Participants and spectators from across the United States will come together in Los Angeles on September 3-5 for the Wii Games: Summer 2010 national championship. As many as 90 winning teams from dozens of qualifying events held throughout the country will join six sweepstakes winners to participate in this first-of-its-kind tournament event. Players of all ages will enjoy the fun of Nintendo’s groundbreaking motion-control video games as they compete for prizes and celebrate the active, inclusive spirit of the Wii console. Olympic gold medalist and Dancing with the Stars champion Shawn Johnson, the official Wii Games: Summer 2010 Ambassador, will make a special appearance to lead participants in a Wii warm-up session on Sept. 3.

The Wii system has revolutionized the way people play video games by bringing simple-to-use motion controls and a physically active brand of social fun into millions of households worldwide. Now Nintendo of America is urging players of all ages and backgrounds to step out of their homes and into the active-play spotlight during the first-ever Wii Games: Summer 2010 national competition. Beginning July 16 with a large-scale kick-off event in Liberty State Park in New Jersey and culminating in a national championship event in Los Angeles Sept. 3-5, the Wii Games: Summer 2010 competition will include tournament events in 24 markets across the nation. People are encouraged to come together to have fun, interact with the games and one another, and vie for top scores as they get active with Nintendo’s groundbreaking motion-control video games.

Health Games Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio (RWJF), today unveiled a searchable database tracking more than 1,200 resources related to digital health games. This online tool, available at www.healthgamesresearch.org, for the first time enables researchers, game developers, health professionals, educators, funding agencies and policy makers to access in one place a wide-ranging compilation of health games, research findings, publications, organizations and events in this growing field.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Electronic Arts held a press event to kick off GDC 2010 and showcase a number of new EA Sports titles, including the technology of the next generation of exercise games. Millions of people around the world have experienced the revolution in home fitness since last spring with EA SPORTS Active, the number one rated fitness program for the Wii™. Electronic Arts announced that EA SPORTS Active 2.0 (working title) is now in development and will be available this fall on PlayStation 3, Wii, iPhone and iPod touch. The new EA SPORTS Active 2.0 fitness program will deliver true fitness results by featuring an innovative wireless control system, powered by new leg and arm straps with motion sensors, a heart rate monitor to capture intensity, and a new online hub to track and share workout data. EA SPORTS Active 2.0* will make working out simple, effective and will go with you wherever you are.

LOS ANGELES, California – When it comes to personal trainers of the stars, Bob Greene is known around the globe as Oprah Winfrey’s fitness guru. As such, Greene reaches a huge audience of women around the globe. Electronic Arts hired Greene away from his Hollywood clientele to help develop the first two EA Sports Active exercise games for Nintendo’s Wii. The games were developed to appeal not only to women, but to gamers of both sexes and all ages. Greene, who’s an exercise physiologist and ceritified personal trainer, took some time away from the Hollywood gym to talk about how active he’s been in creating the first two EA Sports “trainer in a box” experiences.

OXFORD, Mississippi – With more families eating extra calories over the holidays, a new study finds exercise gaming might not help as much as some had thought. The Nintendo Wii Fit game some people are considering as Christmas gifts may be great entertainment, but a recent study at the University of Mississippi showed the console had little effect on family fitness.

Although overall videogame sales have been down seven of the last eight months compared to the record-breaking 2008, games are still the driving force in entertainment, as well as electronics and toys today. The $550 million, five-day haul that Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 raked in – the largest entertainment launch in history -- shows the power of interactive entertainment even amidst the tough economic climate.