Childhood obesity may be a problem of epidemic proportions in many parts of the world, but several games are doing their part to help keep kids moving. We've already covered LocoMatrix, Swinxs and The Hidden Park, and now a new contender launched last month takes kids on a wifi-based treasure hunt outside.

Published by Aspyr Media, Treasure World is a game for the Nintendo DS that converts real-world wifi signals into online treasures. The story focuses on Starsweep, a space traveller who journeys through space in his ship called Haley. In the game, however, Haley has broken down and needs more stardust to get going again. A quirky robot named Wishfinder helps players find not just stardust but also treasure during their adventure by tapping the wealth of wifi hotspots available around the world. More than 2,500 in-game items and treasures such as trees, flowers, candy and clothes can be unlocked as players access the more than 200 million wifi treasure spots worldwide that are registered within the game, and those items can be used to decorate in-game environments. Some feature musical qualities; others can be used to dress up the player's unique character. Either way, the stardust uncovered helps move the spaceship along. Only some items are available at each hotspot, however, meaning that the more kids move around, the more they'll find. Players can also join Club Treasure World to chat, trade items and show off with other treasure hunters around the globe. Treasure World's list price is USD 29.99.

Treasure World is not only another blow in the fight against obesity, it's also a nice illustration of what our sister site likes to call the OFF=ON trend, whereby the online and offline worlds are increasingly overlapping. Game developers around the world: keep the kids moving and the innovations coming!

Website: www.nintendo.com/games
Contact: www.nintendo.com/corp/contact.jsp

Spotted by: Emmeliek Preijde

Regular Springwise readers may remember LocoMatrix, the location-based game we covered last year that kids play outside using GPS-enabled cell phones. Along similar lines, a new iPhone-specific counterpart aims to take kids on an eco-minded adventure through the park.

Released early this month by Australian developer Bulpadok, The Hidden Park is a computer game for young families that makes the most of the iPhone's features as it leads children into a fantasy world of trolls, fairies and genies. Families begin by downloading the app from Apple’s App Store for USD 6.99 and then heading to a nearby park—currently, the game supports a select group of parks in nine major cities around the world, including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney. From there, children navigate their way through the real park by following a magical map that reveals where mystical creatures live. As kids move past landmarks in the park, the map tells them where to go next, with puzzles and riddles to solve in order to save the park from greedy developers. Children also take photos of various landmarks—and of the magical creatures who are said to live nearby—and can store those photos in a gallery for an album of their adventure that day.

Taking full advantage of Apple's technology, the Hidden Park uses the iPhone’s A-GPS feature to accurately pinpoint each player’s movements within the park and plot them against the interactive map that forms the heart of the game, for example. Through Location Based Services (LBS) technology, the game triggers particular animations and tasks as the user reaches key points along their journey. The phone's accelerometer, meanwhile, allows users to shake the device to scatter mystical characters over any photographed image. The Hidden Park was created in collaboration with WSP Environmental. And while the game is currently focused on a set of key major parks, it can be adapted to others—in fact, the company is now working on a park builder that will allow parents to set up the game in their local park and share it with other parents. In the meantime, Bulpadok is also accepting nominations for additional parks to support in the game.

As developed nations around the globe fight childhood obesity, there's no doubt games like this will be welcomed with open arms; improving mobile technologies, meanwhile, are making more and more possible. How could *you* put the iPhone to work to slim down and entertain the world's kids...? (Related: Gyms for kids use gaming to keep them hooked.)

Website: www.thehiddenpark.com
Contact: info@bulpadok.com

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Millions of teens around the globe are already well-acquainted with Habbo, the popular virtual world aimed at those aged 13 to 18. Now Sulake, the Finnish creator of the site, has launched Bobba, a counterpart designed for mobile phone users 16 and older.

Launched into beta last month, Bobba bills itself as a "pocketsize virtual world" that's designed for use on mobile phones. Much as with Habbo, users can create avatars, build and decorate their own virtual surroundings on the site, and meet and interact with other users. More than 11,000 accounts have already been created; supported phones include a variety of models from Nokia, LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Lenovo; support for iPhones and the iPod Touch is coming soon.

Of course, besides enabling virtual product sales within the site, communities like Habbo and Bobba also provide a nicely targeted way for other businesses to meet and interact with particular segments of consumers—much the way Dutch Postbank did when it set up a presence on Habbo. After all, in today's socially networked world, the effectiveness of advertising is limited at best. Instead, companies must reach out to consumers where they naturally spend their time—and for legions of mobile users 16 and over, that just might turn out to be Bobba. One to watch!

Website: www.bobba.com
Contact: business@bobba.com

Spotted by: John Greene

One of the difficulties gamers often face is figuring out what their friends are playing at any given moment, and in enough time to join them. It's no simple task with all the many platforms out there, but a new site is hoping to make it easier.

Raptr is a free service that automatically detects when a gamer is playing a game on nearly any platform—including PC, Xbox Live, Mac, Flash, social games, browser-based games, Steam and even some games on the Wii and PS3—and then notifies their friends. Users begin by creating an account and listing their identities on the various games they play, along with the friends they'd like to keep up with. There's also client software to install on their computer. Then, when they start a game, players can either instant message their friends via the Raptr site, or they can have their friends on Facebook, Twitter and FriendFeed automatically notified. Raptr can automatically update friends on gaming achievements and play time statistics as well, and users get an integrated view of all their gaming identities in a single glance. Not only that, but in Amazon-like fashion, Raptr recommends new games based on past games enjoyed and friends' preferences. Finally, with the help of the Raptr client software, the service also keeps all PC games up-to-date, automatically downloading patches as they become available.

Ad-supported Raptr, which is based in California, launched into beta in September. While few of us would want such automatic tracking and informing applied to all aspects of our lives, it seems likely there are others that could benefit from a similar model. Entrepreneurs: start your engines! ;-)

Website: www.raptr.com
Contact: feedback@raptr.com

Spotted by: Bryce Hufnal

Much the way Magnify helps web publishers create niche video channels, Danish Nonoba enables anyone to create a branded gaming site that's customisable with more than 4,000 games and can be translated into 26 different languages.

Nonoba's first offering was an independent site where gamers can play both single- and multiplayer games for free. Nonoba Gamerise, however, is a fully functional, white-label content management system that lets anyone create a Flash gaming site of their own complete with all of Nonoba's community features but entirely customisable in look, feel and targeting. Sites built using Gamerise can be run on any domain; hosting and operations are managed by Nonoba, leaving the partner free to focus on content and monetization. Available features include a catalogue of more than 4,000 games; messaging, forums, chat and friend lists; and news feeds based on friend activity. Visual design and branding can be modified for both the site and any emails sent from it, while all phrases and texts presented to the user can be rewritten or translated into up to 26 different languages, including Chinese, Hebrew and Indonesian. Features are also available to enable site owners to control advertising.

More than 100 partners have signed up since the launch of Gamerise in March, including game portals in the Netherlands, China, Belgium, Portugal and Slovenia. By providing an easy-to-use platform for such developers, Gamerise is much like "Ning for gaming sites," as Nonoba cofounder Oliver Pedersen explains. One to try out, partner with, or otherwise get involved in...? (Related: Launch your own mobile network.)

Website: www.nonoba.com/developers
Contact: info@nonoba.com

Spotted by: Bryce Hufnal