September 24, 2008 -- Paramedic Seeks to Save Lives with Free Training

One thing’s for sure, though.  I didn’t gain any weight over the last 30 days.  In fact, I lost .2 pounds.  What does this mean?  Well, I’m going to do another challenge next.  However, this challenge will be my own rules.  More on that in a moment.

I had some problems with the jump squats again.  I went at the game’s pace, and it thought that I was moving too fast.  It sensed my motion after each jump, and thought that I was moving into the next jump.  It gets really tiring being told that you’re going too fast, when you’re simply doing as told.  I didn’t have problems with the game locking up at all this time.  I’m hoping that is a thing of the past, though I still have to send in the Wii to get it fixed.

So, for this day, the projected calorie burn was 125.8.  Actual Burn: 138.3!

Projected Total Calorie Burn for all 20 workouts: 2662.5

Actual Total Calorie Burn for all 20 workouts: 2899.7

A difference of 237.2 calories.

I’m pretty satisfied with that, but not with my overall results.  Sure, I can feel some results, but I can’t see any.  So, what’s next then?  Well, I am going to do the 30 day challenge again, though this time I’ll be blogging about it only one time per week.  My plan is to do the challenge on Easy this time.  Why?  Because I’m going to couple the challenge with Wii Fit.  I’ve had it for over a year and haven’t really used it.  In fact, it just sat in the box for many many months.  I was excited to locate a copy, but when it came to doing something with it, I never really got into that.

So, what I’m going to be doing is what I will call the Wii Fit / Active Challenge.  With weekly blogs about my progress, I think that seeing actual results will be very helpful.  Something that Wii Fit provides is what I don’t have in my house.  A scale for your weight.

The great thing that EA Sports Active has done, though, is that it’s helped me to strengthen areas that I’ll likely be using in Wii Fit.  Let me stress again that EA Sports Active is a program that works.  Sure, I didn’t lose weight, really, but that was my fault, for the most part.  I was excited to see myself a few pounds lighter, and when that didn’t happen, I wondered if it was the ten pound bag of sugar that I was holding.  Couldn’t have been that, so what was it?  Probably nothing.  I put in a solid effort, and should have been doing more on the side.  In fact, the game encourages it.

That being said, the game gets high marks for me.  It’s made me want to be more active.  It’s made me want to keep going, it’s made me want to lose weight, and it’s made me actually interested in playing.  Instead of the drab backgrounds and “yoga” (yawn) inspired trainings in Wii Fit, this game had colorful backgrounds, there were other people working out with you, in game; and you have a personal trainer to reinforce your efforts.

I’m excited by the prospect of the future with this product.  While I use Wii Fit, I’ll likely finish another 30 day challenge, though on easy this time.  After that, I’ll very likely turn up the heat to hard mode.  By September, I want to see some real physical results.

Order EA Sports Active at Amazon.com

Related Posts

• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 28 – Upper Body Workouts
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 25 and 26 – Software Errors
• June 24, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 23 – Not a good day
• June 23, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 22 – Lots of Upper Body
• June 22, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 19 and 20 – REALLY HARD DAYS

It was a really simple one to complete, focusing entirely on the upper body.  While I was doing this workout, I decided to blast the soundtrack to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which some tracks worked better to keep me moving than others, but overall the effect was great.  I didn’t have to listen to the trainer tell me to go, when the game didn’t actually want me to, and I could still tell when to do the next rep, because of a box on the screen that flashed.

However, the game did confuse me with something that I had never seen before.  At first I thought it had frozen again, not hearing the annoying buzzing sound that came with it.  But then, in the middle of the screen popped what looked like a music player.  The controls on it were small, and I could barely make out the number 1 on it, at first.  Turns out, pressing the 1 button allows you to change the music that you’re working out too, in game.  Funny that I discover this feature after turning on my own music.

The exercises today were pretty simple, and afterward I went for a walk around the neighborhood to clear my head.  More on that in the next entry today.  I was shocked by the low estimate for the projected calorie burn, but as I went through the routine, I was grateful for it, because the routines included were all about strength, and wouldn’t burn that many calories.

Tomorrow is the last day of exercises for the 30 day challenge.  With two days on, one day off, day 30 is a rest day.  It’ll be the 20th workout of the challenge, and the trainer says that it’ll incorporate a lot various activities.  I’m looking forward to it, and to finally take a look and see if all of this work, over the past 30 days, has helped me to lose some weight.  Stay tuned for that.

Projected Calorie Burn: 86.1; Actual: 97.3!

Order EA Sports Active at Amazon.com

Related Posts

• June 30, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 29 – Final Day of Challenge
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 25 and 26 – Software Errors
• June 24, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 23 – Not a good day
• June 23, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 22 – Lots of Upper Body
• June 22, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 19 and 20 – REALLY HARD DAYS

What caused the glitch?  Who really knows.  The Wii has moving parts, being a disc based system, and being on a carpetted floor as I was doing routines that included jumping can not have been good for it.  I really don’t think it moved all that much at all, but I think the slight motion every few seconds finally got to it.

Anyway, onto the training.  These two days were rough.  Day 25 was absolutely terrible.  I started out getting through more than half of the exercises, over 70 calories burned, and then the game froze.  There was nothing I could do at that point but cheat my way through, and do it with little to no effort.  A feat that I very easily achieved over the next ten or fifteen minutes.

