. However, it was proven that video games are beneficial for people who want to stay in shape and lose weight, because a person will not get tired or bored from doing what is usually fun to do.

An article that was published in one of the leading publishing websites, Devo-Digest.com, talked about the fitness benefits of “Kinect:” “This will give people an ideal avenue to exercise in their home, as people do not put off things that they find entertaining.”

According to Dr. Ahmed Al Garza’ie, consultant and head of obesity surgery and laparoscopy at Saad Specialist Hospital in Alkhobar, “Obesity is escalating nowadays in Saudi Arabia, reaching 30 percent of the population, which will make a lot of overweight people vulnerable to over 30 diseases.”

Other medical reports show that the increased obesity rate is linked to either the lack of free time, extreme heat, or expensive sports machines, which make hands-free gaming devices such as the Kinect the optimal solution. For example, the XBOX Kinect allows a person to exercise in front of his or her television through trusted sports programs designed in collaboration with video games developers and well-known professional sports trainers. They are suitable for everyone, especially females in Saudi Arabia, who are sometimes bound by culture.

Those types of video games are considered a fun and healthy activity for all the family members, keeping in mind that Saudi Arabia is a collectivist society that thinks highly of family ties. Such video games work as the link that connects parents with their children and friends of all ages, not to mention that video games nowadays have become a trend that exists in every house, due to the value it offers as a device for entertainment, sports, and education. Lately, Saudi families have been keen on owning a video game console in their houses to use it as a fun social activity in their gatherings. Also, Saudi women started to rely on those video games as a sports/social activity to stay in shape and make good use of their time.

Commenting on this matter, Roy Chalhoub, retail and OEM director at Microsoft Saudi Arabia, said: “Through its competencies, Microsoft usually promotes social activities. And from what we observed in the Saudi community and the high level of collectivism embedded in the Saudi culture, we found an opportunity to promote the concept of in-door group sport activities through the Kinect, which supports the collective nature of the Saudi culture through its healthy and fun activities.”

One of Kinect’s fitness games is “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.” After scanning your body, Kinect will view an image on the screen of yourself virtually. The game will ask for your weight, age, and it will calculate the calories burnt during your exercise. Kevin VanOrd from gamespot.com said, “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved demonstrates that Kinect is a natural home for the genre [fitness games].”

It is remarkable to see how gaming manufacturers are serving a cause that was once unreachable through their gaming consoles. Although it is not its main purpose, Kinect demonstrates how video games can help people stay in shape and become amateur athletes from the comfort of their own living rooms.

Manufacturers will see people’s enthusiasm for playing video games for fun as an opportunity; they will try to use their expertise and transform the idea into a lucrative process. However, major corporations try to contribute to the societies in which they exist through utilizing their specialty in tackling issues that sometimes are not common to their industry. If we look at Microsoft, sports are not related to technology. However, the company adopted that cause not only to promote its leading role as an organization, but also to be a good corporate social citizen that helps in inspiring people to improve their way of living an effective digital life and provide for them all the activities they cherish the most.