E3 2009: Wii Vitality Sensor is Revealed

Yeah, wii fit is about the only thing I could think I'd want it to be used for. To get your heart rate. Beyond that, not so sure.

Could be used for horror games to ensure maxium fright without giving you a heart attack & if you do undead suffer from a heart attack at least it rings 000 for an amblance via a voip call.

Though, it could be fun in a horror game. Monsters could be attracted to the sound of your heart beat. You'd have to stay calm or they'd find you. Kind of a afraid you might become afraid thing. I just can't imagine having that on my finger during a game like that. /

Lie detector and gimmick games could be fun... but only for about 5 minutes. The good news is that this thing should be cheap and an easy pack-in if people are interested.

It might be cool to see your actual heart rate on a HUD while playing Metroid or something... cool for a moment or two anyway.

Edit: hey, cross post. We think (almost) alike.

Is this Nintendo support? I accidentally your Vitality Sensor. Please help.

For horror games, this could be used to tense you up when you relax.

Say you're exploring a mansion and you go into a calmed state. The game can react to this and have the lights flicker or the wiimote start making noises or something, or just have a monster appear out of no where in front of you.

But yeah, aside from Horror games and exercise games, this doesn't see to have much use.

Well, that looks pretty pointless.

Shark jumping - It would be if they really put any stock or push behind it. It seemed more like a trial balloon than a sweeping strategy change.

If they had said it was the next big interface in gaming, the floating jump and the Fonzy life preserver would be all set up.

You know what it probably is? They wanted this for Wii Fit, but felt like they shouldn't introduce a peripheral that has only one purpose, because too few people would buy it and it would be too niche. So, they tried to sell it at the conference as a general purpose device. Doesn't seem like it flew over too well.

This isn't really anything new. Back in the days of the Nintendo 64 this Tetris game came out in Japan with a thing that measured your heartbeat.
The game could tell when you were panicking by your heart rate and would speed up or slow down accordingly

It could be used for Wii Shock,a game where you shock yourself!

I don't care , they didn't even announce software for it, not even something I'd have no interest in. Hardware is an enabler for software and without software it's just a paperweight. Same goes for MS and Sony's motion control clones, no software = no care.

This isn't really anything new. Back in the days of the Nintendo 64 this Tetris game came out in Japan with a thing that measured your heartbeat.
When I saw it Tetris 64^1 was the first thing that came to mind.
^1-yes that was what was what it was called

Still seeing the Vitality Sensor live during the conferance left me confused (I didn't know if to laugh or cry). Iwata droned on without emotion on for what felt like 5 minutes about the same philosophy stuff we've heared 50 times (I know its important as its why Nintendo has towers of cash) and I was thinking "hes going to drop the bomb" and what does he show us? Effectively concept art for a pulse meter.

I guess the R&D is where most of Nintendos money goes so it is nice to see some of the fruits of that but a few tech demos wouldn't have gone amiss.

nipple clamp

So Nintendo just went to a doctor's office and grabbed a "pulse-reader-thing" and stuck it on their console?

While everyone is killing this, I'm going to defend it (a little). It did give me a chance to use the bathroom, so thank you Iwata and the Vitality Sensor for that!

Pretty lame if you ask me.

The absence of creativty here is dissapointing. I can think of 50 game ideas for this one Vitality Sensor. If I told you I'd be wasting my time here.

Takes me back to Wii Fit and Brain Age. I'll never forget the "Stupid Nintendo!!!!!1 Who wants to learn on a vodeogame console? its like skool! FAIL LOL" or the "People have gym memberships for that" comments.

You'ld have thought Nintendo learned thier lesson with the Wii remote reveal (they did the same thing, no demos^1)...though that only went crazy when the Wii name was revealed (I wish I saved the photoshops).

^1-Or if there were demos they were so forgettable...

@kawaiipickachu

You crazy Austrailians and your Emergency Numbers. Ours stateside is 911. Not 000.

LOL this is for old people in hospitals so when they are still playing Wii Sports bowling they can monitor their heart and tempature in case the hospitals doesn't work. Oh thats right they are now getting NSMB.

This device is lame. Iwata made a fool out of himself and the device big time. I would only buy it for upcoming Trauma Center games, but no games has been supported yet sadly. Unlike Wii Speak, Wii MotionPlus or Wii Balance Board, it serve no purpose other to be laughed at or be known as the low point of Nintendo E3 2009.

This peripheral could be used for adult games...O.o

Absolutely pointless...

I'm a healthcare proffessional and this is device is similar to one that is used to measure blood oxygen.

I'm interested in this.

Meh, I'm sure they've got something in store, something undoubtedly cool that noone would have thought of.

My wife is into fitness and she said it would be great if it could be used in conjunction with the new Wii Fit as it would be able to more properly calculate how many calories you burn. So she's got more ideas for it than I do, lol.

There has been an endless amount of jokes about this thing since it was announced yesterday. So, thank you Wii Vitality Sensor! You given me plenty to laugh about!

Of all the things shown at E3, this was the only thing shown in my local newspaper. It said it could be used to help you sleep. If that's the case, then this is a sure buy for me!

I have a feeling this will end up being something like Wii Fit, possibly being used with the balance board. Either way, I will end up buying this the day it comes out.

This is for the "Extreme Casual Gamer". Iwata mentioned it during the presentation. Mostly to be used for relaxation / meditation games, yoga, etc. They are on a mission to be a company that caters to all groups. That is how they marketed the DS so well. That's why they developed the "Touch Generations" brand of games that anyone can play.

It could end being useful for some new casual software, but even if it would work in some games (like Horror games), I doubt Nintendo will ever use it that way.

A trigger maybe? But looking into your "inner world"... o.O
Somebody said heart rate in these comments. How do you measure heart rate with a finger?... Wierd

i find it funny that people don't know how this can measure your heart rate. they use a nearly identical device on people in emergency rooms every day to do just that. i've used it myself many a time.

People are limiting their imaginations here.

I'm amazed no one has considered how cool a music rhythm game could be if the beat kept in time with your pulse rate! Or you could have some kind of shooter which changed enemy patterns or backgrounds using the data -- nothing actually relevant to your pulse rate, just using it for an algorithm to create part of the game dynamically.

Seriously folks, I'm pretty disappointed in your lack of creativity!

@Sean

The device may have been unveiled too early. But looking at Nintendos track record I bet they'll unveil something amazing.
I remember a lot of people thinking the 2nd screen on the DS was pointless or a "gimmick".

This would have to be bundled with something nobody would buy it alone

No doubt it would need to be bundled; I expect with some kind of lifestyle title unless someone comes up with another killer app for it.

I'd buy a Wii-Ware Love Tester.

WiiTherapy
Played by 2-4 family members. It's a board game like Mario Party, but instead of minigames one player will use the Vitality Sensor while the others ask them a number of personal questions of their choosing depending on the spaces they land on. The sensor will let everyone know if the person is lying in huge letters across the screen.
Who wins? Nobody wins.