As president of Sports Authority, Campisi runs the largest sports goods retailer in the country. His wife, Beci Campisi, runs a garage gym based on the grueling fitness methodology of CrossFit which uses medicine balls, weights and nonstop exercise to mold "the quintessential athlete."

But when he first heard of Nintendo's part-game, part-exercise Wii Fit and Balance Board, he knew he had to get one. More importantly, he knew that he had to start selling it in his chain of stores, among the dumbbells, the rowing machines, the treadmills and the basketballs.

"When Nintendo first came out with Wii Fit I knew we could sell that product in our stores," Campisi told Kotaku. "I paid some guy on eBay $180 for a Wii Fit because you couldn't buy it in stores."

That was in 2008, last week, with the blessing of Nintendo, Campisi launched his campaign to sell Wii Fit and the Wii as exercise equipment in Sports Authority stores nationwide.

Sports Authority kicked off the movement to blend gaming and sports good with an event at their Torrance, Calif. store. Fitness guru Jillian Michaels was on hand to lead 100 people through exercise routines on balance board with the help of the Wii in what was believe to be the largest demonstration of Wii Fit in the world.

"Although individual retailers might do their own independent promotions from time to time, this is the first time Nintendo has officially partnered with a major sports retailer," said Marc Franklin, Nintendo of America's director of public relations. "Wii Fit has already sold more than 8 million units in the United States, making it one of the best-selling games of this generation, surpassing even some of the industry's most well-known franchises. Our partnership with The Sports Authority expands on the exergaming trend of Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus. Now we're reaching out to fitness fans in new ways, showing them that video games can be a part of their everyday fitness routines."

Instead of just dropping Wii consoles and games into their store, Campisi knew that his stores had to treat the game and its equipment the same as any other piece of exercise equipment.

So he had the stores carrying the equipment set up special Wii Fit areas and train some of their employees to explain and demonstrate the gaming equipment.

"They typically train people on weights and treadmills and now they're showing people how to use the Wii Fit," he said.

Mike Gabriela, manager of the Sports Authority in Littleton, Colorado, said news that the retailer would be carrying the video games was a "welcome surprise."

The equipment for the Wii Experience landed in their store on a Friday and they had it up and running that Saturday morning.

Gabriela says they trained employees using a Nintendo-provided video and tried out Wii Fit themselves.

"It's absolutely exercise," he said. "You do a couple of those programs and it is very difficult."

The customers who so far seem most intrigued by the console and its fitness games seem to be women who do Yoga and aerobics, he said.

"We sold our first (Wii) within 20 minutes of being open," Gabriela said.

While Sports Authority and Campisi seem to be putting a lot of support behind the Wii Fit, it doesn't mean that they believe it will replace more traditional forms of exercise.

"I don't believe that," Campisi said. "My wife would kill me if I believe that. I don't think this is a shift away from traditional exercise, it's just another way to get fit.

"There are a lot of people who don't want to get off their couch, but this is fun. Everyone is moving at 100 miles an hour, maybe this can get them to slow down."

The Wii Fit and the Wii's driving concept also seem to connect with Sports Authority on another level. Where Nintendo is using the Wii to expand its audience to more casual gamers, Sports Authority has long used backyard and youth sports to connect with children at a younger age.

The two coming together to expand each of its audiences seems like a good idea.

Nintendo's Franklin wasn't willing to yet say how important the Sports Authority deal would be in helping to expand Nintendo's reach.

"That remains to be seen," he said. "But we're always looking for ways to get video games into the hands – or under the feet – of people who have never played them before. Nintendo has the most diverse group of fans of any video game company, and it's important for us to reach out to where those fans are.

"We're always looking to bring the world of video games to new audiences. I'm sure there are plenty of people who visit The Sports Authority who don't have an interest in video games. Seeing Wii and Wii Fit Plus in the same context as some of their favorite fitness products will undoubtedly pique some people's interest and make them consider video games in a whole new light."

And for Sports Authority there's also a very practical reason to get into the Wii Fit business. Not everyone has the room for the larger exercise equipment the retailer sells.

"There are lots of people who can't afford a treadmill and we have stores in cities like New York where people can't fit that equipment in their lofts and apartments," Campisi said.

Though, it is still just one of many things the retailer carries, Campisi reminds.

"Fitness equipment and sports equipment is what we do," he said. "In our fitness department we carry a lot of equipment. There are many, many ways to get fit and exercise, this is just one additional opportunity. And for sporting goods its a huge opportunity, it's fun."

Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

The Nintendo-funded study, led by the National Institute of Health and Nutrition in Tokyo, measured the metabolic equivalent values, or METs, generated by participating in Wii Fit and Wii Sports activities. METs are a standard way of measuring energy expenditure, with moderate intensity exercise defined as any activity with METs of 3.0 or above.

By far the most effective exercise in the study was Wii Fit's single-arm stand, which at 5.6 EMTs was just under the AHA's definition of vigorous activity, which kicks in at 6.0.

The loser? Wii Sports Golf didn't make the cut, falling in at 2.0 METs, which isn't really surprising when you consider that most of your exercise in golf comes from walking and drinking.

Here are the results as they stand:

Wii Fit Single-Arm Stand: 5.6 METs
Wii Sports Boxing: 4.5 METs
Wii Sports Tennis: 3.0 METs
Wii Sports Baseball: 3.0 METs
Wii Sports Golf: 2.0 METs

So aside from single-arm standing, the study proves that hitting imaginary people is a healthy way to spend your day. Good to know!

Nintendo Wii may provide actual exercise: study [Reuters]

The Cyberbike comes from European publisher Bigben Interactive, who generally deal more in video game accessories than they do full0-fledged titles, and when you get right down to it, the Cyberbike contains a lot more accessory than it does game. The game that comes packed-in places you in the role of an eco-citizen, using your head and legs to clean up the planet. You clear pollution by riding over land, sea, and air, powering your strange vehicles with your feet.

The game is due for release in January 2010, and in case you are worried about only having one game to use it with, the Cyberbike is also compatible with Mario Kart Wii, so there is that at least. I'm not seeing any word on pricing, but I'd estimate the European release will run somewhere around more than you are willing to pay.

Scroll down for a look at the bike next to a rather petite woman, as well as a screenshot of what you'll be doing with the bike once you have it.

A story in the Post-Star of Glens Falls, N.Y. reports about the mushrooming uses of video games in local schools there. What began as a physical education effort to help children with special needs has expanded to a reward for good behavior, excellent grades or classroom performance, encourage kids to take physical fitness habits into their home, and now as an activity more engaging than spending winter days cooped up in a gym.

There's money behind it too, which confirms educators are approaching it as a serious resource. One school got $1,649 for a Dance Dance Revolution Group Fitness Bundle for the Wii. The same program has been rolled out at another high school and will be expanded there next semester. Wiis also are being used in other elementary schools.

"They're using it with great success as a motivator during winter months and on a day like today, when you can't go out. There are a lot of ways to burn calories while you're inside," said David Ashdown, an official with the educational services board serving Glens Falls and other schools in five counties. "What you're getting is student engagement and trying to harness what we call the 'wow factor.' You're trying to reach every student and creating opportunities to make students successful."

State officials also seem receptive to video games' value to education.

"I spent some time talking to the state Education Department and I think the issue is everyone wants to engage students in the classroom," Ashdown said. "That's the kind of magic in a bottle any administrator wants to capture."

Getting Schooled on Wii [Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y.]

Donna Jo Blake, Chief of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation at Department of Veterans Affairs in Eastern Colorado thinks that this could lead to (and I do apologise for this) "Wii-hablitation".

"We are aware of many colleagues throughout the Veterans Affairs medical system who have developed dynamic Wii programs in multiple areas, including PolyTrauma, Spinal Cord Injury/Traumatic Brain Injury, and Long Term Care," says Blake, "Wii gaming has great potential for physical, mental and emotional well-being. We are delighted to receive this support from Soldiers' Angels."

Nonprofit Donates Wiis To Injured Soldiers [The Wiire]

Proper scientists (well, 'sports scientists', but they have doctorates and everything) from the University of Derby in the UK have decided to conduct their own investigation. Researchers are monitoring groups of primary school children to see if Wii gaming helps them to lose weight.

"We hope this research will determine if playing on this equipment could actually have physical benefits for children.", said exercise physiology lecturer Dr Michael Duncan.

Nintendo Wii could help primary school pupils lose weight [Daily Telegraph]

The most interesting result of the study? The dancing game actually expended more energy than walking on the treadmill. Hit the jump for exactly what those results were.

While watching TV and playing traditional video games, both groups of kids expended the same about of energy. Using the camera game, they used three times the amount of energy. Walking on the treadmill, the normal weight kids used three times the energy, while the mildly obese kids used five times the energy. Both groups used the most energy in the dancing game, with the mildly obese group burning six times the amount of energy than sitting still.

I think this study would have been made all the more interesting if they'd used more current games, like anything for the Wii, Wii Fit in particular, but the results are kinda neat, nonetheless.

