jOG for Wii Fitness accessory debuts at Toy Fair

Power your movement in game by running on the spot

28 January 2009 18:45 GMT / By Stuart Miles

A UK toy company is hoping to offer a cheap alternative to the Wii Fit and its accompanying Wii Board with the launch of an interactive pedometer accessory for the Nintendo Wii.

The new add-on, which is called jOG for Wii will cost around £20 when it becomes available in April. Needing no software and working with most games the device, that is shaped like a heart, connects to the Wii Remote and Nunchuk before clipping to your belt.

The accessory then allows you to control your movement by bypassing the Nunchuk's joystick and simply letting you walk on the spot. The jogging motion then translates into allowing your character to move in game. The idea, say the company is to encourage gamers to walk while they play.

For those interested in seeing how far they've walked and what the benefits are, the unit offers a step counter as well as the ability to calculate the calories you've burned.

The only catch appears to be that if you're playing games like Resident Evil on the Wii you'll have to turn it off (via a handy button at the top of the unit) before being able to aim.

A spokesperson for the company, re:creation, has said that the company already has future models in production that will monitor how fast you are walking and translate that in the game.