$350? Hmm, I pay $4/mo. at 24Hour Fitness...I think I'll wait until they pick one up. Until then, I'll stick with the rowing machine. And DDR on the side, of course.

@Blitz: Well that game was a heap of fun when I was 10 or 11. The game had it's own charm and it was addictive and original.

Just thought I might respond to some of the things talked about here.

@John K. and the others:

I was surprised about the fact that there were no discussions about the Wii at the event I was at. I expect that to change soon (if it hasn't already), but it seems the fitness industry is still a little slow to these things.

@Kharne:

I also believe the consoles had a game (that I can't find) called Yourself! Fitness or You! Fitness. However, unlike DDR, Kinetic, or this Gamebike, it wasn't really a game, but a program.

@Nightwing

You're absolutely right. I got lucky that I went to this part of the showfloor when I did since it allowed me extra time, but there was only so much allowed. I will add some surprise to that review however, as there were some issues that I had with the device (that they might have changed since), such as a brake button on one side of the handlebars that blended with the rubber grip of the bar itself. Nothing is more frustrating than peddling as hard as I can and having my on screen vehicle only go 15mph. I do agree with the rest of that review though.

@Brokenscope

The price is indeed a bargain, especially considering that these are rated for heavy use in health clubs.

@jake

THANK YOU! You're the only other person who's thought of that game besides myself. Strange world.

NES also had its own pad too, anyone remember the power pad? Heh, a friend of mine had one but he only had Track and Field or whatever it was for it (was there any other games that even used it? O_o) We use to cheat with it by holding onto a dresser and just hitting it with our heels as fast as we could, it was easy to destroy all the records and opponents, heh.

Hasn't this been done before? Didn't the NES have its own exercise bike?

I think that $350 is a rock bottom price compared to other fitness equipment out there. If they added Wii support and it was available in Australia, I would DEFINATELY get one for our family.

There are some downsides to this sort of thing, of course.
I live in an appartment complex, and DDR would really piss off the people below me.
There are stories from around here (St. Paul, MN) of wii players who swung their nunchuck controller too hard and put a hole in their plasma screen. (Last I heard, Nintendo is doing a recall on the wii controller wrist straps.)

I remember their being a fitness title for PS2's EyeToy called "EyeToy: Kinetic" And before that there was that floorpad thing for the orginal NES. So there's been attempts to get fitness into gaming before.

The gamebike seems like a nifty (though pricy) idea. But I have to admit the Wii would perfect for trying to make a fitness based game, espically if a DDR pad or something similer is made for it.

I know this post comes 3 and a 1/2 months after the topic died but hopefully someone in the games industry or cycling industry will read this and do something about it.
I think for the gamebike concept to really work there needs to be a more up to date version for the XBOX 360 and PS3 and software designed specifically for the gamebike. I would imagine it would be quite easy for a game developer to make a realistic cycling game in the Gran Tourismo mould with customisable outfits and bikes. Have "gears" on the bikes that are set to different levels of resistance which would of course make the bike go faster. Make use of the xbox live type environment where you could go for a leisurly ride through some pretty environment (a rain forest board walk, maybe outrun a dinosaur in Jurassic park, or the streets of Paris etc, ) all the while talking to your mates on the other side of the country or planet through the head set and webcam, or have a full on competition mode that could be set in a velodrome with all sorts of races or on the Tour de France. The networked environment already has a ranking system that the game could make use of.
With the modern games consoles they could store all the data and do all the processing etc so there is no real need for an on board computer which could bring the cost down. It could be wireless to save clutter and perhaps redesign the handelbars to incoperate brakes, gear levers, and leaning. This would make the bike limited in the scope of games it could play.
A proper cycling game could also make use of a pacemaker as a coach, hills to make it harder, slip steam from a pack to make it easier and surface changes. Weather conditions would also change resistance in the flywheel. Difficulty levels would be established by ones fitness more than reaction times. Car racing games already do most of this anyway and they give feedback to the player with rumble packs which could be located in the handel bars or under the seat.
The key would be to make a fun game about bike riding and fitness and the online community as the computer hardware already exists, exercise bikes already exist that bring on extra difficulty when there is a hill. And as for the game a car racing game is a good starting point with some smaller, tighter tracks, customisable bikes and riders, and most importantly a training mode so that you need not worry about being whipped when you are out of shape because the whole point is to get into shape.
The biggest problem with the home exercise bike is that it is lonely and boring and not engaging, the biggest problem with road cycling is that roads are often dangerous, punctures and weather are factors you have to take into consideration and unless you are riding in a pack it is lonely and boring. With the "live" type environment both of these problems can be solved. It will just take someone in the games industry to put this together.

hi...

wonderful post...

I have owned all sorts of exercise equipment and this is the only one that didn't make me want to get done with it as soon as I can. The GameBike feels very well made and with the availability of games, I know I will not tire of it like I have others."