5/25/2005
Get Up, Stand Up
Greg Thom finds some games that actually get his son out of the bean bag
25 may 05
THE most surprising thing about watching my eight-year-old son tackle the interactive game Mission Paintball wasn't the gun in his hand or explosions of virtual yellow paint it produced on our TV screen.
It was the fact that he was out of the bean bag.
The most demanding work-out console-game players get is of a thumb, but there he was, ducking and weaving as he snapped off quick-fire volleys at a procession of pop-up targets.
Mission Paintball ($69.95 from some toy stores) is at the vanguard of a new generation of "plug-and-play" TV-based games that challenge the argument that videogames do nothing to alleviate childhood obesity.
From sport-oriented soccer, golf and basketball efforts, snowboarding simulations and battles straight out of Star Wars, these games are not only fun, they get kids moving.
Another bonus is they are simple.
They differ from such console games as PS2 and Xbox in that they can be connected directly to a TV set. There are no game CDs to load, just plug a cord into the A/V socket of your TV.
Or, in the case of Hasbro's coming Star Wars Lightsaber, it's a wireless operation: motion detection technology does the rest.
"You don't have to be an Einstein to work it out. You just plug it in," Dorcy Irwin marketing manager Phil Grimm says.
Rather than competing directly with console-style videogames, the plug-and-play devices are charting a whole new course.
"It's a new entertainment medium," says Grimm, whose company imports and distributes the Play TV Snowboarder. This allows players to balance on a realistic-looking snowboard and replicate everything you would do on the real thing.
Grimm says consumer reaction to Snowboarder has been so good the company hopes to repeat its success by bringing in Play TV versions of basketball, soccer and golf next month.
Hasbro is also getting in on the action. The company behind newly arrived Mission Paintball plans to follow up with the Star Wars Lightsaber and MX Dirt Rebel, a Motocross simulation complete with handlebars.
Toys R Us merchandising director Alan Tieste says the new arrivals are more like toys than game systems and expects classic arcade games such as Space Invaders, Tetris and Commodore 64 for as little as $30 to be popular.
"We think it's an emerging trend," Tieste says.
That view is shared by US game designer Sandy Chim. At the recent Toy Fair in Melbourne he was showing the first in his new range of Motion Activated Gear games.
Batman MAG uses wireless technology and 3D animation. Players strap on a Batman breastplate and can not only land blows on their on-screen opponents by punching with their fists, but feel the telltale "thud" when they get hit themselves.
"We've used wireless technology to take this to a whole new level, but a simple level," Chim says.
Other titles coming our way include Buzz Lightyear and a web shooting Spider-Man adventure.
Some games available in the United States -- such as those focusing on American football or baseball -- may not be seen here.
THEN there is Buckmasters Huntin' 2, a game aimed at players as young as eight, which includes a realistic plug-in rifle (complete with bolt action) that allows players to hunt three species of game. But Grimm doubts we will ever see that in Australia.
"It's a cultural no-no. Retailers get a bit nervous about that."
The plug-and-play games are part of a trend to more interactive TV.
The blending of board games and DVDs is well under way, with recently available titles such as Atmosfear, Trivial Pursuit and the movie trivia game Scene It.
A DVD-game version of the Eddie McGuire-hosted TV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire is also on the market.
Games consoles are far from leaving interactivity behind, though.
Sony's Eye Toy camera, plug-in dance mats and Singstar karaoke microphones are designed to get gamers off the couch.
It was the fact that he was out of the bean bag.
The most demanding work-out console-game players get is of a thumb, but there he was, ducking and weaving as he snapped off quick-fire volleys at a procession of pop-up targets.
Mission Paintball ($69.95 from some toy stores) is at the vanguard of a new generation of "plug-and-play" TV-based games that challenge the argument that videogames do nothing to alleviate childhood obesity.
From sport-oriented soccer, golf and basketball efforts, snowboarding simulations and battles straight out of Star Wars, these games are not only fun, they get kids moving.
Another bonus is they are simple.
They differ from such console games as PS2 and Xbox in that they can be connected directly to a TV set. There are no game CDs to load, just plug a cord into the A/V socket of your TV.
Or, in the case of Hasbro's coming Star Wars Lightsaber, it's a wireless operation: motion detection technology does the rest.
"You don't have to be an Einstein to work it out. You just plug it in," Dorcy Irwin marketing manager Phil Grimm says.
Rather than competing directly with console-style videogames, the plug-and-play devices are charting a whole new course.
"It's a new entertainment medium," says Grimm, whose company imports and distributes the Play TV Snowboarder. This allows players to balance on a realistic-looking snowboard and replicate everything you would do on the real thing.
Grimm says consumer reaction to Snowboarder has been so good the company hopes to repeat its success by bringing in Play TV versions of basketball, soccer and golf next month.
Hasbro is also getting in on the action. The company behind newly arrived Mission Paintball plans to follow up with the Star Wars Lightsaber and MX Dirt Rebel, a Motocross simulation complete with handlebars.
Toys R Us merchandising director Alan Tieste says the new arrivals are more like toys than game systems and expects classic arcade games such as Space Invaders, Tetris and Commodore 64 for as little as $30 to be popular.
"We think it's an emerging trend," Tieste says.
That view is shared by US game designer Sandy Chim. At the recent Toy Fair in Melbourne he was showing the first in his new range of Motion Activated Gear games.
Batman MAG uses wireless technology and 3D animation. Players strap on a Batman breastplate and can not only land blows on their on-screen opponents by punching with their fists, but feel the telltale "thud" when they get hit themselves.
"We've used wireless technology to take this to a whole new level, but a simple level," Chim says.
Other titles coming our way include Buzz Lightyear and a web shooting Spider-Man adventure.
Some games available in the United States -- such as those focusing on American football or baseball -- may not be seen here.
THEN there is Buckmasters Huntin' 2, a game aimed at players as young as eight, which includes a realistic plug-in rifle (complete with bolt action) that allows players to hunt three species of game. But Grimm doubts we will ever see that in Australia.
"It's a cultural no-no. Retailers get a bit nervous about that."
The plug-and-play games are part of a trend to more interactive TV.
The blending of board games and DVDs is well under way, with recently available titles such as Atmosfear, Trivial Pursuit and the movie trivia game Scene It.
A DVD-game version of the Eddie McGuire-hosted TV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire is also on the market.
Games consoles are far from leaving interactivity behind, though.
Sony's Eye Toy camera, plug-in dance mats and Singstar karaoke microphones are designed to get gamers off the couch.
