Now that Nintendo has made getting hot and sweaty fun again, someone in the Philippines has decided that it should be a group activity. I’m talking about the Wii café, an innovative new idea that’s following in the success of the internet café.

Wii (pronounced “we”) is Nintendo’s newest gaming console, the device that has integrated physical activity and gaming. Thanks to this baby, the video games that simply allowed the rest of your body to atrophy away while you developed power thumbs are now a thing of the past.

The Wii system is composed of a small console, a thin, light sensor strip and up to four wireless controllers. When a player moves, the controller sends signals to the sensor, and the little player character on the screen copies their motions. While the graphics aren’t the best, the smooth motion transfer is perfect for the bundled software that comes with the console, Wii Sports. Now anyone can indulge in boxing, golf, bowling, baseball, and tennis from the comfort of their own living room.

Although Nintendo has never marketed the new device as a fitness item, there’s no denying that all that bouncing around while getting your character to chase after balls or throw the perfect hook shot is more active than twiddling on a regular console’s controller. For a lot of children (and surprisingly, even more desk-bound adults), it’s also more activity than they get in a regular day, and because it’s fun, it doesn’t even feel like exercise.

FriiSpirit Fitness and Fun café, however, takes this aerobic activity to the next level. Founded by four friends on Katipunan road, the café’s unassuming façade better resembles a small restaurant hideaway than a fitness center. Once inside, the décor is reminiscent of a high-end techno lounge, with plush custom-made pink beanbag sofas and flat-screen televisions everywhere.

The café intends to gather groups of families or friends and have them sweat it out in a Wii-induced frenzy. The place is large enough to hold up to 50 people comfortably, even those who are swinging their limbs about frenetically in time to the games projected on the screens.

It’s partially a good idea because the console costs a pretty penny, and not everyone can afford them or the attachments that would allow you to play with up to three other people at a time. But mostly it’s a good idea because it’s one whose time has come. Filipinos love group activities, and in keeping with the times, are looking for a healthier alternatives to hanging out at the local watering hole, and asking your whole clique to join you at the gym could raise eyebrows. Wii provides good, clean, wholesome fun, and gives unsuspecting players a pretty good aerobic workout.

While no way intended to replace the actual discipline and benefits of playing sports or getting outdoors, the Wii comes in pretty handy, and the entertainment value of being able to play with friends without getting whipped due to your lack of real skill is through the roof.

For those who aren’t into the whole sports-on-a-screen thing, near Ateneo University and Miriam College, this novel idea FriiStyle also serves up some mean cuisine, courtesy of Che Roces, one of the café’s founders. The lamb stew is incomparable, and the pesto is made of the finest ingredients one can find. The best thing about the grub is that while it’s restaurant-quality, it doesn’t cost an arm an a leg.

Neither does the privilege to use the Wii consoles. Yearly membership to FriiSpirit is a reasonable PhP 500, and what’s more, it’s consumable. The hourly rate for non-members is a little higher, but it’s still quite affordable.

The proprietors had originally thought that the café would be frequented by students, as its location is but a stone’s throw from the prestigious Ateneo University and Miriam College, but were surprised to find that their primary clientele turned out to be young and young at heart office workers looking for a more entertaining way to get fit after office hours. Rather than slogging off to a gym, these young men and women would converge at the café for dinner and an hour or two of high-spirited cardio-boosting play.

So, the next time you’re in the area, do check out FriiStyle at the ground floor of Burgundy Tower, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines, and experience the budding craze for yourself.