Peter Moore reveals EA making Wii fitness game

Moore, a former physical education instructor, insisted EA’s product would go down a different route from Wii Fit, with a greater focus on strenuous fun.

“I need to have a point of difference,” he explained. “We also need to make sure we’re delivering something that’s truly exercise. I’ll call [Wii Fit] more eastern fitness, where it senses weight and balance, like Tai-Chi. It’s more about holistic fitness. I don’t think the board is going to take a pounding. We need to look more at western fitness in which I can actually be moving and start to sweat a little bit, and that’s what we’re working on right now.”

While the former Xbox boss would not be drawn on specifics, he was keen to emphasise that EA, like Nintendo, was focusing on fitness through “fun”.

“It can’t feel like a workout,” he added. “The team has to figure out, how do I smile while I’m doing this? You play soccer for 90 minutes; if I say you’re going to run five miles you’re not gonna want to do that. But you run for five miles playing soccer and you’ve had a good time.

“The difference is you’re distracted. We need to distract people and not make this exercise feel like work, but like they’re having fun. So mini-games, things where you’re actually laughing out loud, that’s the stuff we’re working on. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about, and who better than us to go and play in that market?”

EA Sports Freestyle replaces the previous ‘Big’ brand, with cartoon boxing title Facebreaker confirmed as the first release on the label, due later this year.

GameIndustry

Around The Net: