Taking its lead from the recently released Walk With Me! Do You Know Your Walking Routine?, Active Health with Carol Vorderman is the next lengthily-titled DS game that revolves around the Activity Meter – Nintendo’s own version of a pedometer. Once again, the Meter can be tucked into a pocket or handbag and records the number of steps the user makes.
However, Active Health takes things further by accounting for DS owners’ diets and any exercise they take. The concept blurs the lines between the likes of Wii Fit, Walk With Me and even Cooking Guide, a combination that Nintendo is confident will make Active Health its most appealing self-improvement title to date.
“Active Health blends a range of features into one of our most complete lifestyle products,” explains Nintendo’s senior product manager James Honeywell.
“The basic principle is that you enter your amount of daily exercise and intake of food and drink, and see if there is any imbalance. The software will then help you to achieve your goals of sticking to a specific diet and improving your general fitness through advice from our guide.”
THE CAROL FACTOR
As the title suggests, a familiar celebrity face is on hand to help motivate and advise players in the form of Carol Vorderman. The British TV personality acts as the face of the game and calculate your BMI from personal details entered into the software. She can then advise you how to become fitter and lead a healthier lifestyle.
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“We have been fortunate to have Carol’s input during the development of this title,” says Honeywell. “She has been fundamental to the development, offering her own insight and recipes.”
In addition to Walk With Me’s step-counting mechanic, Active Health takes other exercises into account as gamers specify any other activities they do, such as swimming or a session on Wii Fit.
COUNTING CALORIES
The game also helps users improve their dietary habits, with over 70 in-built recipes. Furthermore, gamers can track their daily consumption and calorie count, as well as fat, salt and sugar levels.
“All of this is wrapped up in a handy package that you can take with you anywhere,” adds Honeywell.
“You simply add data as you go along. We think this is a unique take on the healthy lifestyle products.”
Active Health is the latest in a string of Nintendo titles that are designed to motivate consumers in improving their health. Its predecessors have all performed well at retail, particularly Wii Fit, and the platform holder has high hopes for this title.
“Active Health is a great title that fits nicely within our range of lifestyle products,” concludes Honeywell. “We expect sales to be strong as it will appeal to our new audience. We have planned an extensive mass market media campaign that will start a week before launch that then continues throughout August.”
Nintendo’s campaign includes a significant TV push aimed at a female audience. The TV ads will be 60 and 30 seconds in length and will run across all major channels. This will be joined by an advertorial campaign in female publications. Finally, Carol Voderman-inspired POS will be made available for retail.
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