No, this is not the first in a serious of new Wii fitness titles targeting specific body parts. Instead it's a new Wii-related injury according to an article on The Tech Herald. Now I like to think of myself as fairly active so I wouldn't have expected to hurt myself playing a game, but I've also had my share of Wii related injuries, including Wii elbow from some particularly vigorous games of baseball on Wii Sports. As a result, this latest injury doesn't come as a surprise especially given the increasing number of wii balance boards out there now.

In part, you can expect an increase in Wii injuries as grandparents everywhere suddenly find themselves off the couch swinging wildly in the air and moving body parts they forgot existed, all for the joy of their darling grandchildren. But even regularly active folk are caught off guard as they use previously ignored muscles in strange new ways. I guess we're just not used to a 'game' that challenges us physically. Afterall, when you engage in sport you usually warm up first right? You don't just go at it guns blazing from the start (as you do in a game) and then wonder why the next morning you can't even lift your arms high enough to brush your own teeth.

I'm not sure what it's like outside of the UK, but I'm surprised that the health and safety nannies over here aren't all over this like a bad rash. Maybe they're still working on their 150 page manifesto "Preventing Wii Related Injuries In The Home".

There's definitely no shortage of new ball rolling games for the Wii. You've got Kororinpa 2 and Vertigo as the top contenders as well as Incredible Maze. In case that wasn't enough, DK Games has announced their "mesmerizing and gripping, gyrating ball puzzle solving and manipulation game" called Equilibrio.

Now I can get both Kororinpa and Vertigo. They have interesting environments and game features as well as some depth to the game play while Incredible Maze is just a bit of a diversion until you can get your hands on the first two. Response to Incredible Maze has been pretty mixed so it will be interesting to see if Equilibrio can fare any better. The game does include support for the Wii Balance Board however according to the developer "The Wii Remote is the ultimate controller to play Equilibrio...But the game has also been adapted FOR the Wii Balance Board. When using the Balance Board, players will get to play 'alternative' and simpler levels so that it is possible to finish the game."

You can find out more about Equilibrio by visiting the official website and you can also read an interview with the developer on videogamer.com.

I regularly receive emails from readers wanting to know if it's possible to buy a Wii Balance Board without having to buy Wii Fit. Up until now, the answer has always been the same - no. But that's all changed thanks to Wu Fit, an actual working Wii Balance Board copy (it was only a matter of time).

Now I have to say I was a little sceptical when I first saw news of this on the web but after some investigation, it looks like it really is the real deal. In fact there's already a video review on YouTube. Getting your hands on one may prove to be tricky at the moment but they seem to be distributed by a wholesaler based in China so expect to see them appearing on eBay soon.

And as with any copycat device, it's buyer beware. There's no guarantee that it will be 100% compatible with all balance board games and then there's the question of warranty if it breaks.

Oh and in case you were wondering, it doesn't ship with the Wii Fit game itself which is fine if you only want to play other Wiiboard compatible games. If you want to try out the actual Wii Fit games you'll have to borrow a disk from a friend. But here's a handy tip - if all you want to do in Wii Fit is regular body tests to track your weight and you can borrow a disk, simply install the Wii Fit channel on your console. Then you can continue to do the body tests without needing the disk.

Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of any news of decent Wii Balance Board games for 2009? Yes there are titles lined up for next year (Kororinpa 2/Vertigo - variations of the same theme, Snowboard Riot and a few others) but to be honest nothing that really makes me go "yes - I have to have that!" Of course there's EA's Sports Active but then they're more interested in promoting their Wiimote strap thingy than the Wiiboard. So does that mean the Wii Balance Board honeymoon is over, certainly for third-party developers, and has Nintendo moved on to their next big thing, Wii Motion Plus?

A lot has been said recently about the inability of third-parties to capture any decent market share against Nintendo on the Wii platform and let's face it, that's not particularly surprising considering the amount of shovelware that third parties have been producing. Developers seem to be under the mistaken impression that since the Wii has attracted more casual gamers, this new market will be happy to buy any old rubbish. This is simply not the case. Unfortunately I think many developers have seen the balance board as an opportunity to deliver more of the same but when even the novelty of the Wiiboard fails to sell these games, where does it leave us.

Of course the exception to this trend and the real standout for me (although EA Skate It is pretty good) has to be Ubisoft and Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip which is currently my favourite game (apart from Rabbids TV Party when I feel like a bit of lunacy). In my view, Ubisoft did two things right with this game. Firstly they incorporated the balance board in a way that is both challenging and intuitive and secondly, although this is a multi-platform game, they developed a completely separate Wii version. And that's another gripe I have with developers of multi-platform titles. All too often, stunning graphics are used to distract users from lacklustre gameplay and while this might work for a while on PS3/360, the Wii’s graphics limitations end up meaning poor gameplay and poor graphics.

