Respondesign was founded in May 2004 with the mission to create, "Games that are Good for You". With this goal in mind we set our course on investing in the development of our first game title, Yourself!Fitness with our digital personal trainer Maya.

Together with early development partner Nike, Respondesign invested in consumer focus group testing the results of which told us that women’s interest in gaming was underestimated as a group and that as family entertainment shifted from television to the game console and the Internet – women as a group would emerge as a significant new opportunity. At launch in 2005, Yourself!Fitness’ Maya was news for health and fitness publications like Shape, Self and Women’s Health. Mass-market publications like Time, Newsweek and O - The Oprah Magazine positively reviewed Yourself!Fitness exposing Maya to millions of readers worldwide.

Yourself!Fitness info

Respondesign pursued an opportunity to license our fitness gaming technology to the company Softbank in Japan. This deal created the first example of a Japanese version of a fitness game. This version of Maya, called MinnaFit was very influential to the development of other fitness games from developers in Japan and around the world.

With a significant installed base of fans of Yourself Fitness and Maya the digital trainer, Respondesign released a PC version of our award winning fitness game and signed a significant development deal with Ubisoft for the creation of a Wii title featuring Maya, the digital personal trainer.

My Fitness Coach was first published by Ubisoft in 2007 for the Wii and PS2.

Together with Ubisoft, Respondesign delivered a port of the original Yourself Fitness game to the new Wii console from Nintendo. My Fitness Coach continued to utilize Maya, Respondesign’s virtual trainer to critical acclaim and success. Millions of consumers entrusted Maya with their fitness needs and goals making My Fitness Coach one of the most successful and best reviewed fitness games of all time. Ubisoft once again looked to Respondesign to license our fitness game technology for the creation of another fitness focused title to be released in 2009.

Ubisoft’s Your Shape with Jenny McCarthy was released to much critical acclaim. Your Shape combined a Ubisoft developed 2D camera (a first on the Wii console) with Respondesign’s fitness technology and artificial intelligence engine to create a unique and new fitness gaming experience. Respondesign also began work on the development of the next generation of fitness games that integrate a host of new features and devices to extend our lead in the fitness gaming product space.

Your Shape info