First Look: EA Sports Active 2.0

Dare we call it "More Active"?

During its "Season Opener" party tonight at the Press Club in somewhat rainy San Francisco, EA Sports announced the next logical step in its fitness franchise, EA Sports Active 2.0.  Although the game was not on display anywhere on the floor, we did get a few ideas what to expect from this next entry in the popular weight loss series.

First off, one of the folks behind the game showed off a new get-up that attaches to different parts of his body, namely his wrists and his waistline.  These look like heightened motion sensors of some sort, allowing you better freedom of movement from the strap used in the previous game.  No word yet on what these will cost, but they're also used for tracking heart rate, so that your exercise program will change depending on your algorhythms and how you react to certain activities.  (No word yet on what these workout programs are at this point.)

In addition, EA Sports Active 2.0 is not only coming to the Nintendo Wii, but two other platforms as well -- the PlayStation 3 and the iPod Touch/iPhone.  No doubt the PS3 version will use the motion sensitivity of the Dual Shock controller into your exercise movements.  However, we're curious what the portable platforms have in store for this game.  Do you cusp the iPhone/iPod Touch in your hand while doing them, or do you leave it sitting somewhere to track your body movements?  EA was pretty mum on it thus far, so hopefully we'll hear something back soon.  Sadly, it doesn't look like the exercise series is coming to any other platforms, including the Xhox 360, anytime soon.

Finally, EA has confirmed that the game will have a new online component, enabling you to not only share your fitness stories and workouts with your friends online, but also team up with others for specific workout programs and regimes.  This re-enacts the group workout method made popular in several health clubs, and also introduces you to custom set-ups that you wouldn't have thought possible.  EA has yet to expand details on this, but it already sounds quite promising.

We'll have more details on EA Sports Active 2.0 over the summer, so check back with GamePlayBook for more.  We're pretty sure you'll work up quite a sweat with it when it arrives this fall.