EA Sports’ headmaster Peter Moore wants you to actually sweat while using your Wii, not master how to, well, “balance” yourself or play mini-games on a board peripheral.
To do so, he’s announced EA will enter the Nintendo Wii fitness market next March with the new EA Sports Active brand. This move is yet another departure for EA Sports away from the “Madden and nothing else” public image he’s so desperately trying to distance EA Sports from.
In an interview with Forbes.com, Moore explains the reasoning for hatching EA Sports Active despite Wii Fit’s stranglehold on the Wii fitness market.
“I get the Eastern philosophy to fitness–the “Wii Fit” board is a lot of fun, but it is primarily based on coordination and balance. There needs to be at least a threat of sweating for there to be true cardiovascular exercise. We’re bringing with EA Sports Active a more Western philosophy to exercise, which is about getting your heart rate up, keeping it there and sweating. They are both different and complimentary and reflect different views on what exercise is.”
He goes on to tell Forbes about what will encompass the brand including multiple software titles and new peripherals.
“It is a product line. We will have software. We will have peripherals. It’s a new platform for EA Sports. If this were just an annual [update], people would lose interest pretty quickly. Imagine an expansion pack that is EA Sports Active: Cardioboxing. Or EA Sports Active: Soccer, in which the exercises and drills that you do in front of the television are linked to better coordination for your soccer skills. You’re heading the ball, tackling and building out your lower body, which is important to the soccer player. New peripheral devices [additional straps, steps or slides] would allow consumers to work out more effectively in front of the television.”
Though Moore won’t admit it, EA Sports Active will be in direct competition with Wii Fit despite the Eastern vs Western fitness styles. There are only so many hours in the day and Moore would rather you spend those sweating than assuming proper posture and measuring BMI.
