EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer
Encyclopedia
EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer is a video game developed by EA Canada for the Wii
console. It was released on May 19, 2009 in North America. The game ships with a strappable pouch to hold the Nunchuk and a resistance band
.
The game is expected to be the first in a line of EA Sports Active branded games and related peripherals. An expansion, EA Sports Active: More Workouts, was released on November 17, 2009.
A follow-up, EA Sports Active 2, released in November 2010.
consisting of activities that use the motion controls of the Wii platform. Primarily played using the Wii Remote
, the game package includes a pouch that allows the player to strap the attached Nunchuk to their legs in order to track their lower body movements. The Wii Balance Board
is also supported but is not required for play.
The game features a number of exercise options supervised by a virtual personal trainer
including 20 minute workout regimens and a 30 Day Challenge mode that lets players set workout goals such as calories burned or a number of sessions while tracking their progress over time. The idea is that the weight loss will happen on its own if the calories burned goals in each workout are met or exceeded.
The game also awards trophies for reaching specific fitness landmarks such as accumulating 10 total workout hours, working out with a friend, and completing all the exercises in the 30 Day Challenge.
Players are also encouraged to create a custom workout session built around either personal favorite exercises, calorie goals (such as burning 100+ calories in one session), or targeting specific body areas. To help aid in creating a balanced workout, a percentage chart displays how much of the routine is devoted to either upper body, lower body, or cardio development. The intensity of the workout can be altered by changing the difficulty levels of either a single exercise or the entire routine.
's Wii Fit
. EA also saw a strong business opportunity in creating a game for people who need to work out yet do not have the time or are not comfortable doing so in public.
Celebrity personal trainer Bob Greene
was involved with developing the game.
One of the biggest critiques on EA's community message boards about the game was the lack of real resistance offered by the supplied elastic band. Many found that folding the band over itself as suggested by the game’s tutorial to be ineffective in increasing the resistance level. However, the supplied grips for the elastic band can be used with other elastic bands, specifically those used in pilates
, in order to increase the intensity of all upper body exercises.
EA claims that EA Sports Active has sold over 600,000 units worldwide between May 19, 2009 and June 1, 2009, and 1.8 million units in its quarter. It is EA's best selling Wii title.
The lack of an option to switch to left-handed has caused discontent for some left-handed users who have purchased the game as this is not advertised on the outer packaging.
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
console. It was released on May 19, 2009 in North America. The game ships with a strappable pouch to hold the Nunchuk and a resistance band
Resistance training
Resistance training has two different meanings. A broader meaning that refers to any training that uses a resistance to the force of muscular contraction , and elastic or hydraulic resistance, which refers to a specific type of strength training that uses elastic or hydraulic tension to provide...
.
The game is expected to be the first in a line of EA Sports Active branded games and related peripherals. An expansion, EA Sports Active: More Workouts, was released on November 17, 2009.
A follow-up, EA Sports Active 2, released in November 2010.
Gameplay
EA Sports Active is an exercise gameExergaming
Exergaming or exer-gaming is a term used for video games that are also a form of exercise. Exergaming relies on technology that tracks body movement or reaction. The genre has been credited with upending the stereotype of gaming as a sedentary activity, and promoting an active lifestyle...
consisting of activities that use the motion controls of the Wii platform. Primarily played using the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
, the game package includes a pouch that allows the player to strap the attached Nunchuk to their legs in order to track their lower body movements. The Wii Balance Board
Wii Balance Board
The Wii Balance Board is a balance board accessory for the Nintendo Wii video game console. Along with Wii Fit, it was introduced on July 11, 2007 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo...
is also supported but is not required for play.
The game features a number of exercise options supervised by a virtual personal trainer
Personal trainer
A personal trainer is a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Trainers also measure their client's strengths and weaknesses with fitness assessments...
including 20 minute workout regimens and a 30 Day Challenge mode that lets players set workout goals such as calories burned or a number of sessions while tracking their progress over time. The idea is that the weight loss will happen on its own if the calories burned goals in each workout are met or exceeded.
The game also awards trophies for reaching specific fitness landmarks such as accumulating 10 total workout hours, working out with a friend, and completing all the exercises in the 30 Day Challenge.
Players are also encouraged to create a custom workout session built around either personal favorite exercises, calorie goals (such as burning 100+ calories in one session), or targeting specific body areas. To help aid in creating a balanced workout, a percentage chart displays how much of the routine is devoted to either upper body, lower body, or cardio development. The intensity of the workout can be altered by changing the difficulty levels of either a single exercise or the entire routine.
Development
EA Sports' Peter Moore claims that EA Sports Active was developed to focus more on a higher-impact "Western" philosophy of exercise focused mainly on weight loss, compared to a lower-impact, stretching and balance based "Eastern" approach as taken by NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Wii Fit
Wii Fit
is a video game developed by Nintendo for the company's home video game console, Wii, designed by Hiroshi Matsunaga. It is an exercise game consisting of activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral...
. EA also saw a strong business opportunity in creating a game for people who need to work out yet do not have the time or are not comfortable doing so in public.
Celebrity personal trainer Bob Greene
Bob Greene (fitness guru)
Bob Greene is an American exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer specializing in fitness, metabolism, and weight loss. Greene is the creator of Best Life, a diet and fitness plan, and Best Life Foods, which sells a line of butter substitutes.Born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, he is a...
was involved with developing the game.
Reception
EA Sports Active has received generally positive reviews from video game critics and mainstream media.One of the biggest critiques on EA's community message boards about the game was the lack of real resistance offered by the supplied elastic band. Many found that folding the band over itself as suggested by the game’s tutorial to be ineffective in increasing the resistance level. However, the supplied grips for the elastic band can be used with other elastic bands, specifically those used in pilates
Pilates
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany, the UK and the USA. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States....
, in order to increase the intensity of all upper body exercises.
EA claims that EA Sports Active has sold over 600,000 units worldwide between May 19, 2009 and June 1, 2009, and 1.8 million units in its quarter. It is EA's best selling Wii title.
The lack of an option to switch to left-handed has caused discontent for some left-handed users who have purchased the game as this is not advertised on the outer packaging.