EA Sports Active is a great fitness game for all ages. It really breaks a sweat. The game features you to customize your own workout. This a great fitness game for young and old.
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EA Sports Active
(2009, Video Games - Exergaming, Rated E, Play it on: Nintendo Wii)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 5, age appropriate for kids over 6; suggested age 12. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Virtual personal trainers help families get fit on the Wii.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 12 and Up
The good stuff
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Educational value:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of EA Sports Active was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
Parents need to know that this is a workout program for the Wii rather than a game. While there are sports minigames incorporated into some of the fitness programs, the focus of this product is working out. While more serious than Wii Fit (which introduced the Wii Balance Board), EA Sports Active incorporates the use of the Wii Balance Board in some of its exercises. With a two-player, split screen option, this is a good program for a parent and child to use together.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about how gaming consoles can be uses for more serious matters such as working out. Did having a personal trainer make a difference to you? Do you prefer working out alone or with others?
More on EA Sports Active
What’s the Story?
Touted as a "personal trainer in a box," EA SPORTS ACTIVE is a compilation of more than 30 different physical fitness activities that can be combined in different ways to provide you with varied daily workouts. Joining you on your quest for fitness is your own virtual personal trainer (either female or male -- your choice), who both instructs and encourages you as you exercise. Also helping to motivate you is fitness guru Bob Greene of Oprah fame. The activities focus on three areas: cardio fitness (running, walking, high steps, and kick-ups modules), sports activities (tennis, boxing, dance, volleyball, basketball, inline skating, and baseball), and upper and lower body muscle training (lunges, bicep curls, squats, etc). For the latter, the game comes bundled with a resistance band and a special thigh strap to hold the nunchuk control. Some of these exercises can also incorporate the use of the Wii balance board, but it is not mandatory.
The game comes with a 30 Day Challenge of preset workouts which can be explored on three levels of intensity. Or you can select your daily workout from the over 60 preset workouts created by fitness experts. There is also an option to create your own workout by dragging and dropping exercises into a timeline. Families can even workout together because the preset or custom workouts can be explored by two players, each with their own personal trainer on the screen at the same time. This two-player option requires the purchase of an EA Sports Accessory Pack (for $20), which includes an extra resistance band and thigh strap.
CloseIs It Any Good?
This program is perfect for families who are serious about exercise. While the overall vibe of the activities is less fun than Wii Fit, the presence of your own personal trainer really motivates you to exercise. Plus the ability to create your own workout is a real plus for kids because they can select the sports minigames and dancing to get them moving. And they can do all this exercise with a buddy or a parent. By using the enclosed thigh strap to hold the nunchuk, the game is able to register your motions accurately so that, for example, when you squat, so does your avatar; and if you're not squatting down enough, your trainer will notice and comment.
One of the complaints about using Wii Fit with kids is that it can inappropriately label kids as being "overweight" or "obese" based on the adult BMI index. Unlike Wii Fit, EA Sports Active doesn't track weight, rather is focuses on calories burned, hours working out, and the number of workout sessions you have completed over a period of time. A small complaint is that you can not make your onscreen avatar look like a kid -- all avatars are adults. Bottom Line: If you liked Wii Fit, you will love EA Sports Active.
ClosePublisher’s Details
Released on 5/19/2009, price $60, not online enabled
ESRB rating: E (for (No Descriptors))
ESRB rating: E (for (No Descriptors))
Our Members Say
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title on for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive consumerism
- My highlights are:
- Educational
- Easy to play
- I rate this title on for age 4 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
- Safety isn't an issue
- Easy to play
Perfect active gaming for all ages
We love this EA Active (yes, even better than Wii Fit)because it gives us opportunity to do workouts together that is "customizable" and more varied (ie. sports, cardio, upper body, lower body)than Wii Fit with regards to creating your favorite workout. The trainers come out in PIP (picture and picture)so it is easy to follow. The characters although adult looking, are more realistic than Wiifit characters. The trophies given after achieving goals are very encouraging. The workouts vary from easy to hard and would mirror an active workout that you would do in a class of circuit training and cardio in sport clubs. My 5 year old enjoyed playing this due to the trophies he gets from persisting to play different games (ie. first hour trophy, baseball batting x 200 etc)
- I rate this title on for age 2 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive consumerism
- My highlights are:
- Educational
- Good role models
- Safety isn't an issue
- Easy to play
I love this game! Thank you Nintendo!!!!!!!!
- I rate this title on for age 3 and give it
Okay and fun for exercise!!
it is okay but they do make you enter in your weight and stuff
- I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
Fun
FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents say kids find it easy to play |
| 100% | of parents feel the site is safe |
| 100% | of parents say there are good role models |
| 100% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
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