Today’s WTF: Microsoft Wants You to Exercise?

avatarYou know how in Wii Fit when you start an account it takes a measurement of your body weight and tries to apply it correctly to your Mii? More often that not it just ends up making you look like a pudgy roll of dough instead of the ripped stud you know you are. Well, it looks like Microsoft may be angling at getting in on some of that hot self-loathing action as 1up recently found that the software giant has filed a patent titled “Avatar Individualized by Physical Characteristic”.

How exactly is Microsoft going to get your waist size, though? According to the patent, information about your body’s various metrics will be obtained via a “third party health data collection repository”, which is described in the document as a “health care smart-card.”

It gets better, though. If you opt into this digital boot camp, you can limit yourself on the amount of time your able to spend playing your console, or get access to more time by having the smart-card recognize that you’re losing weight. I’m all for bettering oneself, but there’s more efficient ways to do it than having a video game console yell at you or limit your time on it. If you really want to improve yourself, you take actual real steps like dieting and exercising. I really do hope this is entirely optional, because if Wii Fit has taught me anything, it’s that body sensors really cannot give an accurate depiction of a person. What do you guys think? Is this just one more WTF move from the sometimes perplexing New X-Box Experience? Is Microsoft barking up the wrong tree?

Source: 1up

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mitch@gamersushi.com Twitter: @mi7ch Gamertag: Lubeius PSN ID: Lubeius SteamID: Mister_L Origin/EA:Lube182 Currently Playing: PUBG, Rainbow 6: Siege, Assassin's Creed: Origins, Total War: Warhammer 2

8 thoughts on “Today’s WTF: Microsoft Wants You to Exercise?”

  1. Alright, that’s it. I’m officially buying all the classic games I miss or never got to play when they first came out for the N64, Gamecube, and PS2, and hiding in a bunker instead of playing this current gen crap.
    Seriously, if this is the future of video games, I weep for the future. First of all, why are controllers bad? Or more accurately, why is motion control so good? The only reason the Wii did well was because Nintendo limited their supply, but no one will buy another generation of motion control. It’s a fad, and while it worked well enough for the Wii, no hardcore gamer wants more Wiis, and they’re the main source of income for video game companies. I mean really, who wants to get off their fat ass and exercise, and then have the game portray you as the fat lard you are? Really?! Video games are about escaping reality, not subjugating you to it. Where are my epic fantasies and badass FPS’s? Oh we don’t have those, but here; have “Master Chief Exercise Routine 4.19” or “Forza 19×10^13”! No! I don’t want to exercise, I want to PLAY. I hope video games wake up and realize that gamers want games like in the good old days, and I hope some sort of video game industry can be salvaged after this gen. I want to be able to enter the video game industry and make games that gamers like me and my kids and I can enjoy like the games that I grew up with.
    So essentially, I believe any video game company that wants me to exercise and hands me motion control consoles can take their evil, money-worshiping, filthy selves and go to heck! Not even hell, you don’t deserve hell!

    Oh, how I weep for our future…

  2. You know, I know of this cool thing called the outside. Whenever I exercise, I can go out there and run as much as I want. If I didn’t live in a safe neighborhood, I could go down to the recreation center I live near, get a $20 membership, and run around the track there, play basketball, swim laps, etc. Are you telling me that now I need to pay for something to exercise?

  3. Meh. People who are determined to lose weight will and those who aren’t won’t. Maybe having a reminder could give you a kick in the ass every now and again. But it’s not like this is going to change your life and make you feel guilty (how much do you love your box?).

    It’s like people who want to lose weight but don’t want to excercise. If you think some pills will do it or click on the internet advertisements telling you “Get abs in 2 weeks: CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW…” You’re a lost cause withot brains to begin with.

  4. Yeah, from experience, the main thing about losing weight is kicking a whole lifestyle change into gear. Without that, you won’t lose weight or keep it off long term.

  5. I could say this feature is pointless, (how I truly feel) however, I think I’m going to play the devil’s advocate.

    I would say this would be great for parents who want to help their kids loose weight. Rewards do would encourage action from the kids. If when they lost 5 pounds, they got 5 hours more of game play each week, it might help some kids see a benefit. In my view, in order to succeed in weight loss, you need to see some type of result right away, to keep you going. If the result could be more game time, it’s just more incentive.

    I don’t think people should be looking at this as a sure fire way too loose weight though. All it really does is make you less ignorant to how much you weigh.

  6. Whoa, Cossack. Nobody’s eliminating controllers or whatever. It’s just a nudge towards staying fit, you’re not forced to get it and this isn’t a crazy ‘future of video games’. We’re still playing the games we want and the people who enjoy playing those will get those. Unless you can point out to me somewhere that says a majority of companies are making such games, you’re getting a little too into it.

    Sit back and enjoy your gaming. =)

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