The Quest for the Perfect ExerGame

I have just been looking at and playing some really neat “ExerGames”. One of the them was based on snowboarding game, where the controller had been modified to incorporate a large skate board. So instead of twiddling your thumbs, you had to move your body from side to side to play the game. I must say that I found it totally immersive in the way that the on screen movements responded to my physical movement.

So what makes an “ExerGame”? Is it the hardware designed to incorporate body movement? Is it the software that makes the game? Is it when the  player steps up and starts playing? Is something more in a fusion of the hardware, software and the player’s movement that brings the “ExerGame” into existence?

Whilst this may seem quite a philosophical question, I think it points towards the essence of what “ExerGaming” is about. What do you think?