SCEE teams up with Nike for EyeToy fitness title

Sony's next EyeToy product will be "an innovative new physical exercise title produced in association with Nike Motionworks," the European arm of the platform holder revealed today.

EyeToy: Kinetic is in development at Sony's London Studio, which originally created the EyeToy peripheral, and should be released on PS2 in early 2005.

It aims to help gamers improve general fitness, reactions, posture, balance, breathing and all round body-toning and conditioning, according to the blurb, and Nike's Motionworks team has been on-hand every step of the way, advising on exercises and movements, warm-up routines, stretching and toning sequences, and on the Personal Trainer Mode, which offers advice on exercise routines.

The game, if it still counts as one, will offer various disciplines. The Aero Motion and Combat zones will improve overall fitness level, inspired by moves and stances from Tai Kwon Do, Modern Dance, Kick Boxing, Aerobics and Karate, while the Mind and Body zone will focus on breathing, concentration and flexibility, drawing inspiration from Yoga and Tai Chi, and the Toning zone will help work on specific muscle groups.

Another interesting feature of the EyeToy: Kinetic package is the addition of a Wide Angled Lens attachment for the camera itself, which "allows for increased levels of interactivity projecting the exerciser's image onto the television screen, enabling them to physically interact with their environments."

EyeToy: Kinetic won't be the first game to try and sell itself on health benefits - the Dancing Stage/Dance Dance Revolution games have been up to that for a while, to the extent that Konami bought out Japan's largest gym operator, People Co., after collaborating with them on a few editions of the game - but in an industry that's often railed against for making couch potatoes out of children, such a high profile fitness product could well do everyone a world of good.