- Feb 14, 2004
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For me at least, indoor cardio is pretty boring. There are some cool wearables trying to make exercise more interactive, but I think gaming is where the future is at...if you can get sucked into a game that just so happens to also be exercise, then that'd be the bomb! I pre-ordered a simple VR exercise bike called the VirZoom ($250 shipped pre-order), coming out next year, which I think is pretty neat. More info here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2458088
This same technology could be applied to recumbent bikes & rowers for even more gameplay options, so I'm really interested to see where they go with this. This lets you get a cardio workout in, regardless of the outside weather, as well as do something fun (a videogame) & optionally play online with your friends.
Second one is an omni treadmill, another immersive VR product. Virtuix is probably the most popular one at this point, although it runs $700. Walk, jog, and possibly run in it. Can you imagine playing Zombie Run, but in 3D with this? And of course, their Youtube channel has GTA5, COD, Fallout, etc:
http://www.virtuix.com/
DDR is still around, if you like to do dance-cardio. StepMania, a DDR clone for PC, is still being actively developed:
http://www.stepmania.com/
Or BeatX on Android: (same idea, and you can hookup a DDR pad via USB to a tablet or whatever device you've got)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sk.maniacs.bm
Even more interesting, they came out with a fun game called Crypt of the Necrodancer, which incorporates more interesting dance music combined with a game. This is the type of thing I have in mind for fitness gaming...something that makes it really fun to do physical exercise & take your mind off what could otherwise be drudgery:
http://necrodancer.com/
And of course, there are camera & motion-based games for the Xbox Kinect & Wii:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/accessories/kinect-for-xbox-one
http://wiifit.com/my-wii-fit-plus/
Probably the most motion-oriented is the Just Dance games:
http://just-dance.ubi.com/en-us/tracklist/index.aspx
Anyway, wanted to kick off a discussion about gaming & fitness. I think anything you can do to make exercise more appealing will motivate you to do it more often & more consistently, which leads to improved health. With 2016 being the year of virtual reality headsets, I think we can look forward to some pretty awesome fitness-related games that involve running, biking, and so on. The future is cool to imagine, too...imagine doing a few boxing sessions of Punch-Out with a sensor-enabled punching bag:
http://www.impactwrap.com/
Lots of possibilities for motion-based target toys for stuff like martial arts as well. Or swim with the dolphins (or in the Olympics) with a swim trainer:
https://vasatrainer.com/vasa-trainer.html
Lots of neat opportunities with VR that puts you in the game!
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2458088
This same technology could be applied to recumbent bikes & rowers for even more gameplay options, so I'm really interested to see where they go with this. This lets you get a cardio workout in, regardless of the outside weather, as well as do something fun (a videogame) & optionally play online with your friends.
Second one is an omni treadmill, another immersive VR product. Virtuix is probably the most popular one at this point, although it runs $700. Walk, jog, and possibly run in it. Can you imagine playing Zombie Run, but in 3D with this? And of course, their Youtube channel has GTA5, COD, Fallout, etc:
http://www.virtuix.com/
DDR is still around, if you like to do dance-cardio. StepMania, a DDR clone for PC, is still being actively developed:
http://www.stepmania.com/
Or BeatX on Android: (same idea, and you can hookup a DDR pad via USB to a tablet or whatever device you've got)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sk.maniacs.bm
Even more interesting, they came out with a fun game called Crypt of the Necrodancer, which incorporates more interesting dance music combined with a game. This is the type of thing I have in mind for fitness gaming...something that makes it really fun to do physical exercise & take your mind off what could otherwise be drudgery:
http://necrodancer.com/
And of course, there are camera & motion-based games for the Xbox Kinect & Wii:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/accessories/kinect-for-xbox-one
http://wiifit.com/my-wii-fit-plus/
Probably the most motion-oriented is the Just Dance games:
http://just-dance.ubi.com/en-us/tracklist/index.aspx
Anyway, wanted to kick off a discussion about gaming & fitness. I think anything you can do to make exercise more appealing will motivate you to do it more often & more consistently, which leads to improved health. With 2016 being the year of virtual reality headsets, I think we can look forward to some pretty awesome fitness-related games that involve running, biking, and so on. The future is cool to imagine, too...imagine doing a few boxing sessions of Punch-Out with a sensor-enabled punching bag:
http://www.impactwrap.com/
Lots of possibilities for motion-based target toys for stuff like martial arts as well. Or swim with the dolphins (or in the Olympics) with a swim trainer:
https://vasatrainer.com/vasa-trainer.html
Lots of neat opportunities with VR that puts you in the game!