Will Games Consoles Ever Replace The Gyms London Has To Offer?

This phenomenon has already been recognised as a serious threat to the gym industry with the most recent industry report by Mintel (2009) suggesting that as many as 12 million households own a Nintendo Wii, a figure that has surely grown since then with the advent of the Wii Fit and the time that has elapsed since this study.

For the gyms London has to offer, it is yet another form of competition for revenue that historically would have steadily flowed through cash registers in the form of gym membership payments. But times are changing; people are changing and the gyms London has to offer need to respond to the challenge. So what are the attractions of games consoles as a form of exercise, and is it even really exercise?

Well first and foremost the biggest attraction is surely that it can be done in the comfort of one’s own home which, given the summer we have had, is probably quite a sensible option if you don’t like the wind and the rain! It is much easier to store in the living room than an exercise bike or even a stability ball and, when you consider membership options at the gyms London has to offer can cost anything from £400-£1,200 per year, it is a comparatively inexpensive option.

Secondly, it is an undeniably fun way to get the pulse racing and the sweat pouring and anyone who has actually used the Nintendo Wii will know exactly how painful your arms and legs can be after a spot of Wii Tennis or Boxing!

The final attractive aspect of games consoles as a form of fitness is the ability to compete with friends and family across a range of activities. Compared to the stereotypical moody teenager sitting in their bedroom playing Championship Manager for hours on end the Nintendo Wii is a socially acceptable form of gaming!

Having established that games consoles can be fun, convenient, relatively inexpensive, sociable and tiring should they still be considered a serious competitive threat to the gyms London has to offer? There is no doubt that anyone reading this article with a serious passion for fitness will already feel their blood boiling at the mere suggestion, but it is often said that ‘perception is reality’. Many people genuinely see computer games as an alternative to using the gym or even leaving the house to get some exercise. This could be interpreted by some as an excuse enabling people to convince themselves that they are actually getting more exercise than they really are, but this view is hardly unique to people that play games consoles!

Whilst this is the case, the argument about whether or not games consoles offer a genuine fitness alternative is a bit of a moot point and gyms will just need to work harder to educate people more effectively. The fact that systems such as the Nintendo Wii have even managed to carve a niche for themselves is in part due to the complacency of gyms to properly educate people about the health benefits of a real workout beyond their existing user base.

In the absence of such educational messages, more and more people will go for the easy option and the knock on effect is that gyms will increasingly struggle to be heard in a crowded fitness industry.

By: Jenna Bush

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As it appears games consoles could soon replace many of the gyms London and the rest of the world have to offer. Visit payasUgym.com for pay-as-you go gyms.