The present invention provides an exercise system including an exercise device and an interactive game environment. An enclosure receives an exercise device and the exercise device receives a theme element. Sensors, transducers, and a man-machine interface are interconnected by a controller which operates sensory stimulators in response to controller instructions and user, sensor, and transducer signals. Game play is influenced by a user's exercise performance and in an embodiment a first exercise system user competes with a remote second exercise system user utilizing a wide area network that interconnects the controllers of the two exercise systems.