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Back to the Arcade

In recent years, we have seen a mass exodus from the video game arcades of old. This is because home consoles have significantly increased in quality and gaming experience, nearly making the need to go to the arcade obsolete. Don’t ditch that roll of quarters just yet! There are still several games at the arcade that you cannot yet play at home. At least, not on a budget.

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What makes certain arcade games special is that they are better at simulating real activities than their home console counterparts. Navigating through your local arcade, you may discover games that feature a full-sized set of skis or a snowboard, getting you to stand on these systems to mimic a real downhill experience. This can be a great way to work out your leg muscles without actually hitting up the gym. There are also skateboard games and — one of my most tiring favorites — horse racing. You ride a virtual pony, rocking it back and forth to get the horse running. It’s really quite invigorating and well worth a couple of quarters.

Plug & Play TV Games

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Around this time of year, you’ll likely find a series of kiosks at the mall that sell these types of products. They are also readily accessible through larger toy stores like Toys R Us and even on Amazon. Plug & play TV games are exactly what they sound like. Instead of having to purchase a video game system and a series of games, these are all-in-one packages that plug directly into your television. PlayTV Baseball 3 by Radica Games, for example, comes with a truncated baseball bat and a pseudo home plate. Gamers face the screen and time their swings accordingly. Other offerings in the PlayTV series include PlayTV Skateboarding, PlayTV Huntin’ 3, PlayTV Basketball, and PlayTV Golden Tee Golf.

Most of these all-in-one games can be purchased for somewhere between $35 and $60, depending on the complexity of the hardware involved. The games are quite simple, but they’ll definitely keep the kids active this holiday season. It’d also be quite amusing to see Aunt Bertha attempt a session in PlayTV Skateboarding.

Simulated Outdoor Activity

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This isn’t the most widespread version of exergaming that I have seen, but it does look like an interesting proposition. The idea is that you hook up a small computer and LCD screen to a piece of exercise equipment, say an exercise bike. Displayed on the screen is a real life video of a real life biking trail. The resistance on the exercise bike will adjust according to the terrain, so if the trail is heading uphill, there is more resistance; downhill would result in less resistance. It’d keep track of your time, pacing, heart rate, and all that other vital information, perhaps computing an overall score at the end of the trail.

In many ways, this is more like simulated reality than it is a video game. It is also closer to real exercise — you are using real exercise equipment rather than waving a Wii Remote or dance, dance revolutionizing on a cloth pad — than some of these other exergaming options as well. To many conventional gamers, however, the appeal just isn’t there. It’ll be interesting to see how this industry develops to further grow its appeal and its potential customer base.

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