Mayo Clinic Shows Adding Activity to Video Games Fights Obesity [KIII TV]

Mellone Cutts is the head of PE at Lea Manor High School which took part in the trials.

"There is a number of students who we don't reach with competitive sports," she said.

"With more and more children becoming obese, one way we can help is by increasing participation in sport and this does that."

And who says video games have no redeeming value?

Computer dance gets pupils active [BBC News, thanks Daniel!]

We were interested in measuring the levels of exertion from an exercise physiology point of view and compared the average heart rate that each subject was exercising at to the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) recommended exercise heart rate range. Our findings reveal that playing these video games can provide an effective workout.

If there's one problem with "exergame" popularity and titles like Kinetic and DDR, it's that gamers need to make sure the trend doesn't get out of hand.

We're only saying this once, and let's keep this amongst ourselves: we can't let the jocks take over.
Study Finds DDR, Eyetoy On Par... [gamasutra]

We first wrote about Mickey DeLorenzo back in early December when he set out to lose weight by playing Wii Sports.

hey_suburbia at WiiNintendo.net plans to spend 30 minutes a day playing Wii sports, from December 3rd to January 15th, in order to chart the effect it has on his body, tracking his pain, weight, Wii Fitness Age, etc.

I was talking to the Rocky's fitness writer about his story recently and she pointed out that he would have had to burn an extra 750 calories a day to lose that much weight that quickly without dieting. Looking through his calorie breakdown for each of the mini-games, it's easy to see that simply wasn't possible, typically.

A poster on the site points out the same thing:

its takes 3500 kcal to burn 1 pound of fat. You lost 9 lbs. If your caloric energy balance remained unchanged this means you would have to burn 750 calories a day.

I'm glad you lost weight and I'm glad you are motivating people to become more active but its unlikely that your results are typical. cool site though. I dugg it.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Brian Crecente

Ben Kuchera has an excellent article posted over at Ars Technica, in which he tackles a subject that has been on everyone's mind since the release of the Wii, that being gaming and fitness. Unlike the Wii Sports Experiment, Kuchera avoids the Wii itself, opting for more fitness oriented games like Dance Dance Revolution, Yourself Fitness, and to a lesser extent, Eyetoy Kinetic. He adjusted his diet and worked out using the games for 45 minutes a day, 4 days a week, for two months. I don't want to spoil the result, but let's just say he did not gain weight.

I'd suspect the adjusted diet has a great deal more to do with the weight loss than anything. You'd be amazed at home many calories some of things we eat and drink. I myself lost nearly 50 pounds earlier this year simply by taking a walk every day and switching to diet soda. Of course I gained half of it back after I started writing for Kotaku, but the extra weight just makes e that much more cuddly. Michael Fahey

Gaming your way into better shape [Ars Technica]

It'll be interesting to see how this turns out, though as some commentors on his page have already pointed out it really isn't all that scientific without taking into account the food you eat and other activities. I'm just overjoyed that I didn't end up having to do it. Hooray for sloth! Michael Fahey

Wii Sports Experiment [WiiNintendo.net, via Hot Shot Gamer]

I woke up Saturday morning after a Friday filled with at least 10 hours of playing Dragon Ball Z and Raving Rabbids on my Nintendo Wii, and my shoulders hurt like hell. I was sure I had slept wrong or something, since the pain felt similar to a stiff neck. It wasn't until later when I pulled out the Wiimote for some more crazy-haired fighting action that I realized where the pain was coming from. A day of holding my arms out and swinging them around had taken its toll on my poor, neglected muscles. Apparently I am not alone. Wall Street Journal, world renowned for its video game coverage, posted an article on Saturday related to the Wii-pain phenomenon, in which Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan addresses the issue.

"It was not meant to be a Jenny Craig supplement," she says. "If people are finding themselves sore, they may need to exercise more."

A Wii Workout: When Videogames Hurt [Wall Street Journal Online]

UK Company Gymkids unleashes a new weapon in the war against a global epidemic - fat kids. The company is releasing the Step2Play, a stair stepper device that hooks up to any Playstation 1 or 2 system, allowing your child to play only as long as they continue walking, an idea I believe they stole from Dante's Inferno. They stop walking, the game stops playing. It features an adjustable exercise rate sensor, allowing you to set the machine to a slow pace, for when you are feeling merciful, or a quick trot, for when you are overcome by feelings of parental failing and want to take it out on your overweight children.

The fact that this would ever be considered necessary is depressing. I was a video game junkie as a child and I still managed to hop outside long enough to get hit with a few dodge balls and burst into tears. Children need to get hit with dodge balls. It is an integral part of growing up. Someone should create a product that does that instead.

