the dailymash

The Rickets Hero series, available for Nintendo Wii and Xbox, challenges the players to develop rickets as quickly as possible in time to a selection of soft metal classics.

After bouncing their fat bodies up and down on top of their spindly legs, each player stands up straight and measures the distances between their ankles and their knees.

These measurements are then typed into the game's 'hero-ometer' to decide which player has the best rickets.

In World of Ricketscraft, players enter a complex fantasy world where they create a character, or avatar, and then keep it sitting in a magic cave surrounded by enchanted bags of crisps until its legs go all wonky.

Games industry analyst, Nathan Muir, said: "Rickets Hero has been able to generate new revenue streams by allowing players to develop rickets in a group while listening to the Beatles.

"But World of Ricketscraft is still a really exciting and imaginative way to steer clear of vitamin D and all that horrible, leg-straightening daylight."

Meanwhile Grand Theft Rickets continues to dominate the over-18 market with its subtle blend of social commentary, in-depth characterisation and rickets-based street violence.