The Best Gaming Consoles and Accessories for Exercise in 2023

For some people, exercise is just the worst. No matter how much planning is done or how motivated a person is, getting in some exercise can be a serious hurdle. For gamers, there’s some relief available though in the form of exercise games, accessories, and even

consoles

.

It can be more than annoying to ask gaming forums about combining exercise and gaming, but then searching retailers can just leave players with way too many options to sift through. Game Rant has narrowed down the options to give players a path towards healthier living, without the boring aspects of standard exercise.

What Makes A Gaming Console or Accessory Good for Exercise?

As with any exercise equipment, gaming consoles and accessories are tools to help users achieve their health and fitness goals. Everyone knows that the fairly sedentary modern life isn’t healthy, but that doesn’t necessarily make it easy to know what is. When looking to exercise through gaming, players should choose consoles and accessories based on the following factors:

• 
  Consistency
  
  : Consistency is vital to almost any exercise regimen.
• 
  Multiple Uses
  
  : Many people abandon exercise equipment after a short time because they only interact with it for a fraction of their day.
• 
  Affordability
  
  : Though some are motivated by their investment, it’s typically best to start small and reasonable with any new equipment purchases.

The Best Gaming Consoles and Accessories for Exercise

The Nintendo Switch is the best gaming console for exercise because it hits all the marks. One of the cheapest current-gen consoles available, the Switch has innumerable games that require at least some motion. Nintendo’s Joy-Cons are some of the best motion controllers on the market and the Switch takes full advantage of that fact.

Plus, Nintendo is clearly committed to fitness games in a way that other brands simply aren’t. In 2023, they released a new version of

Fitness Boxing 2

that features a tie-in with the iconic anime

Fist of the North Star

, while 2022 saw the return of the much-loved

Wii Sports

series with

Nintendo Switch Sports

. There are tons of other fitness games available for the Switch too, including upcoming titles like

WarioWare: Move It

, though even standing-to-play motion games like

Mario Kart

can make a positive impact on a person’s health.

Ring Fit Adventure

is one of Nintendo’s best exercise games. It comes with a resistance ring and athletic straps to hold Joy-Cons in place while players run, jump, and duck through courses.

Ring Fit Adventure

especially excels at cultivating consistency, making it incredibly easy to devote as little as five minutes at a time while encouraging longer sessions.

This game is designed for people who don’t like to exercise but want to make sure they aren’t going to have serious health problems as they get older because of their inactivity. The plot of the game is somewhat engaging but also fairly easy to ignore and just start doing challenges. Most people who are out of shape will feel healthier with daily 10 to 15-minute exercises, making it a seriously low-commitment endeavor that should have at least some results. Although straps do need to be put on before the game can be played, it’s incredibly easy to seamlessly add a short exercise before starting a long game session on

Monster Hunter

,

Tears of the Kingdom

, or some other fan-favorite Nintendo title.

The Wii is quite old at this point, given the fact that two newer console generations have arrived since the height of its glory. However, there are still plenty of fans of the Wii who continue to generate demand for the system, although now the cost of a Wii is well under $100. Just like with the Switch, a combination of exercise games and motion controls make this console an excellent option for players who want to get moving.

The affordability of the Wii and the games for the Wii really make it the best budget console for exercise.

Wii Sports

is still a fantastic game filled with plenty of activities and challenges that force players to break a sweat. Those looking for a more structured exercise can rely on

Wii Fit Plus

, the game that can use a balance

board

alongside the exercises. Although it’s aging fast, the Wii is still a great console for families, as adults can enjoy classic titles and exercise games, while kids can be as rough as they want with the system without causing an expensive break.

As great as the Joy-Cons are at providing intuitive motion controls, most adults find the basic controller a bit small at best and completely non-ergonomic at worst. While

Ring Fit Adventure

addresses this by giving players a resistance ring, those who enjoy other Switch exercise games should consider purchasing the budget-friendly

Switch Sports

accessory pack.

This pack comes with five different sets of holsters for Joy-Cons, including golf clubs, tennis rackets, and swords. These accessories still aren’t very big, but the golf clubs telescope to fit different users’ heights and the plastic construction cuts down on the added weight of the controllers. Altogether, the set weighs less than two pounds and comes with a price tag of just $20. For players who really love to play

Nintendo Switch Sports, Fitness Boxing

, or even

Ring Fit Adventure

, this simple yet useful set offers incredible value.

The Meta Quest 3 was only recently released in early October but is already outpacing its predecessors. Significantly more expensive than the Switch, this high-end gaming console is one of the few standalone VR sets on the market. And while there’s a huge variety of games to play on the Quest 3, more than a few players rely on their most active games to stay fit.

Most people immediately think of one of the most popular VR titles when considering active games:

Beat Saber

. Playing

Beat Saber

can really work up a sweat, but there are other active games available that involve dancing, sword fighting, and running.

Additionally, the Quest 3 is just great fun for groups and solo players alike. With improvements to resolution, memory, and audio, the Quest 3 set has made virtual reality gaming more immersive than ever before. Although the battery life is somewhat short, players are unlikely to be able to keep up with hectic game motions for longer than three hours at a time anyway.

Regardless of battery life, standing in one spot for a long time gets uncomfortable fast, which is where the XPack VR mat comes into play. Similar to other anti-fatigue mats found behind cash registers and in kitchens, this padded mat offers relief for gamers tired of flirting with flatfoot on hard floors.

The texture mat is super smooth on top, making it easy to run in place and pivot to new positions without worrying about snags on socks. There’s also a textured section at the front that helps players know where their body is at any given time. It can be easy to get disoriented when wearing a VR headset, but with this VR mat players only need to find the angled raised sections to know exactly how close or far they are to other people and furniture.

Plus, the mat is naturally not limited to any one VR set. Regardless of whether a player is using the PS VR2, HTC Vive, or any other VR console, this mat will keep them comfortable, safe, and fully immersed.

How to Choose Gaming Exercise Accessories and Consoles

Choosing gaming equipment for exercising may be easier for absolute beginners who don’t have a console at all, though with so many options for game titles and accessories, it’s often not a simple decision to make. The best gaming consoles and accessories for exercise have a few key qualities that players can suss out with a quick skim of the product description.

Consistency

How a game encourages players to exercise regularly is one of the most important elements of an exercise game. After all, what good is the game if it’s never played, or not played very often? Things like daily quests, competitive modes, and encouraging language are important, even if they seem superfluous. Additionally, how easy it is to jump in and get a quick workout done is a major factor for most players. Be sure to pick a console and accessories that make it easy to exercise every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

Utility

Players who are already using the device they will exercise with are more likely to remember the importance of their exercise. Players should choose a console for exercise based on how much they think they’ll use the console overall, not just for exercise. Using the same console for both exercise and video games also makes it much easier to jump into a quick workout and then swap back to gaming. Finally, some accessories can be used for more than one console or more than one game, making them more worthwhile to spend money on and ensuring they won’t just collect dust after a few weeks of working out.

Cost

Some people need to spend money in order to feel motivated to work out or else “lose” their investment. However, it’s important to recognize that this can leave other players feeling worse about themselves when they “fail” to use their purchase enough. Players should make sure to balance the quality of a product with its features and compatibility so that they get the full value for their money, regardless of what gaming exercise equipment they buy.

More: The Best Portable And Handheld Gaming Consoles