Active Life: Extreme Challenge now available

Namco Bandai Games America has shipped Active Life: Extreme Challenge has shipped to retail stores throughout North America for Wii. Namco Bandai’s entry in the fitness genre popularized bt Wii Fit and EA Sports Active promises an exercise regimen that combines the motion-sensing Wii Remote with an original mat controller that lets players use their whole body to participate in 15 “extreme sports activities.”

The game comes with the Active Life mat, a durable eight button peripheral that lets players control the on-screen action with their hands and feet when used in conjunction with a Wii Remote. Created with families in mind, the game encourages activities such as running and jumping, wakeboarding, rock climbing and base jumping, among many other mini-games that seek to make you sweat.

Active Life: Extreme Challenge for Wii is available as a bundle containing the game and one Active Life mat controller for a suggested retail price of $59.99.

Daisy Fuentes fitness title dated

SEGA of America’s answer to the video game fitness craze will be in stores in early August. Today Sega  of America announced that the interactive fitness title Daisy Fuentes Pilates will be hitting stores across North America on August 4th exclusively for Wii. Daisy Fuentes Pilates marks the first time a Pilates game has come to any console. This new program features customizable workouts, fitness tracking and real-time coaching from Daisy and is compatible with the Wii Balance Board.

Naturally, Daisy Fuentes Pilates exclusively for the Wii is rated E for Everyone.. For more information including tutorial videos, screens and more game check out www.daisyfuentespilates.com.

EA Sports Active getting an expansion this fall

EA Sports announced that it is working on an expansion pack to its fitness game, EA SPORTS Active. EA SPORTS says that EA SPORTS Active has sold 600,000 units worldwide at retail in less than two weeks on the market. EA SPORTS Active, which hit stores on May 19th in North America and by May 22nd worldwide, is a virtual fitness product developed exclusively for the Wii and offers the benefit of a virtual personal trainer in a box with customizable workouts that can be done from the comfort of home.

EA SPORTS will expand the genre this holiday season with a new expansion pack for EA SPORTS Active, designed to take your workout to the next level by adding more challenge and variety. Users will keep their heart pumping through interactive circuit workouts featuring 30 brand new activities and exercises that target the upper and lower body, as well as cardio. The expansion will also put an emphasis on core exercises including curl ups, crunch & punches, and a warm up/cool down feature.

Sports activities will include step aerobics, an obstacle course, squash and water skiing, and a further emphasis on combinations that will work the upper and lower body. An all-new presentation will feature the tropics and a new Six-Week Challenge - another step in the journey towards better health and fitness with new daily workouts that ramp up in intensity each week. This personalized full body challenge will give users a new customizable weekly schedule and a weekly check-in with the virtual trainer to track calorie, weight and workout goals.

EA Sports also announced that EA SPORTS Active will ship to retailers in Japan on August 6th. Look for the expansion this fall.

EA Sports Active Released

EA SPORTS has released EA SPORTS Active to North American retail stores and will be available worldwide by May 22. Developed for the Wii by EA Canada, EA SPORTS Active is a virtual fitness product i’d imagine EA hopes will take away some market share from the Wii Fit crowd. This product (which I am loathe to call a game) offers a personalized, customizable workout that can be done from the comfort of home. The workouts were created in collaboration with fitness expert Bob Greene, exercise physiologist, author and Oprah’s personal trainer.

EA SPORTS Active interactive uses circuit workouts from more than 25 different activities and exercises that target the upper and lower body, as well as cardio. The program provides guidance through visual and audio cues, while also delivering information on the number of calories burned in real time. Circuits can also be customized based on interests and fitness level promising flexibility and an adjustable intensity level.

EA SPORTS Active include the software, a specially-designed leg strap that holds the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, as well as a resistance band to increase the intensity to upper body exercises. The program can support two players at one time, and the EA SPORTS Active Accessory Pack containing one leg strap and one resistance band is available for an MSRP of $19.99 in North America. The product is also compatible with the Wii Balance Board, which will add components to the sports drills.

EA says that this product will be the first in a new line of EA SPORTS virtual fitness products - which I am sure we will hear about next month at E3.

EA SPORTS Active Announced

In an attempt to (in my opinion) cash in on the popularity of Wii Fit, EA has begun development on a new game called EA SPORTS Active. EA SPORTS Active is customizable and personalized fitness product, according to Peter Moore, being developed with the help of Bob Greene - “renowned exercise physiologist, author and Oprah’s personal trainer.” You had me at Oprah’s personal trainer, EA Sports.

EA SPORTS Active promises a variety of interactive activities combined into a circuit that target both the upper and lower body as well as cardio, and supports two players to allow family or friends to get fit together. While getting into your work-out the game provides on-screen, real-time feedback such as calories burned, etc. The title will ship with two leg straps that hold the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, as well as a resistance band to support a number of upper body strength training exercises.

EA SPORTS Active also offers a”30 Day Challenge,” a fitness road map for players to reach their fitness goals with the guidance of a virtual trainer. The Challenge provides a new, 20-minute workout every time a player exercises, including clear instruction, feedback on technique and positive encouragement throughout the workout. Users can also create their own custom workouts that vary in activity, duration and intensity, and use the Wii Balance Board to add functionality to many exercises.

EA SPORTS Active is scheduled for a Spring 2009 release. Don’t worry, this game won’t call little girls fat.