Wii Vitality Sensor still 'wait and see'
By Stephen Withers
Friday, 10 July 2009 11:41
The device resembles the fingertip pulse sensors used to monitor hospital patients, and not surprisingly it measures the player's heart rate.
That information can be used as an indication of excitement, concentration, and so on. At launch, Nintendo suggested the sensor could be used in 'games' intended to promote relaxation.
In a recent interview with Fast Company, Fils-Amie said the Wii Vitality Sensor was about increasing the user base for the Wii: "Because to date that consumer, who hasn't yet been compelled with the first-person shooter, or an action side-scrolling adventure, or a fitness game may be compelled with something that we do with the Vitality Sensor."
He added "there are a 150 million consumers in the markets that we do business, that say they'd be interested in video games if they had the right content, but today don't play. Those are the consumers that we believe something like the Vitality Sensor with the right software could compel to get in the game."
But what Fils-Amie didn't say is how it will be used, though he did promise a "wow!" moment when an exemplar game using the Sensor appears.
Obvious possibilities are biofeedback games that reward a falling pulse, and Wii Fit style products that consider heart rate as well as speed and endurance.
Others include using a rapid pulse as a sign of over-arousal and adjusting the in-game player's responses accordingly. That might manifest as a reduction in accuracy in a 'shooter' game, or an increased likelihood of a tackle turning into a foul in soccer or other field sports.
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