From weblogs.variety.com:

Skateboard Activision is a publisher that knows, and has come to love, peripherals. After all, they’ve helped drive the "Guitar Hero" franchise to well over $1 billion in revenue. (Unlike MTV, Activision typically makes money on its music hardware, though it did have some hiccups with "World Tour" drums over the holidays.)

Which is why it makes some sense it’s going that route with the next "Tony Hawk" skateboarding game, coming this fall. Rumors that the as-yet-untitled game would use some kind of peripheral started last summer. But two sources who have seen the game first hand have confirmed that it will indeed eschew controllers and rely on a board-like peripheral. I’m told it won’t be about precise balance (if you want to do that, just get a real skateboard). Instead it’ll be about grabbing and manipulating the board to pull of all the tricks for which "Tony Hawk" games are known. Because the peripheral does a lot more than just measure where players are standing, I’m told it’ll be available for the Wii version as well — it won’t just rely on the board that came with "Wii Fit," as EA’s "Skate It" did.

From businessinsider.com:

But competition is finally coming to the Wii Fit: Electronic Arts’ (ERTS) Wii Fit clone "EA Sports Active" will hit stores May 19. EA’s Wii-only "game" (yeah, we’ll call it a videogame) is expected to sell for $60, versus $90 for the Wii Fit.

Crucial difference beyond the price: The Wii Fit favors Japanese-style exercises — think stretching and balance — versus EA’s expected emphasis on cardio and weight loss. There’s also endorsements from Bob Greene, Oprah’s favorite fitness coach, whatever’s that’s worth.

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From wickedlocal.com:

“It’s not a video game,” said Provincetown Police Sgt. Jim Golden, the department’s firearms instructor. “It’s a tool. We want to give them the best skill set that we can because, God forbid, they ever have to use those skills.”

The mobile firearms training range is rented for two days each year for $1,000 a day to train officers in “shoot/no shoot” scenarios. Some of the video scenes involve students with guns, one dealt with a disgruntled customer at an auto repair shop. And another showed a loud domestic disturbance in progress where a third person entered the room holding a gun. Palheiro shouted at the woman to put her gun down while training his own weapon on the video screen. It was one of those close calls where an untrained reporter would have fired. However, Palheiro correctly judged the situation and held off. As the video unfolded, the woman put her gun down without firing a shot.

“It offers excellent training on timing, threat evaluation and decision-making skills,” Chief Jeff Jaran said. “It puts officers in real-life scenarios. A shooting range doesn’t offer this type of simulation.”

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From emaxhealth.com:

Early and ongoing research suggests that “walking” through a Virtual Reality Grocery Store can benefit people with balance disorders.

The world’s only Virtual Reality Grocery Store, based in the Department of Otolaryngology at Pitt and UPMC, is like a life-size video game that projects 3-D, moving images of a grocery store onto three screens which surround a real shopping cart on a custom-built treadmill. A person operating the shopping cart can control his or her own speed and direction of travel while walking up and down aisles that display realistic-looking products.

The store has 18 aisles, each with an increasing level of difficulty. Easier aisles display larger products, like paper towels, while the more challenging aisles contain smaller products, like canned goods or tiny bottles of medicine.

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From redorbit.com:

A self-proclaimed fitness expert is preparing to file a class action lawsuit against Nintendo, claiming the popular gaming console’s Wii and Wii Fit are causing serious physical injuries due to a lack of proper warnings on their products.

Michael Torchia, the host of the radio talk show “Shape Up America,” says he wants Nintendo to pull their Wii games off the shelves until they make important changes to their products.

…

Torchia claims that widespread usage of the Wii Fit and Wii Balance Board is creating a “new phenomenon” of injuries to the knees, back and wrists of game players as a result of overuse and improper warm up.

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From joystiq.com:

EA Sports used to rely on the popularity of real sports organizations and real players to make its games more appealing, and now one company is using EA Sports‘ name to get kids into real sports. Toy Island has partnered with EA to produce branded sports equipment for kids, some of which includes game-like feedback to help train young players!

The EA Sports toy line includes "interactive training tools" which use voice commands to instruct players, boxed games "containing all the equipment necessary for kids to practice and play a sport," toys that cheer when kids "use proper techniques," and a line of "high density foam balls," which are pretty much just balls.

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