My ears perked up earlier this week when I read some of the news reports following President Obama’s remarks at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association in Chicago.  During the President’s speech on health care reform, he said: “It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from the video games and spend more time playing outside.”

As a father of three and someone who spends many a morning or lunch hour out on a run and/or in the gym, I applaud the President urging Americans to get off the couch and get active.  Of course, I can’t resist pointing out that while I’ve always wholeheartedly endorsed moderation in anything you do, including playing games, it may be time for the President and his family to put their Wii to good use and fire up the 30-Day Challenge with EA SPORTS Active.  This is a “game” even the President may not want to “step away” from.

To be clear, there has always been an big place in the lives of my entire family for spending time outside and staying fit.  But I continue to be excited about what EA SPORTS Active is bringing to the world of physical fitness and the way it is changing people’s lives in the process - whether you’re someone who hasn’t broken a sweat in 10 years or someone who hits the gym six days a week.  In fact, I know he’s in pretty good shape, but I guarantee the President wouldn’t look quite so smooth walking across the White House lawn to Marine One the morning after his first session with EA SPORTS Active (especially if he does those pesky lunges)!

You’ve heard me say it so many times before, but it’s refreshing to see the opportunities we have now on the Wii and what some of the new motion control technologies in development at Microsoft and Sony may bring to enhance an at-home fitness experience like EA SPORTS Active.  In fact, I’d be willing to bet there are more consoles getting far more use in American homes than there is exercise equipment, so it’s up to us to continue to use the platform for good.

Mr. President, here is my challenge to you: Try EA SPORTS Active and I guarantee you’ll need aides saying “Yes You Can!” to finish your first workout.

Shifting gears, I mentioned last week that it was great to be back at E3 this year to feel the energy and excitement that is always swirling around this industry, particularly after my well-publicized complaints of the previous year.  Of course, the days after the show are always fun as we watch for all the awards that are announced by so many of the news outlets who covered the show.

While it’s tough for EA SPORTS since all of our products are pitted against each other in the “Best Sports Game” category (don’t even get me started about whether I think any of our games should be considered beyond just the sports category), I was pleased to see more than 40 nominations for EA SPORTS, including at least one nomination for every award-eligible title we had at the show.  Four different titles were also named winners, including Madden, Fight Night, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR and NHL.

In the case of Madden, kudos to the team at Tiburon for getting the nod for Best Technical Achievement by G4 on top of its multiple wins for Best Sports Game.  The new Online Franchise mode in Madden didn’t just beat out other worthy contenders in sports, but bested G4’s other finalists like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Mass Effect 2 (among others).  It’s further evidence of sports games being leaders in innovation, particularly with online where we’re connecting sports fans from around the world and throughout the season with experiences we could have only dreamed about a few years ago.

One of the highlights of our press conference was the video for Madden Online Franchise. MOF is a football fan’s dream come true and if you didn’t see the video, we have it for you here. Enjoy!