Two press releases sent our way today reveal a trend in fitness video games toward legitimacy — Ubisoft teams up with Gold’s Gym and EA Sports Active scores a thumbs-up for American College of Sports Medicine fitness guidelines. All this just weeks after the American Heart Association announces a Nintendo endorsement.

Ubisoft’s new game is called Gold’s Gym Dance Workout. It’s almost entirely cardio-based with players cycling through dance routines crafted from a mix of Latin dance and boxing-inspired moves. The “Gold’s Gym” part comes from the setting — players can work out at five of the establishment’s most iconic locations, like the legendary Venice Beach, CA store. Dance Workout also features a two-player co-op mode, but with only one Wii Balance Board, we’re not sure how that works.

Meanwhile EA Sports Active (and it’s sequel, More Workouts) tries to spread the word that its a “real” fitness tool — not a video game. We kind of got that impression from all of the ads that show people actually doing crunches and stuff instead of playing cute mini-games, but now, there’s a study out there that says the games pass the American College of Sports Medicine fitness guidelines for an “effective workout.” The study comes from a Dr. John Porcari of the University of Wisconsin.

Taken apart, these announcements seem like no big deal — but combine them with Nintendo’s recent endorsement deal from the American Heart Association, and we’re seeing the predictions of EA Sports’ Peter Moore come true as the fitness games market expands to a segment of the population that has nothing to do with gamers.

So watch out Wii-owners — your console my get co-opted as a fitness tool by the non-gamers in the family.

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