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Nintendo Unveils Wii Vitality Sensor

Tom Ivan's picture

By Tom Ivan

June 2, 2009

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Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has unveiled the Wii Vitality Sensor at the company’s E3 press conference.

The peripheral goes over the end of a finger and detects the user's pulse. Iwata said that while Wii Fit lets you see the balance of your outer body, the Vitality Sensor gives you info on your inner balance.

Iwata said that games are traditionally associated with stimulation, but that it might not be long before they “could be made for people to unwind or even fall asleep."

It’s unclear about how the peripheral will feature in games as no compatible software was demoed.

In a press release the platform holder said: "Nintendo’s newest groundbreaking product, the Wii Vitality Sensor, expands the appeal of video games. It will initially sense the user’s pulse and a number of other signals being transmitted by their bodies, and will then provide information to the users about the body’s inner world."

Jack_'s picture
On June 8th Jack_ said:

I think the latest Prince of Persia revealed that "relaxing" games are just industry-speak for "boring" games.

Raul23's picture
On June 7th Raul23 said:

For RPGs it could be epic.

Zybermen's picture
On June 7th Zybermen said:

Really, Wii Fit for me falls apart when I just go to the local Athletic Club or Gym instead to work out. Much easier, doesn't cost as much, and I actually get to exercise more. To those of you who care about Wii Fit (Which I don't), this still is pretty much paying too much for too little.

For Horror games, I agree this could be pretty awesome. I might actually play a good old fashioned Horor game with this type of stuff. "Keep your heart rate below X, because if you don't, they will smell your fear..." Unfortunately, if it's not released with the console itself, I don't think there will be much support among third parties.

AVA's picture
On June 2nd AVA said:

Hmmmm , I'm not that sure a device that measures pulse rate can really give that accurate a reading of a persons general health - I mean we are all different to a degree.

Videogames that promote relaxation, could be interesting..... Although I thought video games were supposed to entertain..... we'll see.

Perhaps they could use it for the yoga excercises in Wii fit , or maybe to monitor your heart rate in some type of survival horror game..???
Hey that's an idea - you could have a horror game in which you have to keep your heart rate below a certain level (else the main character will suffer some consequence) whilst the game does it's best to scare you..... that'd work!