Perhaps no other interactive fitness program has benefited from the wild success of Nintendo's extraordinarily best-selling Wii Fit as EA's titular EA Sports Active debut for the Wii console, which not only became one of the console's most popular third-party releases, but one of EA's fastest-growing new franchises. It even spawned its own retail store, and now its spawning something even more lucrative - sequels and new platforms!
Keep motivated and read more about EA's expansion to the Wii, PlayStation 3, and iPhone OS!
EA Sports Active 2.0 (tentative title) is coming back for seconds, and this time EA is sharing the fun across the PlayStation 3 and iPhone and iPod Touch platforms. While the original EA Sports Active took advantage of the Wii's native motion-controls, version 2.0 will feature new arm and leg straps fitted with motion sensors and new heart-rate monitor to measure the user's intensity throughout. Also new to the set will be an online hub to share and track progress throughout the workout period.
EA seems pretty keen on the new body-sensing innovations, saying they:
"will give users complete freedom of motion, making it even easier to get a workout that delivers great results. Using innovative heart rate detection technology, the heart rate monitor will help users monitor intensity, providing constant on-screen monitoring throughout the workout and tracking user data over time to optimize performance."
New EA Sports Active users should expect to find a considerably more comprehensive training program in the new version, including what EA is calling a three-phase, nine-week fitness roadmap designed to keep players focused and on track. PlayStation 3 users will be able to connect and download new workouts and exercises online, though no mention was made if Wii and iPhone users will have access to similar content. The original Wii version supported updates via additional purchased discs.
No mention was made on the availability of the new arm and leg motion sensors and heart-rate monitor, although its likely that EA will include them in a special bundle for Wii and PlayStation 3 users, with additional sensors available for the iPhone and iPod Touch versions.
No mention was made of an Xbox 360 version, or whether the game would take advantage of any native motion-controls of each console, such as the iPhone's accelerometer, or the PlayStation 3's upcoming motion-controller. Furthermore, no mention was made of Nintendo's own upcoming Vitality Sensor, which would measure heart-beats in a similiar fashion to EA's own heart-rate monitor accessory.
EA Sports Active 2.0 is scheduled to hit the Wii, PlayStation 3, iPhone, and iPod Touch sometime this fall. Better start limbering up now.
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