The Step2Play is scheduled to begin torturing youth in time for Christmas. It's an excellent alternative to actually spending time outside with your child. Michael Fahey

UK company combines stairmaster, PlayStation [Gamespot]

This meat puppet I walk around in? Not only do I want a refund, but I can't believe the amount of upkeep it requires to work properly, including exercise... something I hate doing because it's just plain hard. As far as I'm concerned, the sooner science can extract my brain with a mashed-potato scoop and slap it into a super-sexy, non-degrading cyborg body with a prehensile penis, retractable machine gun turrets growing out of triple-D breasts and a Wii disc slot directly interfacing with my brain, the better.

But that's a few years off. In the meantime, Tim Tucker has tried to make physical fitness more exciting to flabby Jabbas like me by melding Tetris with weight lifting. Apparently, you sit in a chair and use a series of pulleys connected to weights to shift the Tetris pieces from left to right and rotate them.

It is, of course, an absurd idea, but no more absurd than the bloated, farting sack of gelatin with which my soul somehow became infused. Worth a shot until those cyborgs come around. Florian Eckhardt

Tetris Weightlifting [Official Site]

Game Set Watch has a great post up summarizing the personal connections a lot of people feel towards Maya, the peppy virtual fitness instructor from Yourself! Fitness. A lot of people tend to think of Maya as a real person. Although I would normally consider such people out of their fargin' gourds, I actually understand this, because Yourself! Fitness helped me get in shape.

Last year, I spent an entire winter floating like some alcoholic fetus in a huge vat of Guinness, nourishing myself and growing larger and larger through the absorption of the dark, creamy embryonic fluid in which I subaqueously dwelled. When spring arrived and I finally burst through the keg's placenta, it was time to get in shape.

So I spent thirty minutes every day gaily prancing about my kitchen as Yourself! Fitness virtual trainer Maya shouted peppy slogans at me. "How did you feel about that last set?" she'd ask me every once and a while. "My heart just exploded," I'd respond. But Maya could always put the best face on anything: "Good! That means you're challenging yourself!"

I owe my svelte, sexy frame to Maya. And even though she's just a polygon, I have a great deal of fondness for her. In making me suffer and work for my goals, I actually do find myself sort of thinking of her as a real person from time to time. A real person whose sublime, spandex-sprayed ass I'd gnaw off my arm to spank just once FLORIAN ECKHARDT

Yourself! Fitness - A Diary To Greatness

Jackie Chan is swinging his hips at me again. I'm trying to keep pace, but finding it hard. We've only been at it five minutes, and I'm already starting to feel the burn. Jackie makes big gestures with his hands. I wonder if I should do the same. Ah, what the hell.

Somewhere children giggle.

I'm a sucker for testing crap. When I saw the XaviX display in Yodobashi Camera, I had to try it out. While kid and wife wandered off to test fat scanning scales, I decided to burn off the curry rice I had fer lunch. And Jackie Chan was going to whip me into shape or something like that.

After I entered my age (27) and my weight (59 kgs) and my sex (male), Jackie appeared. The Yodobashi theme song was blasting through the store over and over again, so I couldn't really hear what kinda music was propelling exercise game. (I wonder if that stupid thing song drives the Yodobashi staff batty or if they've become numb? Perhaps they have special earplugs...)

With that retarded theme song blaring and children giggling and pointing, testing conditions weren't exactly prime. I wanted to tell them to stuff. I'm working dammit! I couldn't even figure out if I was supposed to copy Jackie or if I should've followed these DDR style patterns that appeared on the screen. Or maybe I should've done both. Copying Jackie's hip sways and arm gestures—now, those I should've skipped.

Jackie Wants to Pump You Up

Jackie Chan wants to pump you up. The Hong Kong star has been roped in as the spokesman for the XaviX Port, which is an external exercise device. This isn t the first marriage of gaming and exercise, but it does have to be one of the first game consoles designed strictly for exercise.

The unit hooks up to your TV just like your PS2 or X-Box. Exercise is done by inserting Xavi exercise cartridges and using special peripherals. The company is planning an aerobics game, along with boxing, tennis, and bowling. For the boxing game, the player uses special boxing gloves. Their movements are shown on the screen in real time. For the aerobics game, players use a DDR style mat (just like in Konami s exercise game). Tennis uses small rackets, while the bowling game uses a large green bowling ball that is wired to your game console. Just waiting to blog a story about some dude that accidently chucks a green bowling ball into his TV.

The company site has a couple of ads and press releases with product pics.

XaviX Port [Official Site]

XaviX Gets Chan [Nikkei]