Around 34 million Germans actively play video games. The German gaming market has a total volume of 3.27 billion euros - that's just under 5% of the industry's global sales. Internationally, Germany is one of the industry's most important sales markets. By 2022, active gamers worldwide are expected to grow from 395 million in 2018 to 644 million - in Germany, industry experts assume that the sales volume will grow to 6 billion euros by 2020. But it's not just active gaming that is finding favor in Germany - the popularity of e-sports is also growing steadily. e-sports events fill entire soccer stadiums with masses of fans, and there are special streaming platforms geared to the consumption of video games. For gyms, this offers huge opportunities for networking and tapping into new target groups. Find out everything you need to know about exergaming and how your gym can benefit from it here. 
Effects of Gaming on Fitness and Health
Sitting is the new smoking - this slogan goes around the world again and again. And the tendency towards sedentary activities is on the rise. In addition to work, more than 50% of the world's population spends at least an hour a day playing video games - and the trend is on the rise. The physical inactivity and sitting time of gamers as well as viewers of games is steadily increasing. This time is therefore missing for physical activities. And here we come full circle to the fitness industry: lack of time is one of the main reasons for people dropping out of fitness training at a gym.
One solution that is currently being discussed with interest by sports scientists, physicians and psychologists, is exergaming. The combination of an immersive online game with physical activity could reach the large group of gamers as a target group and pull this digitally affine clientele right off the sofa and motivate them to exercise.
Virtual Fitness - Revolutionizing Group Training?
Do exergaming offerings offer new growth potential for fitness studios?
Exergames are already used in the 1st and 2nd health market as a measure in prevention, rehabilitation and therapy, the target group includes young and old, men and women are equally enthusiastic about exergames.
In addition to the wide range of Exergames that are used privately, at home or on the road, various systems offer a real additional value
for the gym.Exergames are already focusing on events. Similar to e-sports, it is expected that exergames will build up a large fan base and thus become interesting not only for participants in competitions and "hobby players" but also for spectators and thus for sponsors. Leading the way here is Icaros. With the flight simulator and VR glasses, the player can immerse himself in an exciting world. They lie on their stomach on the futuristic device and immerse themselves in the game world thanks to the VR glasses. The player moves 360° through space
and flies through different worlds and levels. The system from Icaros is available both as a home version and as a professional device in various designs for the fitness and health industry.Other Exergames that are already being used successfully in fitness studios include the ExerCube from the Swiss company Sphery and the twall activity wall. Exergames are also popular in the field of spinning. Almost every major manufacturer already offers a wide variety of tracks that come to life for participants thanks to a large video screen in the training room or can be viewed less immersively while training alone on the equipment's console. Here, too, exercisers can already compete against each other on a networked
basis.The U.S. is already ahead of Europe in this area - companies like Exergame Fitness offer a wide variety of interactive exergames for gyms
- from dance simulations to activity walls and floors, gaming bikes to gaming solutions in the strength and cardio areas, and interactive climbing simulations.
Future
developmentsDevelopments
very similar to those in eSports
are
conceivable
inprinciple
.
Of course, this offers opportunities for fitness studio operators - by participating in events and through cooperations, studios, actually even the entire industry, can present themselves to a very broad audience. The developments in technology, better and better VR glasses and - as already mentioned the constantly growing gaming market - are unstoppable - reason enough to seize this opportunity as a studio operator and to inspire a growing target group for fitness training in the studio!
Target groups for exergamesThe
primary expectation that above all young people from 18-29 have a great interest in exergames is absolutely correct - but also older people are addressed to a great extent by interactive games with a high degree of social interaction
.
And modern devices allow even physically impaired people to be active. Coupled with the fun factor of gaming, this means that best agers, seniors and physically impaired people are also a large target group for exergames.
Conclusion
The fitness industry as a whole and the gym operator individually should definitely look into the exergaming trend
.
Fitness games are predicted to attract a lot of public attention, and the media attention and large fanbase of e-sports suggest that in the future, exergames could attract an audience of millions in front of their screens. This means that exergames could also become attractive for the communication and marketing strategies of large companies - why shouldn't gyms in particular present themselves to the public as partners here? The use of attractive exergames in gyms can attract new target groups and promote member loyalty among existing customers.
Find the right indoor bike now at an unbeatable price!
Editorial fitnessmarkt.de (DG)
Image credit: #247524699 Prostock-studio / stock.adobe.com
Published on: 31 October 2019