14 DAY TRIAL // Fitness games are becoming more and more popular these days, with Nintendo's Wii Fit holding a massive percent of the market and managing record sales in the countries where it has been launched. Seeing the massive success of the Japanese game, Electronic Arts decided that a more Western-oriented title would definitely appeal to customers.
Thus, the company tasked its Sports label to produce a game that would combine popular elements of aerobics and fitness into a single package, designed to give the large number of Nintendo Wii console owners a great experience. Peter Moore, the president of the EA Sports label has already talked about the differences between his company's upcoming game and the Wii Fit title, emphasizing the fact that EA Sports Active would have a greater appeal to the Western audience.
This time around he elaborated on the role of the peripheral in the future game and how it would allow players to enjoy a better experience. Wii Fit was shipped with the balance board accessory that tracked the player's balance and changes of weight, displaying them on the screen. With this title, the balance board will be replaced by a neoprene peripheral that will strap the Wii Remote or Nunchuk to the leg of the player.
"We've spent a lot of time working with Nintendo on making sure it's snug, that it doesn't move, that it's not inadvertently hitting buttons on either the Nunchuk or the Wii Remote. Either of them can go into the pouch, so getting the pouch shaped right was crucial. So was getting the sizing right, as it will come with two strap sizes in the box, one large and one small. The real secret is getting the remote snugly attached to the body through these straps. Then, obviously, the software recognizes what you're doing, and that's reflected on your character on the screen," said Moore, speaking with Gamespot.
This will definitely be a very interesting peripheral but we have to wait until the launch of EA Sports Active to see if the money the company spent on developing it were justified. Look forward to this new fitness game in the first quarter of 2009.