Director of NMSU's Learning Games Lab provides some holiday video game buying tips

As the holidays near, most parents have already begun shopping or are preparing to start, and for many parents, like myself, video games are number one on your children's list, which can cause anxiety if you are unaware of what type of game to give your kids. To help parents out, the director of our (New Mexico State University) Learning Games Lab, Barbara Chamberlin PhD, associate professor and extension instructional design and educational media specialist, wrote a simple guide, which offers parents tips on holiday shopping. One of her tips is to include active or “exergames” in holiday game purchases. Chamberlin said there are primarily two types of games to play: passive and active. Passive games involve the gamer playing the game solely with a controller, while active games require the gamer to stand, jump or move quickly and use controllers with their feet or hands. She suggested replacing some passive screen time with active screen time. She also recommends that parents use the Educational Software Review Board ratings printed on every game package as a guide. You can view Chamberlin's “Video Games Buying Guidelines”, as well as “Our Favorites Game Buying Guides”, which are a list of some of our favorite exergames and educational games for various consoles at our Learning Games Lab website www.learninggameslab.org.

Palo Alto develops online fitness course using Nintendo Wii

Starting Spring 2010 semester, Palo Alto College students, in San Antonio, will be able to earn college credit from their home just for getting fit using the Wii Fit. Dr. Robert Garza, dean of student affairs, came up with the idea for the course in 2007 as a way to engage more college students in fitness, and hopes that it will become a national model for innovative teaching and learning. Now that he is getting his concept started at Palo Alto, Dr. Garza has plans of expanding on this concept to neighboring elementary, middle and high school partners as a way to encourage more physical exercise, along with combating our nation’s obesity problem.

Woman loses weight with the Wii

Sherry Bridson, a South Lyon resident, lost 98 pounds using the Wii Fit her husband bought for her. She started out with a 30-minute routine and worked her way up to her current 90-minute routine. Bridson is a Wii Fit success story, and part of the growing trend of people who are getting fit the Wii way or getting fit through other exergaming titles. Now days you can walk through a video game aisle and see many exergame titles available and The American Council on Exercise (ACE) named technology-based fitness one of its top 10 trends of 2009. Exergaming can be good for people who don't care for gyms or group fitness classes, but as with any fitness program, you get out of it, what you put in to it.

Seniors love Wii Bowling

When Nintendo created the hardware and software that are behind Wii bowling, they did so with an eye toward expanding the traditional gaming demographic, and one audience that Wii bowling appeals to is our senior citizens. Perhaps part of the appeal of Wii bowling is the nostalgia, as it mimics the moves a bowler makes in an actual bowling alley, but whatever it is, senior citizens across the country are saying goodbye to shuffleboard and hello to Wii Bowling. Not only do they play the game during their leisure time, they have formed leagues and some even show up to practice daily. Amazingly, there are 186 teams and more than 1,000 bowlers in the throes of a virtual competition from California to New York as part of the National Senior League' Wii Bowling Competition.

Sports Authority to give away 30 Wii Fit Plus with Balance Boards

Starting Thanksgiving Day through Christmas, Sports Authority, will give away 30 Wii Fit Plus with balance boards. The following excerpt is from their website: Sports Authority is teaming up with Nintendo to create a new way to experience fitness gaming. The collaboration will allow Sports Authority to sell Wii gaming consoles, Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus, as well as various accessories and games for the Wii, in its stores. To launch the product and to help customers get to know the Wii better, Sports Authority will create a "We know fit. We know fun." experience at 102 of their stores. Stores will feature a dedicated area with a demo unit and knowledgeable trainers to help customers try the Wii Fit Plus before they buy. This will help moms trade static workouts for ones that involve fun and fitness for the whole family.
Starting November 26, visit here for your chance to win.

Nintendo wants to make holiday shopping more fun

Nintendo has announced a special holiday mall experience where games for the Wii and DSi will be available for play in multiple malls across the country. This gives parents and kids the chance to try out the games before they buy them. Games on display will include 2 popular exergames, Wii Fit plus and Wii Sports Resort, among other non-exergames. The mall promotion begins on Nov. 23 and runs through Dec. 20. Check the list to see if there is a location near you.

Oprah's trainer talks about "Video Game Workouts"

Bob Greene admits he's no fan of TVs and computers, because he says they've made us stop moving as a culture, however he is promoting EA Sports Active: More Workouts. He actually had a lot of hands on involvement with creating some of the workouts in the game. He says he was really blown away by these exercises in "Sports Active." He was sweating, and his legs were burning. See what else he has to say about video game workouts.