Projected Calorie Burn: 106.3, after a restart: 104.6. (So the game thinks).  It was one of those things where, when I cheated, the game got my calorie count wrong by a couple of calories by the same point that I had reached before.  In actual numbers, I would have beaten the projection.  Because the game does not let you fix things, I cannot change that.

Day 26 went better.  TONS better.  I didn’t have it lock up one time.  Projected Cal Burn: 102.1; Actual: 104.3!

It incorporated a lot of lower body exercises, though, and I again ran into one recurring problem.  The game tells me “jump now” so I do, and it tells me to do that three more times, so I do, and then it tells me “You’re going too fast.” Followed by “You’re setting a great pace with this exercise.”  All of the contradictions were really frustrating me.

Not only that, but when I pause on something, sometimes I move around a little bit from side to side, after finishing a move and when I’m standing up straight.  The game waits for me to stop moving completely.  I thought this was a workout.  Instead it’s sometimes a manikin workout.  Let’s see the game loosen up a little bit on movements after you stand up.  Somehow, it’s gotta be able to sense when you’re really ready to do the rep, without forcing you to stand totally still.

Overall, though, I’m happy with myself for keeping up with the software and not getting too discouraged, although sometimes I wanted to quit.  I walked around for a while to cool down.  I realize, however, that when I send my Wii in for repair, I might lose 60+ hours of game saves, from such titles as Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Nights: Journey of Dreams.  And that’s really unfortunate.  Nintendo should allow copy of ALL data for emergency back-ups.  There are records there that will probably take even longer for me to complete again.

But that’s neither here nor there at the moment.

Two workout days remain.

Order EA Sports Active at Amazon.com

Related Posts

• June 30, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 29 – Final Day of Challenge
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 28 – Upper Body Workouts
• June 24, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 23 – Not a good day
• June 23, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 22 – Lots of Upper Body
• June 22, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 19 and 20 – REALLY HARD DAYS

First: I had to cheat to get the number of calories that I had already burned up until that point, and I managed to find a way to cheat with zero extra exersion on my part.

Suggestion: Have an emergency entry, so that the exercises that you have completed, as well as the number of calories, can be entered in times of crisis.  Without penalties toward your record.  If people use it to cheat, then it’s on them.. have it on an honor system, where the game doesn’t recognize it as your entry, but rather sees it the way it would if completed normally.  This would have saved me time getting back to the exercise I was ACTUALLY on.

Second: This is a problem that I have faced time and again, and today was no exception.  I would complete a rep, and the game didn’t recognize that the rep was complete, forcing me to do extra reps of the same move.

Suggestion: Add a button press that allows you to confirm the completion of a rep.  Make it difficult to do that, or something.  And have it generate the number of calories burned based on an average of the other reps in the exercise.

Third: I had problems, today, with the Wii Balance Board for Inline Skating.  It didn’t recognize that I was crouched down, when I was the entire time.  I should have been seeing the calories going up, but because I didn’t, I wound up cheating my way through that.  I didn’t want to get short changed on the calorie burn from that workout.

Suggestion: Use Wii Motion Plus for greater accuracy we the calorie counting. It gets kinda old when you’re in the middle of a maneuver and the calorie count stops moving.

Today, I also completed the last of all of the workouts that are involved in the game.  So I’ve done litterally everything that this game has to offer.  I’ve only got about four workouts left to go in this challenge, so stay tuned to find out what happens next, and to see how much weight I have lost from doing this program alone, without a change in diet.

Projected Cal Burn: 135.8; Actual: 133.5.  Boo.  Thanks, game, for freezing.  This is the second time the game has frozen on me in the middle of working out.  I blame the game, as no other games have ever done that prior or since.

Order EA Sports Active at Amazon.com

Related Posts

• June 30, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 29 – Final Day of Challenge
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 28 – Upper Body Workouts
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 25 and 26 – Software Errors
• June 23, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 22 – Lots of Upper Body
• June 22, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 19 and 20 – REALLY HARD DAYS

There are some exercises, like the standing leg lift crunches (?) that I have no idea what they’re for.  It’s hard to tell why it’s even a workout.  Perhaps I’ll figure it out someday.

The point that I forgot in yesterday’s entry was about the encouragement of the trainer.  Throughout each exercise, he encourages you to set a great pace.  He tells you to push your limits, and he says to keep up the effort.  But when he tells you to go a little faster, and then he tells you to slow down immediately after you do, that’s something that I get pretty annoyed with.

And the earlier complaint held true today as well.  During alternating side lunges with toe touches, I got to the top of one lunge, and decided to just go into the next.  The game of course, has to read the remote as not moving in order to know to move onto the next rep.  Please please please incorporate the new Wii Motion Plus so that the game really does know when you’re doing things.  It’ll make for a much more accurate calorie count on many of the exercises as well.

Projected Calorie Burn 116.1; Actual: 128.6

Order EA Sports Active at Amazon.com

Related Posts

• June 30, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 29 – Final Day of Challenge
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 28 – Upper Body Workouts
• June 29, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 25 and 26 – Software Errors
• June 24, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Day 23 – Not a good day
• June 22, 2009 -- EA Sports Active Blog: Days 19 and 20 – REALLY HARD DAYS