Dancing is not what typically comes to mind when thinking about fitness. You think about things like running some laps for cardio or weight lifting, but that does not work for everybody. Especially for the younger generations, it sometimes can become a battle to fight boredom while working out. Positive Gaming is company that makes the iStep and iDance lines, which for the sake of simplicity, can be compared to the arcade game DDR.
Instead of being set up as a competitive and complex dancing game, it is taken down a notch to a more personal level. The iStep can provide a game for 1-4 players while the iDance by Positive Gaming can handle 4-32 players on one game, so everyone can participate together, but own their own as well. This iDance trailer shows some good footage of gameplay, and the HUD that you would see. Every participant gets their own accuracy percentage and star rating for their performance. Instead of taking turns and being more of a performance/spotlight experience, the iDance by Positive Gaming system creates a group experience that encourages everyone collectively to stay fit and keep going.
This can be perfect for normal gyms classes at schools or for after school programs looking to keep kids out of trouble. This could be great for adults too in a Corporate Wellness program where the age groups are varied. Typically when you think of, ‘video game systems’, you assume that there is a small group limit, (like the iStep being 1-4 players). With up to 24 players on one game though, that really changes your concept on interactive fitness.
One of the larger draws of DDR in arcades was its massive song list. Well Positive Gaming knew this and delivered with a huge track list, that would keep it fresh for group exercises and classes, which is really the issue here that the iDance is trying to solve, engagement in kids and keeping things new and exciting. It delivers being one of our most popular products we offer.
Here is what their Founder/CEO, Ole Petter Høie had to say to us:
“iDANCE has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of kids and adults around the world since it was first released in 2008. Being the original and market leading dance game multiplayer system since its’ launch, iDANCE offers a fun and stimulating form of group exercise. The unique part about the type of exercise iDANCE offers is that the desire to do it more often and to keep improving is driven by the excellent and exciting game, music and rhythm features that make the participants forget that they are even exercising. This leads to great workout sessions which can help a user improve stamina, speed, balance, brain/body coordination, all in an environment where fun with others is at the center.”
The Positive Gaming product line is one that aligns with the ideals and concepts of Exergaming and us at Exergame Fitness. Finding the perfect balance between video game mechanics and real life workouts is the challenge to overcome sometimes to engage younger kids in fitness. As with everyone in the fitness industry we wish them the best of luck to their current line and as well as any future iDance iterations.