But the Wii's 'deficiency' can also be its greatest strength in that in order to produce a really good title, developers have to work much harder by being more artistic in their visual approach and concentrating on better interaction with the game. On both accounts I think Ubisoft got it right with Shaun White and the balance board (it doesn't feel like Wiiboard support was an afterthought). My only hope is that they can do more of the same in 2009.

So while I'm definitely no industry expert, here's my prediction for the balance board in 2009? I think you'll see less Wii Balance Board compatible titles produced as many developers realise it's just not worth the effort, and if sales of Shaun White and EA Skate It go as predicted, you'll see one or two new titles that will really make good use of the peripheral. Of course the unknown in all of this is the growing fitness/exergaming trend. Who knows, perhaps ResponDesign (Yourself!Fitness) will bring out a balance board compatible version of their title or someone else will try to capitalise on the trend. Whatever the case, let's hope that the Wii Balance Board is not doomed to becoming another dust-gathering peripheral.

Rumours of Tony Hawk's Adrenaline and Wii Balance Board compatibility have been doing the rounds for months. Back in June there was talk that the game would make use of "a new motion sensing board controller" but even then there was no real confirmation that it would be the Wiiboard.

Now the rumour mill has started again with recent comments from an Activision rep that "You're not going to be playing this game with a controller in your hands." Now this could mean any number of things and considering this will be a multi platform release I don't think Activision would make these kind of comments referring only to a Wii version.

So does this mean that they're actually developing Wiiboard-like peripherals for PS3/360 and will they even bother with a balance board compatible release for the Wii. I personally agree with the view on spong that Activision will offer both a Wii balance board compatible version and new peripheral based PS3/360 versions. Let's face it, Activision have got a lot of catching up to do to with this franchise in light of EA's Skate and Skate It titles. It's not such a far-fetched idea that they would also develop a Wii specific version. After all, Ubisoft did it with Shaun White Snowboarding and Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip for the Wii so we can only hope Wii users are not left out in the cold when Tony Hawk is finally released.

Two decades ago, Nintendo published the first edition of Nintendo Power magazine and their 8-Bit Entertainment System remained the state of the art in the industry. Interaction with games remained limited to a fusillade of finger tapping on a wired controller, which made gaming a largely sedentary activity. As a result, the growth of home gaming led many researchers to link the activity to obesity (see Center for Advanced Health). Fast forward to today and the story couldn't be more different: Nintendo is leading the way in full physical immersion with the Fit series on its Wii console, which allows players to more meaningfully interact with games. No longer constrained by a static feedback between player and game, Nintendo has taken exergaming to an entirely new level and shifted gaming from a passive activity to a full body workout (see BMJ Medical Journal).

Exergaming is simply the extension of video game controllers from static inputs to a full body interaction, which gives the games an exercise element. With advances in feedback controls for the Wii, games can utilize a whole series of interactive controllers to direct in-game movement. Dating back to the 1980s, there have been a number of exergaming devices, starting with the Nintendo Power Pad, which allowed gamers to control in-game movements through a pressure-sensitive exercise mat. Most commonly used in the game World Class Track Meet, the controller had a number of compatible games and laid the groundwork for future releases such as Dance, Dance Revolution (DDR) in 1998. DDR became the first mass-market, exergaming success, selling millions of dance simulation copies world wide and spawning a number of sequels and clones. In the game, players adjust their feet on a motion-sensitive control bad to the rhythm of a given song, requiring players to move rapidly in shifts as quick as 1/32 notes. Requiring coordination and fast-twitch muscle movement, the game even became integrated into school curriculum in West Virginia (see New York Times).

As the design of interactive games has evolved, workouts are shifting to providing a full-body cardiovascular workout. The Gamercize add-on, for example, allows gamers to utilize a complete array of workout machines, ranging from exercise bikes to elliptical machines, to work many major muscle groups while they play. The Yourself Fitness game series for Playstation, Xbox and PC develops games which provide direct exercise instruction and tracking, although the games require an external monitor to provide a full feedback element. With activities ranging from Yoga and Pilates, Yourself Fitness provides a virtual gym.

The recently released Wii Fit game takes the genre to a new level by allowing full-body, direct interaction through the Wii Balance Board controller. Gamers can build up strength through a variety of directed exercises ranging from lower body exercises such as aerobics and balance games to upper body activities such as push ups and strength training. With complete physical activity tracking, Wii Fit has taken exergaming to the next level to provide a complete full-body workout.

About the author
This guest post was written by Maya Richard, who writes about Cell Phones. She can be reached via email at mayarichard at gmail.