Nintendo Wii | Nintendo Showing Vitality Sensor, Compatible Games At E3 2010

November 19, 2009 – 12:50 am

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By Kris Pigna, 11/18/2009

No doubt the biggest what-the-hell moment of E3 2009 was the reveal of Nintendo’s Wii Vitality Sensor, a device that will read a players pulse to… well, we’re still not sure, because Nintendo didn’t give many details. And now it appears it’ll be exactly one year later when those details will finally be filled in: Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said they plan to show off the device at E3 next year, along with the first compatible games.

“We will show off the Vitality Sensor with software [at the show],” Fils-Aime succinctly said to Kotaku. “I’m not going to give you any more hints beyond that.” This seems to suggest their original intention to release the device “not too late in the next year,” according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata back in August, is probably no longer the case.

E3 2010 is scheduled to take place June 15-17 next year, so we have exactly that much time between now and then to get all of our insane theories and speculation out of our system (for our part, we’re still pretty sure Nintendo will make Mario Super Sleuths: Lie Detection Unit a flagship title). And with some “surprises” regarding the next Wii Zelda also planned for E3 2010, it’s looking like it’ll be quite an eventful show for Nintendo and Nintendo fans alike.

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Here’s a funny little story

Ainai
Posted: 11/18/2009

While searching for Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen on eBay, I stumbled upon this little gem. It plugs into the N64 Controller Pak slot and attaches to your earlobe. Apparently it was used for the Japan-only Tetris 64 to control the speed of falling tetrominoes using the player’s heart rate.

So yeah, nothing new.

I always thought emotion detection in video games would be the next big thing, even before motion control. Game companies were all about getting players hooked emotionally back in the 32-bit days. Their solution: the cinematic game (i.e. FFVII, MGS). We already had haptic feedback, so it just made sense for me to have haptic input.

My idea was to create a controller with built-in sensors to measure the firmness of grip, the warmth of your hands, and your heart rate to measure a player’s psychophysiological state. Then games could react to the player’s emotional state. I didn’t think the idea would fly ’cause all that tech would make any controller expensive, but it could work as an attachment. Apparently, it can also be done in software using a camera and microphone.

Anyway, I’d like to see this tech used for survival horror enemies (dynamic encounters based on anxiety level) and RPG character interactions (NPCs could say different things based on your emotional state) or battles (as way to fill a Limit Break style meter).

redsox_run04
Posted: 11/18/2009

A simple and yet awesome application (and I have no idea why no one has put this forth yet), would be to incorporate a player’s pulse with the events of the game. Consider the scenario: playing silent hill (or similar "horror" genre title), and as the real-life player’s pulse increases in relation to the high-pressure "creepy" moments in the game, the game mechanics reflect this… didn’t anybody ever play eternal darkness? That game was memorable in the way it messed with gamers and is undeniably the sleeper title from the gamecube’s library! Now imagine games reflecting a player’s heart-rate: in sports, it could affect the in-game mechanics of performance (i.e. ability to hit a fastball in the ninth inning down by a run would be more difficult vs. the first inning), fps would become more sporadic in the ability to aim, the possibilities are truly endless! People need to quit dissing nintendo and appreciate that this is the company that truly revolutionizes the industry! Whether people appreciate the software or not, there is no denying that Natal and Sony’s wand-gimmick are direct decendents of the wii revolution, not to mention the analog sticks, button layout, and even the basic mechanics of their games! Quit hating! It will be only a matter of time until Sony and Microsoft rip off this concept / technology and incorporate it for their own machines…

SolracTheSin
Posted: 11/18/2009

anything this early? I guess they want some attention after MW2 sales shut their game down. lol

aldrenar47
Posted: 11/18/2009

They’ve got one of those things at my doctor’s office, I’ve played it. I think I won because I wasn’t dead.

Naque
Posted: 11/18/2009

Needs to figure out for themselves what the heck this thing is actually made for.

tpn56
Posted: 11/18/2009

cross controller!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/18/mass-we-pray-game-church_n_362854.html

Hydroponic
Posted: 11/18/2009

Shit

GaseousOcelotCakeMan
Posted: 11/18/2009

I’m sorry if this gimmick turns out to be awesome (yeah right) But a lot of Wii Fitters will want to know their heart-rate. I’m sorry that the Wii has turned into a carnival for gimmicks(get it? Wii Carnival Games! hahah). Ahhh, we’ll always have Brawl though.

Marmac_12
Posted: 11/18/2009

I bet it’ll launch with a game that nobody will care about.

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