We've all heard of exergaming, but what do you get when you mix a hacked Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner with a balance board? You get exercleaning. Housewives the world over rejoice. Now you can combine exercise and the pesky household chores into one time-saving activity, freeing you up for more daytime telly.

Seriously though, I don't really see any practical application for this particular techno-marriage but you've got to admire the ingenuity.

As promised last week, here's a roundup of the latest game assets for Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip. First up, info from the factsheet.

• Hit the Slopes with the Wii Balance Board
  Get yourself into the game like never before by using the Balance Board to control your rider. Control your jumps and tricks with the intuitiveness and fun of having a snowboard in your own living room.
• Exclusive World Tour
  Everybody loves a road trip! You and your crew travel the world to participate in a variety of the fun and exciting events to become a world-renowned athlete. Hit the half-pipe competitions, race down the mountains, or just do some freeriding – there’s plenty of boarding action to satisfy all your needs.
• Round the Globe with Shaun White
  Ubisoft worked in close contact with Shaun White in order to infuse the experience with the most authentic elements of his riding style, personality and sense of humor. Shaun will act as a good-natured friend and mentor to the player, hooking him up with the right friends to conquer challenges together, introduce him to new locales, or simply be around to share in a laugh.
• Play Together
  Engage in a seamlessly integrated multiplayer experience for two to four players in both cooperative and competitive gameplay.
• Get Your Own Crew
  In the world of snowboarding, it pays to have friends on your side. Your crew of friends will always be there to help you by offering you unique abilities to improve both your riding and keeping you grounded with friendly pranks; filming all the antics along the way.
• Dare to Be the Best
  Undertaking Dares from your friends will lead you to snowboard in a variety of events such as Slopestyles, Big Airs, Half Pipes, Rail Jams, Slaloms, Bordercross and Downhill events. You can even chill in the backcountry with your friends and enjoy riding at your own pace.

Next up, some of the latest screenshots which are looking great.

This year's winner at GC 2008 in the category Best Wii Game was none other that EA's Skate It. no real surprise really - it was always going to be a two horse race in my opinion between Skate It and Shaun White Snowboarding and I would have been happy with either one taking first spot. Here's what GC had to say:

"The Wii Fit Balance Board can do much more than just aerobics and yoga: by shifting weight and skilful use of the Nunchuk, the player carries out the most amazing tricks in (four) virtual roles. A genuine skater feel is created on the run through half-pipes and over ramps. 'Skate it' gives an authentic and original recreation of the trend sport and benefits from the special features of the Nintendo console."

Ubisoft really seem to be pushing their Imagine range of games for girls. I notice that they released a factsheet for Imagine Fashion Party so I thought I'd take a peek (it's Friday afternoon and I was bored ok).

The aim of the game is to star in a TV show and compete in a series of challenges to "show the world that you are the best young fashion designer". Using the Wiimote and Nunchuck as scissors, hair brushes or makeup applicator you will be able to express your creativity in numerous workshops including Hair, Makeup, Clothing and Accessories. Oh and by the way, "Also compatible with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory!". What?

There's no explanation of how the balance board is used or any kind of hint at possible mini-games that could logically use it so I'm at a bit of a loss as to how it features but there you go, another "Wii Balance Board Compatible" game for the list. Is every game going to be compatible from now on?

There hasn't been any substantial balance board games news for a little while now but that's all changed as GC 2008 kicks into high gear and the press releases flow. Here's a quick update on balance board news that matters.

Kororinpa 2

First up on the new games front is Kororinpa 2, Konami's ball-rolling maze game. If you like the Wii Fit marbles game then you are going to love this one. 100 levels of ball-rolling mayhem although, rather disappointingly, only 10 levels are said to be balance board compatible. The game will also include multiplayer support and an editor so that you can create your own levels and balls. Kororinpa 2 is scheduled for release in Europe Q1 2009.

Babysitting Party

Ubisoft released some more details on Babysitting Party (previously Babies Party).

More than 30 mini-games - Enjoy exciting and various games inspired by babies daily life:

• Take care of them
• Help them progress with memory games, puzzles, coloring and cutting up activities
• Entertain them through hilarious mini-games

Solo or multiplayer modes for every desire - Choose which character you want to embody:

• As a babysitter, you'll have to take care alone of these adorable little monsters!
• As a baby, you can play up to 4 players with your friends, and do what was always forbidden.

Easy gameplay for immediate fun:

• Thanks to intuitive motions the game is easy to pick-up and play and the use of the Wii Balance Board makes the Party Games experience brand new.

A great story to live:

• Choose the families you want to baby sit for. As a member of a babysitting academy, you will have to do your best to graduate and become the best Babysitter.

Many unlockables:

• Unlock a huge range of more than 50 cute and funny outfits and customize all the babies you take care of.

Raving Raving Rabbids TV Party

More info on those wacky rabbids from the Ubisoft factsheet.

Unique use of the Wii Balance Board:

• Play loads (Ubi are still not saying how many) of exciting new games with the new Wii Balance Board and experience the first game in the world that you can play with your rear end!

New wacky games:

• 65+ brand-new games that spoof popular culture, from TV series to TV classics, not to mention insane ads!

All-new party mode:

• Play co-op or battle your friends simultaneously with up to four players, or go crazy with up to eight players in party mode! You can even sabotage your friends while they are playing!

