Gaming has come a long way from the days of smacking a white dot back and forth across a TV screen. Violence and gore doesn’t have to be a part of the gaming experience either. LucasArts recently announced that by the end of 2006 more than 500,000 guests had “purchased a ticket” to Thrillville, a videogame where players create and experience the theme park of their dreams. Released on Nov. 21, Thrillville welcomed enough visitors in only six weeks to make it the year’s No. 1 original children’s gaming franchise.

“The success of Thrillville proves that kids are looking for engaging new gaming experiences, and we’re grateful to see children and their entire families come together to enjoy the product,” said Kevin Kurtz, director of Global Marketing, LucasArts. “Games with great content tend to rise to the top, and Thrillville is no exception. It’s also an amazing value, delivering countless hours of the experience of a theme park for less than the price of a single ticket to one.”

Another company banking on the attraction of great gaming content is Electronic Arts. Their latest title in the UEFA Champions League series will ship to stores worldwide on March 20 in anticipation of the real-world tournament that culminates in the UEFA Champions League Final in May.

The Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system version of the “UEFA Champions League 2006-2007” introduces a new way to play the beautiful game by introducing a collectable virtual card system in the Ultimate Team mode that enables you to develop your team.

This complements the traditional way of playing as your favorite club team from qualification right through to a virtual reproduction of the championship final. Plus, UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 features new challenging game modes to test the most skillful players at the highest levels.

But what if just sitting behind a console isn’t your idea of immersive entertainment? In that case it’s time to turn on the Dance Revolution. Konami’s videogame, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is played on a dance pad. The game is more than just fun. Research has shown that it’s great for your health too.

West Virginia University (WVU) and the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) have announced the results of the West Virginia Games for Health research project. With clinical oversight provided by WVU, this home-based project involving primarily children of PEIA policy holders, has shown that consistent use of DDR improved the health, attitudes and behaviors of participating children.

The 24-week at-home clinical study required participants to play the game five days per week for at least 30 minutes and to record their activity while WVU monitored several health indicators over the course of the study including: Weight, blood pressure, body mass index, arterial function, fitness levels and attitudes toward exercise. The study was borne out of a need to address the epidemic of childhood obesity. DDR is a high-tech, easily accessible game that can be played virtually anywhere. It is also appealing to young people.

The researchers found that although not all of the children lost weight, the majority did not gain weight while experiencing improvements in their aerobic capacity, blood vessel function and overall fitness level.

All the subject were above the 85th percentile for body mass index according to gender and age. Just as significantly, the children’s attitudes toward exercise improved as did their self-esteem.

The research was so compelling that financial support is being provided to fund DDR equipment, train physical education teachers and promote DDR clubs in all West Virginia public schools.