Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

An article at Ars Technica discussing the recent findings of Nintendo’s UK research arm points out that, at least in these experiments, the difference in energy used between fifteen minutes of Project Gotham Racing 3 and fifteen minutes of Wii Sports was an insignificant two percent, with Wii Sports Tennis being the biggest calorie burner. It’s safe to assume Nintendo was doing this research as part of trying to figure out which way their marketing can go next, but it’s notable that Nintendo hasn’t tried to push Wii Sports as anything more than fun. Another example of this caution is how careful Nintendo is to call their brain games “training” games and their PR people shy away from clinical terms. It’s dangerous to claim your stuff will have health benefits when it really isn’t.

That said, this sets Nintendo up well for the launch of Wii Fit in western territories. Expect something along the lines of, “If you thought Wii Sports was fun, just wait until you get some real exercise with Wii Fit!” That is to say, we’ll need to see the research on that one too, now won’t we. I imagine as the game is specifically designed for fitness, we might see some different results.

Source: Ars Technica.