Nintendo President Defends Wii Vitality Sensor

[Logan Westbrook]

Nintendo President Defends Wii Vitality Sensor

Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aime has defended the latest add-on for the Wii

It looks like something you might see attached to an EEG machine or a lie detector and no one can quite figure out what it's supposed to be for, but Nintendo America Boss Reggie Fils-Aime has defended the Wii Vitality Sensor.

Speaking to FastCompany's [http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ngai-croal/dialogue-tree/nintendos-innovation-console-qa-reggie-fils-aime] N'Gai Croal, Fils-Aime compared the Vitality Sensor to the confusion that surrounded the Wii-Mote, saying: "We probably had a similar conversation about the Wii Remote: how is this going to work, how is it going to work with the games that I want to play--I don't get it."

"Now I'm hearing something similar for the Wii Vitality Sensor. And all I can tell you is, with the game developers that we have, we will bring forth an experience that you will say, "Wow, I get it," he continued.

According to Fils-Aime, detractors of the Sensor lack imagination, and the software examples necessary for that eureka moment of realization: "Until you have that software, it's tough to understand. If I told you that you would be standing on an oversized bathroom scale, and having fun doing it, you probably would have said, "Reggie, I don't get it." And yet here we are with the balance board arguably as the third largest development platform across the globe."

Fils-Aime does make a good point, that it's software that shifts hardware, and not the other way round, but releasing a new peripheral, that no one can figure out, without any examples of it in play, it's not hard to see why so many are skeptical.

Source: FastCompany [http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ngai-croal/dialogue-tree/nintendos-innovation-console-qa-reggie-fils-aime] via Gizmodo [http://gizmodo.com/5311649/nintendo-on-the-wii-vitality-sensor-you-just-dont-understand]


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[Jumplion]

Bah, I still make epic Facepalm to Vit-Sensor!

At least they showed us some stuff to do with the Balance Board, didn't they?

 

[DeadlyYellow]

What the heck is that thing? We now have games that check our pulse?

Is this a joke? Someone tell me this is a joke.

What's next? An attachment that pricks your finger and checks your blood sugar? Maybe give a blood cell count?

 

[Mr. Fister]

Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica puts it well enough:

"You know, I'm done being angry at or skeptical of Nintendo. Every time I think they're doing something stupid they sell five hojillion copies of their newest concept. So sadly, I believe him."

 

[10BIT]

What the heck is that thing? We now have games that check our pulse?

Is this a joke? Someone tell me this is a joke.

What's next? An attachment that pricks your finger and checks your blood sugar? Maybe give a blood cell count?

http://www.slipperybrick.com/2009/07/nintendo-ds-glucose-reader-for-kids-with-diabetes/
In case you were genuinely had no idea

 

[Tehpwnsauce]

Well of course he's gonna defend it. It is his job to do so.

 

[Sevre]

I think the Wii is now going over the horizons, the borders of "game consolde", pretty soon it will be classified as a electronic entertainment center. Assorted crap included.

 

[Jumplion]

Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica puts it well enough:

"You know, I'm done being angry at or skeptical of Nintendo. Every time I think they're doing something stupid they sell five hojillion copies of their newest concept. So sadly, I believe him."

Is it even sadder that I agree with him 100%?

 

[jaeger138]

I also am in the 'I'm done' camp. I can't stand it anymore, I can be mad at Nintendo all I like for taking what was meant to be a game console and turning into a health and fitness club but it won't make a difference. Apparantly this was the answer to people saying we gamers don't get enough excersize, and we should have been playing outside when we were young. We all know that this is a BS opinion as many of us did play outside, I used to love climbing trees and playing armies when I was young, but I also used to love my SNES and my PC.

But apparantly the ignorant world wants to combine the things until you can't really tell what this thing is, a console? An excersize machine? A fun and excersize simulator? I won't be buying this crap, but what do I matter?

 

[HardRockSamurai]

Nintendo is already a big and powerful corporation that has made millions upon millions of dollars selling video games; and now they think they can pass off medical equipment as a peripheral??? Fat chance!

That's like if they released an add-on called the Wii Pregnancy Test; NO ONE WILL BUY IT! (besides the incredibly old and the incredibly stupid.)

[small]....................well, maybe not the incredibly old....................[/small]

 

[T'Generalissimo]

Am I actually the only person who is really, really curious to see how they're going to try to market this thing? I honestly don't understand why people are getting so angry about this. Skepticism I could understand, cynicism would make sense, concern would be reasonable, but why anger? Just wait and see. There's a good chance that this will be exaclty what we expect it to be: not for us, but to get worked up now, before we even know how it's going to be used doesn't make any sense to me.

Also, are people actually still suprised that Nintendo is looking to other markets? Have you people not seen how well the Wii is doing by not being aimed only at tradtional gamers? They are a business, remember. They do like money.

 

[oneplus999]

It's not really that hard to imagine them making use of this, is it? I mean, the thing checks your pulse, so obviously it will be able to do things like, require you to get you pulse up/down as part of an objective, for example keeping it down in an exciting game or getting it up in an exercise game. Alternatively, it could be a way to figure out if a game is "pushing" you too hard, and to level off the difficulty (or to make it harder). It's a pretty 1-dimensional input, but I can definitely see some interesting uses anyway.

 

[Graustein]

Am I actually the only person's who is really, really curious to see how they're going to try to market this thing? I honestly don't understand why people are getting so angry about this. Skepticism I could understand, cynicism would make sense, concern would be reasonable, but why anger? Just wait and see. There's a good chance that this will be exaclty what we expect it to be: not for us, but to get worked up now, before we even know how it's going to be used doesn't make any sense to me.

Also, are people actually still suprised that Nintendo is looking to other markets? Have you people not seen how well the Wii is doing by not being aimed only at tradtional gamers? They are a business, remember. They do like money.

In answer to your first question, no. I can't think of very many applications for it. It complements Wii Fit nicely, and could have a place in survival horror, but that's otherwise it.

To the second question: Because games is serious business.

 

[heliosa]

It's not really that hard to imagine them making use of this, is it? I mean, the thing checks your pulse, so obviously it will be able to do things like, require you to get you pulse up/down as part of an objective, for example keeping it down in an exciting game or getting it up in an exercise game. Alternatively, it could be a way to figure out if a game is "pushing" you too hard, and to level off the difficulty (or to make it harder). It's a pretty 1-dimensional input, but I can definitely see some interesting uses anyway.

I think your right there But it could be used for survival to make parts scarier if your pulse is down etc.

 

[Credge]

Weird. I'm not having any fun at all with that oversized bathroom scale.

 

[sunami88]

I just think this is such a... bizarre idea.

I'm just at a loss for words, it's so strange (to me, at least). It's like it's from some sci-fi movie or something.

 

[hortez the champion of the frozen wastes]

What the heck is that thing? We now have games that check our pulse?

Is this a joke? Someone tell me this is a joke.

What's next? An attachment that pricks your finger and checks your blood sugar? Maybe give a blood cell count?

Yeah I'm as confused as you are as to how this has anything to do with gaming.

 

[OneBig Man]

what is next? A brick with a string on the end. Shoot I bet that would still sell millions too.