Videogame gives kids last chance to exercise

BROADCAST Vision Entertainment said that it will demonstrate a new hardware setup for Konami's Dance Dance Revolution to be used in schools for physical jerks.

The demonstration itself will take place at the Club Industry 2005 fitness trade show at Chicago. Essentially the new hardware is an industrial strength version of the regular DDR arcade and home equipment. While many of the DDR style games out there have offered a "workout" mode, until now it was impractical for use in schools or fitness centres due to the continuous strain put on hardware.

The most noteworthy fact about the machine may be that it carries a four year warranty. That alone will account for more interest from sceptical companies. Kevin Fee of Broadcast Vision said, "The fun and interactivity of Dance Exercise Revolution opens the door for people of all ages that don't connect with conventional forms of exercise. It also creates an opportunity for membership-based clubs to attract entire families who can work out together." Fee continues to say that, "The combination of music, video and competition make Dance Exercise Revolution appealing to many of the couch potatoes of the world."

The idea that Dance Dance Revolution (or some variation thereof) will be what keeps people exercising in the future must be music to Konami's ears. More details of the product itself, including the fact that it has survived being run over by an SUV at the company's web site. µ