Unique use of the Wii Remote:

• Discover new and innovative ways to play with eight types of gameplay, including shaking, precision, dexterity and balance.

Shake that Rabbid:

• Use the Wii Remote and Wii Balance Board to dance and wiggle your booty.

Customize your bunny:

• Pimp your bunny out, take his photo and send it to your friends online.

Other than that, we're also seeing a lot of new trailers and screen shots for Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip but I think I'll save those for a best of post once GC wraps up at the end of the week.

WiiFlash.org has just released the latest version of WiiFlash Server which now includes support for the Wii Balance Board. WiiFlash is similar to WiimoteLib which I've mentioned previously (see Wii Board Hacks) but in addition to providing a Bluetooth events server for communicating with the Wiimote and balance board, WiiFlash includes an ActionScript API.

And if you think WiiFlash is just 'for fun' think again. Below is a screenshot of a project developed by Fernando Flórez for Visa and the Beijing Olympics. WiiFlash Server also includes support for online applications so expect to see a lot more of this over the coming months.

Last month I mentioned Yourself!Fitness as an example of an exergame that developers should definitely refer to when creating a dedicated fitness title for the Wii. It seems that Ubisoft were meant to be doing just that but have now found themselves at the wrong end of a $26 million lawsuit as a result.

Up until now, ResponDesign has pretty much lead the way in the exergaming genre with Yourself!Fitness which it released in 2004 for PS2 and PC. In 2006 the company began developing a follow-up title for next-gen consoles (including Wii), titled Fitness Lifestyle. In early 2007 ResponDesign began negotiations with Ubisoft with the aim of licensing Yourself!Fitness and the Fitness Lifestyle code and all of the related game assets to Ubisoft which was to develop, publish and market a new Wii title called My Fitness Coach.

The agreement was signed in August 2007 and according to ResponDesign, Ubisoft received all of the required game assets and committed to delivering a "playable" first version of the game in November 2007. The aim was to start marketing in December 2007 for an April 2008 launch, which would have put the game in direct competition with Wii Fit. (Bear in mind that I have yet to ascertain whether or not there was ever any intention by ResponDesign or Ubisoft to include Wii Balance Board support but it just seems illogical not to.)

Clearly none of this happened and as of August 2008, we have yet to see any mention of a Wii fitness title from Ubisoft. According to ResponDesign, the release date for the agreed title is now Q1 2009, almost a year after it was originally intended to be released, and understandably, ResponDesign are not happy. Not only did Ubisoft miss the boat in terms of benefitting from the increased awareness of exergaming generated by the launch of Wii Fit, but ResponDesign feels it has missed out on millions of dollars worth of royalties for a game which never materialised. You have got to wonder why Ubisoft would miss out on an opportunity like this. Were they perhaps afraid to incur the wrath of Nintendo by releasing a competitor to Wii Fit or was there more to it than that? According to ResponDesign's claim there was.

In February this year, Ubisoft announced the release of a DS title called "My Weight Loss Coach" which was to include customised coaching sessions based on skill level, personalised profiles and objective setting, a success based rewards system and nutritional coaching. All of these features were critical components of Yourself!Fitness and Fitness Lifestyle and so according to ResponDesign were subject to the original license agreement for My Fitness Coach which was never intended for release on DS.

As this stage we have yet to see any kind of response to these allegations from Ubisoft but this will no doubt turn into another drawn out court case where only the lawyers win. And while all this is going on, it's ultimately us, the consumer, losing out. As a fitness title, Wii Fit can only go so far and as users begin to tire of the game and look for more fully featured exergaming titles, My Fitness Coach could have been the perfect solution.

It's not all bad news however as ResponDesign CEO Ted Spooner had this to say:

"The Wii Balance Board is a great peripheral and we are considering utilizing it in our future development. Wii Fit has been a great validation of the fitness category that we pioneered. It has shown there is tremendous pent up demand for content for this audience."

Let's hope that as the lawyers battle this lawsuit, ResponDesign continues to forge ahead and bring us the Wii exergaming titles we really want.

Ok, maybe I stretched the facts a little bit. Xbox VP David Gosen didn't exactly call the Wii Balance Board a gimmick in so many words but he certainly implied it in a recent interview with develop magazine. When asked about Microsoft's peripheral strategy here's what he had to say:

"What Nintendo have done with the Wii is truly fantastic – there is no question about it. But I think sometimes there is a thin line between gimmick and great gameplay. We've seen some research that says 60 per cent of people who bought a Wii Fit play it once and don't play it again. ...We have to ensure that the peripheral strategy that anyone employs makes sense and delivers a truly game changing experience. Because if it's just 'okay' it will end up in the cupboard under the stairs."

Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive but in my view, I think it's clear what he's implying there. As for the "research" he's referring to, that sounds a lot like the original IT Media poll in Japan which doesn't necessarily reflect what's going on in the rest of the world today, especially if our survey is anything to go by which shows that 56% of Wii Fit owners use it every day.

I don't see the Wii Fit game as a measure of the success or failure of the Wii Balance Board as a peripheral. Yes there are lots of balance boards gathering dust but that's not because it's a gimmicky peripheral. It's because people have gotten bored or frustrated with Wii Fit, and I'm pretty sure that if there were more balance board compatible games available, those Wiiboards would be well used.

You can read David Gosen's full interview here.