EA SPORTS is at it again. Last year they released the highly acclaimed EA SPORTS Active, and interactive fitness game for the Nintendo Wii that used the various motion detection equipment available for the platform to offer a wide array of physically challenging workouts in a convenient 30 day program. In the same year they came out with EA SPORTS Active More Workouts, expanding the already excellent game with a broader focus on core exercises and “leveling up” the challenge to last for six weeks. The franchise seems to be working out very well for EA SPORTS (no pun intended), so much so that they even expanded their advertising push to include the Sports Authority fitness equipment chain.

On Tuesday, EA SPORTS announced that they are expanding the line yet again. EA SPORTS Active 2.0 (working title) is currently in production at the Vancouver headquarters of EA Canada.

Back in July of 2009 Krystalle wrote up a review of the game Personal Trainer : Walking for the Nintendo DS.   Having used the product myself I can say it’s a really neat way to motivate yourself to go out and walk if you like video games, and the ability to communicate with your Nintendo Wii to download an avatar was an awesome feature.  The only real “criticism” I had of the game was that all of the motivation took place after you were done walking. There wasn’t really anything built into the game itself to make your walks interesting and you are only entertained for the few minutes it takes you to upload your step records every night.

Games like EA Sports Active and Wii Fit are fine ways to get exercise indoors, but they can be very daunting for people who haven’t been doing any kind of exercise. Walking is really the best way to get going when you’ve been sedentary for a long time, and Konami has come up with a new way to get you walking and entertain you at the same time.

Free is good. I’m a big fan of free stuff. Especially free food. Heck, it’s one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to the whole “eating right” thing. If you put me in an all-you-can-eat scenario that I don’t have to pay for you bet your sweet bippy I’m going to go out of my way to make sure I eat until I’m so full I can’t move anymore.

Hey, I’m aware of my weaknesses.

Free food isn’t the only thing I like that. I also like free stuff. Like video games.

See where I’m going with this? If you haven’t already figured it out from the title, that is (and really, if you haven’t? I’m willing to bet you’re the type of person who asks where Mankirk’s wife is).

Earlier this year Humana Games for Health put out the call for aspiring video game designers to pitch them with their ideas for a fitness based video game. The contest, dubbed InsertCoin, was an effort by Humana to find new and innovative game concepts that would motivate people of all generations to get more exercise. The top three entries in the contest would earn a chance to see their idea developed into an actual video game and also receive a fairly significant cash prize. Considering how difficult it is to break into the video game industry, and how hard it can be for game developers to come up with original ideas, the contest looked to be a potential win/win situation for all parties involved.

Because I could not stop for Death, he asked me for cab fare.

One of the ways in which most games utterly fail to resemble reality is the fact that, over the course of the game arc — especially in persistent stuff like MMOs or long-running tabletop campaigns — our characters always get stronger. Every time we reach a new level, we get some more hit points, learn some new skills, and basically become more bad-ass. Depending on where the level cap is, this might take quite a while in terms of both real time, and game time, to achieve. Our characters, in short, will get older.

Quick show of hands: How many folks do you think were afraid of getting their butt kicked by George Burns circa Oh God, You Devil?

That’s what I thought. Sure, there are the occasional outliers like Mr. Miyagi or Chuck Norris, who continue to display physical prowess despite advancing years, but for us mere mortals, time will eventually start to catch up with us. Like the Parthenon or Colosseum, the ravages of the years will break us down.

Or will it?