In this age of derivation and endless sequels, it's not often that a clean, clear new idea is presented in videogaming, but I think kotaku's Brian Crescente has one:

Tie real-life fitness to in-game performance.

Not one of those "You have to pedal a bike to move your guy" things, but imagine an MMO or a FPS where your character could only run as fast and as long as you can run in real life. At the start of the game, a monitor checks your heart rate, and bases your characters "stats" on that. The technology is there already--USB heart rate monitors, the Wii Fit "Balance Board," etc.--all the world needs is the killer app that would make it work together.

Having watched people grind MMOs for hours and weeks to find a sword that boosts damage .03%, we think an hour in the gym a day wouldn't be too much to expect to keep an avatar in peak physical condition.

What do you think? Good idea, or just too much effort to be worthwhile?

Kotaku: What if you character was only as fit as you were?