Going retro: Wii Balance Board
Everyone sure is raving about the Wii Balance Board for Nintendo’s up and coming health and fitness title, Wii Fit, aren’t they? It seems like such an ingenious creation, we just have to give Ninty all them snaps for such a bright lightbulb moment. But let’s not be too hasty. Apparently, more than just Nintendo, there’s somebody else out there to whom we can trace back the development of the Balance Board. 25 years back, in fact.
But before you think that this is another “Nintendo-stole-this-idea” post, halt right there. Rather, this is an exemplification of one of the more successful revisionisms (recycling, if you must) in gaming and its corresponding technology. Ian Bogost, via Water Cooler Games, has revealed that back in 1982, an Atari VCS peripheral called the Joyboard was released by Amiga.
You older folks probably would remember it, or then again maybe not. Either way, what’s fact is that it did not enjoy the same attention as the Fit board now is getting. I guess you can say it was ahead of its time. The design is pretty much like its modern counterpart, although of course, this one’s “much less sophisticated than Fit [Board]”, but essentially, they both have the same functions.
As a parting note, here’s what the author had to say about this reinvention:
My point is not that Nintendo has “stolen” the idea of a balance board from Amiga, nor that their revisions are unimportant. Rather, I want to suggest that product like Wii Fit don’t come out of a vacuum. Fit evolved from decades of experimentation in physical interfaces and creative game design. Game players and critics alike would do well to learn some history about their medium to help make sense of new entries like this one.
Yeah, it’s all about knowing your roots, baby!
Everyone sure is raving about the Wii Balance Board for Nintendo’s up and coming health and fitness title, Wii Fit, aren’t they? It seems like such an ingenious creation, we just have to give Ninty all them snaps for such a bright lightbulb moment. But let’s not be too hasty. Apparently, more than just Nintendo, there’s somebody else out there to whom we can trace back the development of the Balance Board. 25 years back, in fact.
But before you think that this is another “Nintendo-stole-this-idea” post, halt right there. Rather, this is an exemplification of one of the more successful revisionisms (recycling, if you must) in gaming and its corresponding technology. Ian Bogost, via Water Cooler Games, has revealed that back in 1982, an Atari VCS peripheral called the Joyboard was released by Amiga.
You older folks probably would remember it, or then again maybe not. Either way, what’s fact is that it did not enjoy the same attention as the Fit board now is getting. I guess you can say it was ahead of its time. The design is pretty much like its modern counterpart, although of course, this one’s “much less sophisticated than Fit [Board]”, but essentially, they both have the same functions.
As a parting note, here’s what the author had to say about this reinvention:
My point is not that Nintendo has “stolen” the idea of a balance board from Amiga, nor that their revisions are unimportant. Rather, I want to suggest that product like Wii Fit don’t come out of a vacuum. Fit evolved from decades of experimentation in physical interfaces and creative game design. Game players and critics alike would do well to learn some history about their medium to help make sense of new entries like this one.
Yeah, it’s all about knowing your roots, baby!
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