Gone are the days where gaming equated physical inactivity – exhilarating new virtual reality platforms will now let you exercise while you play.
Gyms are beginning to invest in virtual reality (VR) systems to keep their customers fit, while companies are creating fitness VR games people can do at home.
For instance, a game called Fruit Ninja involves using virtual Samurai swords to cut up flying fruits while another called Drunkn Bar Fight encourages users to throw punches and chuck things around the pub – all in the name of exercise.
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‘The more you drink, the stronger you feel’, said the developers of Drunkn Bar Fight, which is still in Beta mode and due to be released globally soon.
‘And you are going to need it because you will need to fight everyone at the bar.’
The game will work on both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
‘You will be constantly moving once you enter a game mode and the game pushes you even harder and to be even faster than you were previously’, VR Fitness Insider said on its website, talking about Fruit Ninja.
‘This all makes it one of the best fitness-based games out on the market, if not the best.’
Fruit Ninja is already globally available on PlayStation VR, the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Sound boxing which is available globally on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift is another similar game which encourages users to punch flying objects in time with music.
Companies such as Facebook, who owns Oculus, are creating ‘social VR’ which helps people to socialise at the same time as exercising in virtual settings, writes The Times.
Devices such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive could be adopted by gyms as well as by people exercising at home.
Fitness expert Marialice Kern from San Francisco State University told Wall Street Journal playing these games could be as good for fitness as running up a hill – suggesting it increases oxygen consumption and heart rate like traditional exercise.
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A game called Fruit Ninja involves using virtual Samurai swords to cut up flying fruits. Fruit Ninja is already globally available on PlayStation VR, the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift
A Swiss start-up called Holodia builds VR worlds for gyms that players can enjoy at the same time as using cycling or rowing machines.
In June 2015, a Hong-Kong based gym, Pure Fitness, invested more than £250,000 ($337,000) on a 270-degree VR screen.
Several gyms already have a virtual reality landscape on a big screen to keep people motivated as they exercise.
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As well as being adopted by gyms, headsets such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive (pictured) could also mean that people can exercise at home
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Source: Mail Online