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Posts with tag health

Mom wins her fight in Rayman Raving Rabbids epilepsy ordeal

Over the last year, UK mom ("mum" is the word over there, we believe) Gaye Herford has been fighting to change the way games are tested before they are sent to retail. Her 10-year-old son, while playing Rayman Raving Rabbids, went into an epileptic fit. She had no idea that games could send players into photo sensitive epileptic (PSE) seizures. We guess she hasn't seen the intro splash screen Nintendo has had around since the Pokémon incident.

But, after a long year, she has won her battle. Ubisoft has volunteered to do the testing itself and will try to ensure such a thing does not happen again. Herford also managed to secure a debate in Parliament, for a future date that is yet to be determined. "As a parent myself, I was shocked that a single game could possibly trigger a sudden first-time seizure, with its life-long implications," says Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose, who helped Herford in her battle. "Right now, most electronic game publishers simply issue written warnings about PSE on or inside their products - and that's on a voluntary basis. But that's no good for the thousands of people with dormant PSE because they don't know the warnings - if they even read them - apply to them."

At the time of the article, no comment was made by Nintendo. Ubisoft did say, though, that testing of Rayman: Raving Rabbids on the DS "showed that no images posed a high risk for photosensitivity epilepsy. However, we made a corporate decision to pre-screen and pre-test all Ubisoft in-house developed games regardless of platform, prior to publication."

My Weight Loss Coach boxart: Lazy or fitting?



We loaded up My Weight Loss Coach's product page on Amazon earlier today and received two surprises:
  1. $39.99. We're used to seeing that sort of markup only on Square-Enix titles and almost never on casual titles, but we suppose that bundled pedometer comes at a price. That price being ten additional dollars.
  2. Its stark, untraditional packaging art.
At first, the cover seemed like an apathetic production, reminiscent of the Konami's Best box design, but perhaps this simple, almost Apple-esque approach will draw in weight-concerned adult casuals, Ubisoft's target audience. If they really want to bring in the big bucks, they'll shoot a commercial of someone pulling the case out of a manila envelope while Yael Naim sings the lyrics to "New Soul."

If you're one of those strange people who like to judge a title by its actual content and not its cover, jump into our gallery below to see new screenshots of the get-in-shape software.

Gallery: My Weight Loss Coach


[Via NeoGAF]

Ubisoft reveals DS pedometer, our fight against the flab begins here



Do your evenings typically consist of you perching your overweight frame on the couch, slurping down microwaveable pizzas between guttural sobs of despair? If so, the compact device above could be the way to a healthier, leaner you. Why? Because that's the pedometer that will ship with Ubisoft's My Weight Loss Coach, silly!

We've already stated how much we like this game's simple-yet-elegant visual style, and My Weight Loss Coach's pedometer only elevates it further above more standard training fare on the DS. The idea is straightforward enough: keep the pedometer on your person all day, letting it count every step you take, then plug it into the GBA slot of your DS and let the software analyze how much blubber you've burned off. Pretty soon, you'll look a bit like this guy, right down to the toned arms and rictus grin. Excellent!

This should be arriving in Europe this summer, so until then you'll have to breathe in sharply if you want to squeeze into the gallery below.

Gallery: My Weight Loss Coach


[Via press release]

Seizure brought on by DS game leads to banning crusade


After a boy in the UK fell into an epileptic fit from playing Rayman Raving Rabbids on the DS, his mother, Gaye Herford, protested to Parliament that there should be more vigorous safety testing for video games. Should her campaign be successful, any games that could potentially cause seizures will be banned in the UK and game developers will have to adhere to stricter safety standards. Currently, thirty-five Members of Parliament stand behind the proposal.

Ubisoft (the makers of Rabbids) responded by saying that the company already pre-screened Rabbids DS for the potential to cause epileptic fits, and the testing showed that the game was unlikely to do so. Managing director of Ubisoft UK Robert Cooper added, however, that the company has made the decision to now test all in-house games prior to release.

[Via Pocket Gamer]

DS health and exercise game sold in Japanese drugstores


On November 15th, not only will Japanese electronics stores begin carrying Kenkou Kentei (Health Certification) but drugstores will as well. Produced under the supervision of the Chief of Research Planning and Evaluation for Japan's National Health and Nutrition Institute, the program is designed to help people manage their health through diet, exercise planning, and information on avoiding illnesses.

We don't know if the drugstore thing is just a marketing gimmick or a clue that this is genuinely helpful software. Probably some of both. We remember seeing some budget PS2 games in a CVS Pharmacy one time, but we don't really think that Corvette would teach us anything about balanced meals.

Playing more and eating less

Staying active with Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution isn't the only way video games can help you lose weight. Sometimes, all you need is a distraction to keep you from overindulging your appetite.

According to Cynthia Sass, RD, a nutritionist and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, playing with a portable can help you forget about food: "When you start to visualize your craving, you've already lost half the battle ... A video game occupies your eyes, your hands, and your mind."

Of course, if you insist on playing games like Cooking Mama or Cheeseburger Town, you're probably not going to get the desired effect. Sitting in front of a chocolate cake while an oscillating fan blows its saccharine aroma towards you isn't going to be too helpful either. But if you can manage to avoid food-based games and afternoon desserts, and if you'd like to try something new to make you stop thinking about eating, grab your DS the next time your stomach starts asking for a snack. Maybe that'll do the trick.

[Via Infendo]

Here comes Beefiness Training

From Dorasu, developers of Duke Saraie no Kenkou Walking Navi, comes the very latest in awkward-looking health training programs for the DS. Nobuaki Kakuda's Kaku-chan Type Muscle Train-Navi will use exercise descriptions and animations of the very big and tough-looking karate champion Nobuaki Kakuda to teach users how to bulk up.

Users will be able to choose what bulk-related issue they need to work on, with exercise programs based on specific goals, like looking good in a tank top. Then they'll get to watch Nobuaki performing the exercises in a fake living room, sometimes using chairs as props.

Stuff like this is precisely why we love reporting on the Nintendo DS. We can't wait to see what the other four games in Dorasu's series are.

Continue reading Here comes Beefiness Training

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