Nintendo: Wii Vitality Sensor is not yet understood
The Wii Vitality Sensor announcement was definitely one of the more “Huh?” moments at E3 2009. While its function as a heart-rate monitor wasn’t hard to understand, a lot of people were left wondering how it would be implemented in games other than, say, fitness titles. Says Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, gamers will see the light once software is rolled out.
The Wii Vitality Sensor announcement was definitely one of the more “Huh?” moments at E3 2009. While its function as a heart-rate monitor wasn’t hard to understand, a lot of people were left wondering how it would be implemented in games other than, say, fitness titles. Says Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, gamers will see the light once software is rolled out.
In an interview with Fast Company’s N’gai Croal, Fils-Aime likens the skepticism surrounding the Vitality Sensor to the Nintendo DS and Wiimote‘s first appearances.
“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,” says Fils-Aime. “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.’
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.”
It’s worth noting that a similar device already appeared on a Nintendo console more than ten years ago, although it didn’t really become a hit. Nintendo’s current main target demographic — gamers they call “new core” — may be more open to the Vitality Sensor however.
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Via Fast Company
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