Yoga
Latest
Let's Speculation
Frequent new game release news source and occasional rental service Gamefly has come through again, hinting strongly at a probable U.S. release for two previously unannounced games: Let's Yoga and Let's Pilates. We're not terribly surprised to see this news: Let's Yoga (called Doko Demo Yoga in Japan) was released in Europe in November, and Ubisoft has announced their own competing yoga game, Quick Yoga Training.Gamefly currently says that both games will release on May 1st, just in time to provide DS owners with an outlet for Wii Fit-related fitness enthusiasm. We're interested in seeing how American gamers (or non-gamers) respond to the widening genre of training games.Read - Let's PilatesRead - Let's Yoga
Wii Fit's yoga demonstrated by comfy person
WiiFolder's Josh Thomas is back again, playing Wii Fit on camera so we can all see what we're missing. And no, he still hasn't bothered to change out of his pajamas. Blogging in jammies is fairly standard procedure, but we think that, as a rule, videoblogging requires pants. It could just be that Josh required comfy, roomy pajama pants for optimal Wii Fit stretching, we guess. It could also be that we've spent too much time talking about this dude's britches and we should start talking about Wii Fit now. Basically, in Wii Fit's yoga program, you're required to hold one of 15 poses to a pretty severe degree of precision (indicated by a dot inside a circle) for 30 seconds. It looks really damn hard. We anticipate busting our faces on the Balance Board within hours. Or getting an awesome workout.[Via GoNintendo]
Ubisoft quickly preparing yoga training
In Japan, Square Enix and Konami are battling (serenely) for domination of the DS yoga training game market. Konami has released their Doko Demo Yoga as Let's Yoga. But in the U.S., it's anybody's game. Literally -- any yoga game that comes out will be the best yoga game available. Ubisoft likes those odds.A listing has appeared on GameStop.com for a game from Ubisoft called Quick Yoga Training, to be released on March 28th. They had better be quick about their yoga training if they want to make sure to beat Konami, who (we assume) will release Let's Yoga over here ... at some point. As for us, we don't care who we get our yoga training from, as long as it allows us to stretch our limbs several times their normal size, breathe fire, and teleport.[Via Siliconera]
The yoga-game arms race heats up
As part of the second series of DS Style cards, Square Enix released a yoga trainer called DS de Hajimeru: Tipness no Yoga (Begin with the DS: Tipness's Yoga) in collaboration with Tipness, a fitness club chain. Naturally, it looks a lot like Konami's Let's Yoga, but it would pretty much have to. We think we prefer Square's aesthetic, which uses some cut-paper-style mascots and full-motion video yoga demonstrations.And we say that without being invited to the yoga class Square Enix held in Shibuya for the press. We look forward to seeing how the Great Yoga Game Wars of '07 play out.
TGS07: Konami moves beyond yoga
We've been interested in Konami's yoga trainer, but is the handheld ready to move beyond the mat? Apparently someone thinks so, because the company is planning several new similar titles. One is another yoga trainer, but there's also a Pilates trainer and a title focused around skin care. Doko Demo Yoga, Doko Demo Pilates, and Beauty Navigation: Dream Skincare are currently in the planning stages, but at the pre-TGS press conference, Konami reps also spoke about their plans to remake DS owners from the ground up with their Entertainment, Exercise, and Self-Management series. While the combination of skin care and the DS seems like a stretch for us (without protection, anyway), bringing Pilates to the handheld may be even more lucrative for the company than yoga. Pilates training can be notoriously expensive, and depending on the depth of the software, this could really offer a lot of options for people looking to add the method to their exercise regimen without emptying their wallets.
Let's Yoga shifts into place for Europe
Looks like non-Japanese yoga fans will get a taste of the discipline sooner than we expected. Konami's Let's Yoga has been announced for a European release sometime this November, though a specific date has not yet been attached to the title.A North American release has yet to be confirmed, though we expect to hear about it directly. If not ... who's with us for importing? A handheld yoga trainer just seems too good to pass up. After all, it's just as portable as a rolled-up mat.%Gallery-6931%
Let's look at Let's Yoga
The graphics for Konami's Let's Yoga aren't anything special, and we don't care. They don't have to be; so long as the menus are readable and the poses discernible, this "game" has everything we need -- and more. Where's the more come in? From the screenshots up at IGN, the title looks very detailed. Now that we can read the menus and understand what's going on (a luxury we didn't enjoy with the Japanese version), Let's Yoga is pretty impressive.So far, there's no firm date for Let's Yoga in the U.S., but IGN has a 2008 release predicted. The title hit last month in Japan, so we hope to have a chance to get bendy by February. Those breathing exercises should be a great way to combat the chill, but if you're on uncarpeted floors, we definitely recommend a mat.
Conceptual Yoga mat triples as stereo, display
For any devout yogis out there that also dabble in product development on the side, this one's for you. A concept created by Hui-Zong Chen describes a snazzy yoga mat that not only allows you to relax your inner being and place yourself in all sorts of awkward positions, but also enables you to partake in yoga class remotely thanks to the built-in display. Moreover, the tube / mat case packs a set of speakers and a flash-based music player, and we can only assume that a WiFi antenna is in there somewhere for those interested in streaming video classes to the head of the mat. Of course, we're not exactly sure how much "meditation" could actually ensue with all these enticing distractions around, but it's a novel idea regardless.
