Pokemon GO isn’t the first game that’s tricked us into exercising.
Here’s a brief history of accidental exercise games!
the headline no doubt reads), its actually more of compliment.
When I say roots, I mean the arcade.
This led to the infamous gaming crash of 83.
Only its not really accurate to call it a complete industry crash.
Its not exactly fair to say that the system entirely killed the concept of exercise and gaming, however.
At least these early handheld attempts were fun, though.
Some of the other, more direct efforts at getting gamers to move while playing were much more laughable.
Similar devices became a bit of a running joke (no pun intended).
It wasnt until November 21, 1998 that movement in gaming really took a major leap forward.
This was the day thatDance Dance Revolutiondebuted in Japanese arcades.
DDRis really the first instance of a successful game that promoted genuine exercise through the course of natural gameplay.
The next instance of this effect would come about a year later with the release ofTony Hawks Pro Skater.
Elsewhere,DDRs exercise influence wouldnt really be felt until the release of 2007sWii Fit.
Along withWii SportsandWiiPlay,Wii Fitwas designed by Shigeru Miyamoto to be one of the Wiis core experiences.
That isnt to say that theWii Fits innovations were entirely unfruitful, however.
Its at this point you may be asking, Have we arrived back atPokemon GOso quickly?
Well, yes we have.
And yet, it would be a mistake to so easily overlookPokemon GOs role in this story.
But they are most certainly not.
Matthew Byrd is a staff writer.
