''EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by EA Canada for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

console. It was released on May 19, 2009 in North America. The game ships with a strappable pouch to hold the

Nunchuk is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person wh ...

and a

resistance band A resistance band is an elastic band used for strength training. They are also commonly used in physical therapy, specifically by convalescents of muscular injuries, including cardiac rehab patients, to allow slow rebuilding of strength. History ...

. The game is the first in a line of ''EA Sports Active'' branded games and related peripherals. An expansion, ''EA Sports Active: More Workouts'', was released on November 17, 2009. A follow-up, ''

EA Sports Active 2 ''EA Sports Active 2: Personal Trainer'' is an exercise video game developed by EA Canada. It was released on November 16, 2010, in North America for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii. The Xbox 360 version makes use of Kinect Kinect is a l ...

'', released in November 2010. An

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

-themed version, '' EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp'', was released on the same day.

Gameplay

''EA Sports Active'' is an exercise game consisting of activities that use the

motion controls In video games and entertainment systems, a motion controller is a type of game controller that uses accelerometers or other sensors to Motion capture, track motion and provide input. History Motion controllers using accelerometers are used as c ...

of the Wii platform. Primarily played using the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with ...

, the game package includes a pouch that allows the player to strap the attached Nunchuk to their legs in order to track their lower body movements. The

Wii Balance Board The is an accessory for the Wii and Wii U video game consoles. Unlike the usual balance board for exercise, it does not rock but instead tracks the user's center of balance. Along with Wii Fit, it was introduced on July 11, 2007 at the Electroni ...

is also supported but is not required for play. The game features a number of exercise options supervised by a virtual

personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

, including 20 minute workout regimens and a 30 Day Challenge mode that lets players set workout goals, such as calories burned or a number of sessions while tracking their progress over time. The idea is that the weight loss will happen on its own if the calories burned goals in each workout are met or exceeded. The game also awards trophies for reaching specific fitness landmarks, such as accumulating 10 total workout hours, working out with a friend, and completing all the exercises in the 30 Day Challenge. Players are also encouraged to create a custom workout session built around either personal favorite exercises, calorie goals (such as burning 100+ calories in one session), or targeting specific body areas. To help aid in creating a balanced workout, a percentage chart displays how much of the routine is devoted to either upper body, lower body, or cardio development. The intensity of the workout can be altered by changing the difficulty levels of either a single exercise or the entire routine.

Development

EA Sports' Peter Moore claims that ''EA Sports Active'' was developed to focus more on a higher-impact "Western" philosophy of exercise focused mainly on weight loss, compared to a lower-impact, stretching and balance based "Eastern" approach, as taken by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

's ''

Wii Fit is an exergaming video game designed by Nintendo's Hiroshi Matsunaga for the Wii home video game console, featuring a variety of yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance (ability), balance mini-games for use with the Wii Balance Board pe ...

''. EA also saw a strong business opportunity in creating a game for people who need to work out yet do not have the time or are not comfortable doing so in public. Celebrity personal trainer

Bob Greene Robert Bernard Greene Jr. (born March 10, 1947) is an American journalist and author. He worked for 24 years for the ''Chicago Tribune'' newspaper, where he was a columnist. Greene has written books on subjects including Michael Jordan, Alice C ...

was involved with developing the game.

Reception

''EA Sports Active'' has received generally positive reviews from video game critics and the mainstream media. One of the biggest critiques on EA's community message boards about the game was the lack of real resistance offered by the supplied elastic band. Many found that folding the band over itself as suggested by the game's tutorial to be ineffective in increasing the resistance level. However, the supplied grips for the elastic band can be used with other elastic bands, specifically those used in

pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...

, in order to increase the intensity of all upper body exercises. EA claims that ''EA Sports Active'' has sold over 600,000 units worldwide between May 19, 2009 and June 1, 2009, and 1.8 million units in its quarter. It is EA's best selling Wii title. The lack of an option to switch to left-handed has caused discontent for some left-handed users who have purchased the game as this is not advertised on the outer packaging.

More workouts

After the success the game received, EA Sports released an expansion pack on 17 November 2009, titled ''EA Sports Active: More Workouts'', which, as the name suggests, added several new workouts to the existing program.

References

External links

Official ''EA Sports Active'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ea Sports Active 2009 video games EA Sports games Electronic Arts franchises Electronic Arts games Fitness games Video games developed in Canada Video games with expansion packs Wii games Wii-only games Wii Balance Board games Multiplayer and single-player video games