Video game fitness games no replacement for real exercise

Chris Barbosa

Since the launch of the Xbox Kinect and Nintendo Wii Balance Board, gamers have become excited and found a reason to stay active while playing. However, this is no excuse to stop going to the gym and engage into traditional physical activity.

Motion detection game consoles are a big hit in the gaming industry. Dancing like Michael Jackson and training like your favorite UFC fighter can be a great time and does some physical activity. But, it doesn’t replace the experience a person gets at the gym.

Playing games like “Just Dance” are a lot of fun, especially with friends at parties. The way the controls make the games easy to begin playing without too much experience.

Realistically, fun is all it’s good for. Nothing more.

With just exercising at home, there is only so much someone can do. Most people don’t have all the equipment of a full gym at home.

There is not much space to move around. The Kinect has a much wider range of motion than the Wii Balance Board does. Kinect still has limitations. Gamers still have to worry about not hitting furniture or knocking things over if they really get into the game.

“It’s really more of a first-step to fitness,” said Kevin Reyes, Games Room employee at Sacramento State. “It’s more for play rather than fitness. It’s trying to get more people to be slightly active while they enjoy spare time rather than sitting in front of the screen.”

Reyes and other Games Room employees have ran gaming tournaments, including ones involving the Kinect. Earlier this semester, a “Just Dance 3” tournament was held, which enabled students to show off their dance moves at different skill levels. Reyes helped developed these events with UNIQUE as partners.

The drawback to the Wii Balance Board is people have to hold onto the remote while balancing.

The Kinect’s motion capabilities are freer for people to move around without the use of any controllers.

Its structure consists of a camera picking up the skeletal frame of a person’s entire body.

The accuracy is what brought a lot of skepticism amongst gamers.

Dance games can be tricked at times, which means that the player can miss one or more moves during a dance routine and still earn tremendous amounts of points.

Most people are familiar with Michael Jackson’s routines in the videos for his biggest hits, such as “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.” It’s a shame any move is left out while playing “The Michael Jackson Experience” for the Kinect.

Gamers can say what they want and claim they get a good workout at home, but video game fitness will never beat getting up and going to the gym.

“It’s not good for strength, but good for cardio,” said Michael Pagaduan, health science major and a member at The Well. “Going to the gym is a better idea and you get more motivation. Video game fitness is only good if you want to get a good 10 to 15 minutes, which is only good for people who are just starting to workout.”

Video game exercise is merely a shell of a fitness workout. Eventually, someone is going to have to step up a level higher and turn off their TV’s if they really want to get in good shape. 

Chris Barbosa can be reached at [email protected]