Breakfast Topic: WoW as meditation
There are a million ways to relax in this modern era. Yoga, taichi, zen koans, transcendental meditation, knitting, and yes, video games. It might seem odd to mention video games in the same sentence as "zen" or "meditation," but think for a moment: most forms of meditation involve focusing on one simple thing, such as the flame of a candle, or the repetition of a mantra, and excluding all other thought. Doesn't World of Warcraft call this grinding?Now, granted, there are plenty of complicated and interesting things to do in WoW that involve lots of concerted thought and could not be considered meditation. But couldn't grinding away on daily quests or farming for materials be considered a very modern way for some people to wind down, clear their mind of daily frustrations, and just be nothingness itself for a little while? I know for my part, playing WoW by myself for a while certainly isn't ecstatic communion with the divine, but it can be a great way to just put everything else away for a bit and come back to life feeling refreshed. What do you think: is grinding a form of meditation for you, or is it just something to do when you're bored out of your mind?
Friday Video: Konami Say Relax
We were unable to embed this week's video for you, but we just ... can't seem to get too upset about it. It must be all the inner peace we're feeling. We suggest you head over to Konami's Dokodemo Yoga page and watch the introductory video for yourself. It's hard to miss-- just click "play movie."Let the soothing music wash over you. It's no problem if you don't know Japanese. The narration will just be relaxing white noise for you. Just let the week's stresses dissipate. Maybe have some tea. Not being yoga practitioners ourselves, we have no idea if it's actually calming, but the video sure is.
DS Daily: Life and style
So maybe you're not really into the idea of a cookbook, and you haven't got much of an urge to learn yoga or French. But we're willing to bet there's something you'd like to use your DS for beyond gaming. What kind of apps or non-games might appeal to you? With the new internet browser, one potential function of the DS is fulfilled, but what might appeal to you? Something that's already available (just not in the US), or at least something that's already in development? Or would you want to design some other non-game or edutainment title?
Square-Enix unveils yoga lessons and gardening for the DS
Square-Enix recently announced a handful of non-games for the Nintendo DS, proving they can do more than milk the Final Fantasy franchise. What sort of winning ideas are in the pipeline? How about DS Yoga Lessons You Can Start Today, Flower-Blooming DS Gardening Lite, and Why Not Listen to Classical Music On DS?. The company is also planning a line of practical applications for the DS, such as travel guides for Italy, Hawaii and New York.If Nintendo can score a goal with a brain training game featuring a jaggy-faced Japanese scientist, who's to say these won't catch on as well? Now all we need are You Can Knit! Easy Stylus Touch Fun and Organize Your Final Fantasy Re-releases and Remakes Collection and we're set.
Square Enix brings lifestyle titles to DS
Continuing its praiseworthy support for the Nintendo DS, Square Enix has announced DS Style, a new line of software for the casual gaming audience. According to the latest issue of Famitsu, the company is venturing away from its RPG franchises for a moment, focusing instead on leisure activities like yoga, classical music, and gardening. It might not sound as exciting as SRPG battles or Chocobo mini-games, but different strokes for different folks.Square Enix will also be releasing DS travel guides based on the popular World Walking tour book series in Japan. These guides will provide maps and other useful information for sightseers visiting countries like France or Thailand. Check past the post break for the full list of destination guides and verbose titles from Square Enix's DS Style lineup. [Via NeoGAF]
Learn to walk with Walking Navi
Now that your brain is sufficiently trained, you can begin figuring out how to move around! Okay, so really it presumes you already know how to walk and are interested in walking as exercise. Too bad, because it's a lot funnier the other way. Just like Cooking Navi and Dokodemo Yoga, Duke Saraie no Kenkou Walking Navi (Duke Saraie's Health Walking Navi) is designed so that users can choose their program, set their DS systems down and have directions barked at them while they follow along. Fitness celebrity Duke Saraie will help you warm up, then lead you through your workout. Wait, workout? We want to try this to see what kinds of "workouts" could be involved other than "walk for a while", "walk for longer than the last time", and "walk for a while, but faster".Try Screenshot Inspecting Navi after the post break.[Via NeoGAF]
Yoga on the DS? Why not!
Looks like Japan is set to get yet another training game (our second announced today!). What gives? The rest of us want to become better cooks and have more common sense as well. Maybe someday .... The latest training game from Konami looks to be an aid to practicing yoga. What a great way to promote fitness! Further, the portability of the DS makes this pretty practical, as you can just pack it up with your yoga mat, and bam! You're ready to go get bendy, wherever and however you want. We may not be marketing experts here at the Fanboy, but we would think that something like this could really help expand the gaming market in the U.S. Perhaps if the Wii has a few fitness-themed titles that enjoy success with the soccer mom crowd, we'll start seeing a little more demand for something like a yoga trainer. [Via GoNintendo]
