Public Voting Open For Active Gaming Awards

What are the best ‘exercise-games’ and hardware for 2010? Is it Microsoft Kinect, PlayStation Move or Nintendo Wii? These questions and more are the subject of a public vote in The Exergame Network Awards for 2010. Fifteen categories cover the new generation of Active Video Games (Exergames) with nominations from industry experts.

Public votes are being collected by The Exergame Network (TEN) at http://www.exergamenetwork.org and through social networking sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. The results will be released in the new year. Fifteen award categories include “Best Children’s Exergame”, “Best Seniors Exergame”, “Best Fitness Avatar” and conclude with the premier award “Best Home Exergame of 2010” that has the nominations PlayStation Move - Start the Party, Microsoft Kinect Sports, Nintendo Motion Plus - Wii Sports Resort, Ubisoft Just Dance for Wii, EA Sports Active 2 for Wii.

Most people have heard of Nintendo Wii but the world of Exergaming is much larger as indicated by the number of categories and the nominations included in the TEN Awards. Exergaming continues to expand its influence being represented on TEN by field specialists such as Sheryl Flynn from Games4Rehab. Mark C Barlet from Able Gamers and Dan Lawler from PE4Life.

"I am excited to be a part of TEN putting together these amazing awards, and I hope that companies see this as a further reason to drive innovation in the Exergaming genre. I hope this increases the awareness of gamers with disabilities and companies look to some of the new technologies emerging and find ways to further include them in the fun." says Mark C Barlet, CEO of the AbleGamers Foundation & Editor-in-Chief of AbleGamers.com.

“For the first time ever, you can nominate and vote for your favorite exergame as a way of saying "Thanks" to the development team that makes staying healthy or enduring arduous rehabilitation more FUN! By acknowledging our appreciation we are encouraging more development, research and application into the health, wellness, leisure and rehabilitation game space! Exercise your right to VOTE” adds Sheryl Flynn PT, PhD, co-founder games4rehab.org & CEO Blue Marble Game Co.

To vote for your favourite exergame click on “TEN AWARDS - VOTING” or go to The Exergame Network Facebook page. The results and winners will be announced on the TEN website in the new year. The nominations were assembled by the TEN Awards Committee and represent the best exergaming has to offer in many diverse fields.

Experts Rate “Exergames” for Consumers

Exergaming (Active Gaming) combines video games and exercise to provide a physically challenging but enjoyable experience. Traditionally, laboratory tests have been used to determine exertion levels and mainstream journalists review and rate a game’s game-play.

The Exergame Network (TEN) has created a next generation rating system which is ready for world wide release. TEN’s ratings system evaluates the holistic experience of an exergame in it’s Exergaming Experience Rating System (EERS)

TEN is a non-affliated, non-profit games for health exergaming advocacy. Its website portal is http://www.exergamenetwork.org/. TEN represents an international collaboration of dedicated health and fitness practitioners, exergame developers, researchers and clinicians, wellness entrepreneurs, all devoted to promoting an active and healthy lifestyle through exergaming.

The peer-reviewed EERS results have been compiled by a panel of world renowned exergaming experts. The system used to rate the exergame experience has taken a collaboration of over 12 months, driven by the previous lack of real world consumer information into the genre.

Exergames are not only scored on exercise and game play, including the physical interface between the two, but also on the interaction of seven further attributes including sustainability and intervention capacity. Six popular video games with an exercise component have been scored in the first results, including Wii Fit, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), Eyetoy Kinetic, Wii Sports, EA Sports Active and Rockband.

"With so many different games available on the market, a rating system for exergames like the EERS by TEN, is a welcome tool for healthcare practitioners trying to help their patients make the most appropriate choices for their families." says TEN contributor Dr Ernie Medina of MedPlay Technologies LLC.

The highest rated exergame, so far, is Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), which scored 63% with the popular Wii Fit making a mid-table position with 57%. TEN has a resource of over 40 exergames listed that will be peer-reviewed and rated over the next 12 months.

"The EERS results compliment the research work being done in the Exergame Lab at SUNY Cortland. While there is no substitute for scientific research in PE, the thorough rating system is extremely useful to consumers when looking at which product to purchase." says TEN contributor and exergame expert Stephen Yang.

The full Ratings table can be viewed at the TEN Blogsite http://exergamenetwork.blogspot.com/p/exergame-experience-rating-system.html and the resource of exergames at http://exergamenetwork.blogspot.com/p/exergame-products.html The Exergame Network can be joined or contacted via LinkedIn, Facebook, Wiki, Twitter or by email at info@exergamenetwork.org