Personal Trainer: Walking for Nintendo DS

It doesn’t matter the weather, we all need to stay active. Inside or outside, we can still walk, run, keep track of our activities. Technology is so amazing, isn’t it? Nintendo amazes me on a daily basis; not only with their fun games, but with their ability to help us (you.. me.. Everyone and anyone) to get healthy, stay healthy and have fun in the process.

Last week, Nintendo released Personal Trainer: Walking for the Nintendo DS. This interactive software makes walking fun for everyone and helps people with their active lifestyle. The title comes with two Activity Meter accessories that record every step a user takes. The fun of walking can be shared with the family since the two Activity Meters can be used for up to four people. (On a fun side note, users can even get their pet dogs into the action by attaching an Activity Meter to their dog’s collar.)

• The software converts users’ information into fun, interactive graphical displays. These “life rhythm” readouts allow users to discover interesting facts about their levels of activity throughout the day and help them avoid being sedentary, which includes identifying them as animals including a koala or a galloping horse. Data for up to four users can be stored on one game card. Users can even clip a meter to a dog’s collar and record walking data for their pets as well.
• Personal Trainer: Walking invites users to set daily walking goals, but it also helps them to recognize their activity patterns over longer periods of time. It records up to five years’ worth of walking data to help users track their progress. This collection of data can motivate people to set new goals and become more active.
• Personal Trainer: Walking is the first Nintendo DS game to use Mii™ characters. Users can import their Mii characters from the Wii™ console or create new ones using the Personal Trainer: Walking software. Users can even create Mii characters for their dogs.
• The “Walk the World” feature lets users draw pictures on the face of the Earth using the total number of steps they take, while users who have wireless broadband Internet access can see a display of the total steps taken by users around the world on their virtual journey to other planets in “Space Walk.”

If you are on Twitter, I invite you to follow Nintendo’s Personal Trainer: Walking Twitter feed. This was just launched and can be accessed at: www.twitter.com/NintendoWalking. This page will be updated daily with tips from Mark Fenton, a walking advocate/expert, former member of the national racewalking team and past host of the PBS series, “America’s Walking.”

This is one game that I am going to have to get!

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