The line between workout and play grows ever thinner. Nintendo games such as Just Dance and Wii Fit brought movement to the living room with console-enabled games. Now gaming comes to the gym (or home cardio equipment) with Blue Goji, a fitness game from the makers of Guitar Hero.
The game element is viewed on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch and is familiar — your animated avatar might be in a boat race or boxing competition, but speed or power comes from Goji's fitness tracker, either in your pocket or clipped to your belt.
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The only other hardware is the two controllers, with two buttons each — these fit on the handles of gym cardio equipment such as ellipticals or bikes, while Blue Goji ships with two foam batons that can be substituted to make holding the controllers easier when walking or running on a treadmill.

The app itself is free to download and syncs with the activity tracker via Bluetooth 4.0. The app will provide metrics on your workouts over time, which can be synced with MyFitnessPal.
Judging by the success of Wii Fit, which has sold 22.67 million copies, there is an attractive market for games that bridge gaming and fitness.
The concept of gamifying an otherwise tedious workout has been well-received — the app Zombies, Run! was an early Kickstarter success.
Fitness buffs will agree that workouts in the gym are among the most tedious — there's only so long you can watch the minutes or miles tick by. Each level in Blue Goji's games is two minutes, and some games have up to 30 levels so you could potentially fill a 60-minute workout. If you plug in headphones you can hear the game music and sound effects, but if you are listening to your own music in another app, you'll only get the sound effects from Blue Goji.
The app can be controlled entirely from the handheld controllers (no need to deal with sweaty fingers on your touch screen) so gaming becomes an almost organic extension of a workout, and gives your brain a welcome distraction.

Guitar Hero's parent company was sold in 2006 and the division shut down in 2011. Mashable spoke with its founders, the same team now behind Blue Goji, about their plans to delve into the fitness category two years ago — it seems those plans come to fruition just in time for the holiday season.
Blue Goji costs $99.99 and the free companion app, which features eight games to download separately (but launched through the main app), is compatible with iOS devices with Bluetooth 4.0, including iPhone 4S, iPad 3 and Mini and fifth-generation iPod Touch. The company is looking to partner with developers to bring new or existing games to its platform, so expect the offering of games to grow.
Compatible with the iOS device you might already have and priced below most fitness trackers, Blue Goji might be just the thing to make your gym membership worth it.