Nintendo clearly wants us to be carrying the upcoming 3DS around with us as much as possible; with the StreetPass feature alone, gamers are being encouraged to take their 3DS systems to the street and see what treats await them simply by passing fellow gamers out in the real world. The incentive doesn't stop there, though.
In connection with the 3DS's built-in Activity Log ― which tracks how many hours you have spent on your precious games, as well as acting as a pedometer, providing graphs and charts which depict your walking habits ― the system will reward gamers with coins based on how far they have traveled on their feet. These coins are then used to access additional content in games.
True, pedometers can be "tricked" into thinking physical walking is being performed, but even cheaters will be carrying their 3DS systems when out and about as there's not a lot of reasons why they shouldn't. Along with the fact that collecting coins isn't the sole purpose of the StreetPass mode, we think (honest or otherwise) Nintendo handheld gamers will be carrying their 3DS systems with them with no qualms whatsoever.
[source nintendo3dsblog.com]
Comments 62
Neat concept. Can't wait to get 3DS!
This looks cool, but a rarely ever take my DSi anywhere with me except on long road trips or vacations. I don't usually walk around with it in my pocket at Walmart, which is the only place in my city where any people would be
Edit: And since I'm waiting for the lite version, I hope they make it more pocket friendly. Not that I've put the current version in my pocket or anything, but the size tells me enough.
This sounds fantastic. Just plop the thing into my messenger bag with my books and go about my daily life around campus.
Must the 3DS be in stand-by for that? That's power consumption!
So after having it in stand-by mode for a few hours, I'll have exactly 7 minutes left to play actual 3DS games. Thanks for using left-over DS rechargeable batteries in your fancy new gadget, Nintendo!
Hopefully, the system will have some form of standby mode so that that it can count steps even while the system is off/closed but running a game.
There'll probably be other in-game ways to unlock items. For example MKWii/SSBB requires that you do a bajillion races/fights, or clear certain requirements in order to unlock new characters.
@1 Do you have a trampoline/bread maker/paint mixer?
Hopefully, these will have an impact on Club Nintendo! 1 coin = 10-25 steps please
Thats sounds pretty koo
Well... I dont like the idea of you having to do this to unlock content in your game as opposed to some other means, but im very mobile, and very likely to get it anyways.
@Stargazer
My thoughts exactly. With battery life as it is, I don't see myself wanting to waste any on standby mode. (I know standby doesn't use much, but the battery life is short enough for it to matter for me). I don't mind the idea of walking around to unlock game content in theory (the pokewalker was a fun little toy), I just don't want to have the console on all the time.
We'll have to see if games support this. If it's something like WiiConnect 24 where only Mario Kart supports it occasionally, and you get messages about GTS Pokemon trades (or dreamworld or whatever the b/w online system is called), then it's not a big deal to me. If this is going to be something required to 100% the next Zelda...I might be a bit incensed.
What would have been really cool is a pedometer that charges the 3DS. Then again, you would probably have to walk to the sun and back for one full charge.
Neat. But the concept of carriying your 3ds everywhere is a bit ..... chalenging
ah well, then it get's in my pocket at work. that's pure 10 hour walking there. should be enough every day.
Ahhh, this is so brilliant! Only Nintendo.
This is perfect! I carry my DSi around with me all the time! Once I get my 3DS, alll this walking will finally pay off!
I walk about 5 miles round trip every day to/from work, and I'm usually carrying at least one DS. Now I'll just need to find a route where I'll be more likely to find other people!
I can see this being used in the next Pokemon.
SWEET cant wait Ill finally get something by going to school.
@20. Otaku 10 Jan 2011, 15:58 EST
SWEET cant wait Ill finally get something by going to school.
True, but be sure your teachers dont see it or ............
I love the idea. I love using my ds as a life-style application
A Book
A Pedometer
A Brain Trainer
A Dog
In fact I`m typing on my dsi right now
All this pretty much is, is a pokewalker, Walking for rewards.
Maybe Nintendo Could do some things with this pedometer, like personal trainer: Walking on 3DS. Or Pokewalker for the 5th generation`s platinum
I'm starting to doubt the 3DS even HAS a 100% "off" mode. It seems to me that the thing's designed with all this stuff in mind to the point where it probably just goes in its own special kind of standby when you turn it "off."
This could be good, could be lame. I guess we won't know until we try it for ourselves.
I'm always out and about.
this no prob for me
This is AWESOME! I'm sure to rack up many many coins since I walk A LOT anyway
@shinesprite
I was hoping this article was talking about Club Nintendo coins as well. That would have blown my mind. I guess the fear of cheating the pedometer was too great to reward people with actual prizes.
Oh well. I was planning on walking around with mine anyway so I'm glad Nintendo is trying to come up with something to have others out there with theirs as well.
I play portables at home though
Great for now i live in a crappy small town until the end of june. I will probably get 0 coins until I move back to the larger city. lol
Lame. If I want something to pester me to take it on a walk with me I've got my dog.
Nice small coin.
It's a cool concept, but I don't think that it's fair to make people walk to unlock stuff in games. And then there's the whole "battery" issue. Plus, there's always a chance for somebody or something to bump into you and it might (and I'm just saying MIGHT) break or mess up your hard-earned 3DS when you're walking around.
Leave the bait and the fans will fall for the big picture. I think it's an awesome way to get those who don't realize the true capabilities of their new handhelds to get familiar with it quickly... I may even have to venture into... GASP... the populated society!!! Just don't be touchin' my 3DS... >.>
walk to earn coins....thats an amazing idea.
Nice concept but hopefully not the only way to earn these coins.
Interesting... I might actually use this, depending on how it's implemented, and what the rewards are.
excercise is good for ya
@ 31 or you could have a protective casing that many people do. It also fits nice and snug in my backpack. I never just slip it into my pocket unshielded. Thats asking for an accident.
See? NOW Exercise is good for you. XD
Looks like exercising just became more attractive to me. I find this to be a great concept, given that I live in a decent-size city.
Walk 2 miles and unlock the Ocarina in LoZ!
Walk 3 miles and unlock the Mushroom Cup in Mario Kart!
Walk 10 miles and unlock the hammer in Paper Mario!
Just imagine the possibilities.
That is a real cool idea when I get a 3DS I'll be carrying it at school to get my coins.
Yay, now I get to shake my 3DS for hours on end in order to unlock items for Animal Crossing!!!
@1 i think it means extra things, not like a kart in mariokart or the next level in super mario bros. For example extra Shopping points at Tom Nooks shop, or extra bells. Not a new house. This should work great as long as it isn't abused in stupid ways. Such as needing to walk 5 miles to unlock a new mariokart track. As long as the rewards aren't something you couldn't get without walking, this should be great. It sould be a bonus if you can do the walking. not a punishment if you can't or don't.
Hey, at least we're earning rewards!
This is awesome! A great reminder that taking a break from games to go on a stroll makes everything sweeter.
Nice idea, but I don't like carrying my DSi around with me in case it falls out of my pocket and gets damaged or someone steals it. I dont have big enough pockets to hold a DSi comfortably let alone a 3DS. And I'm not too sure if I like Nintendo's sneaky way of getting people to walk outside
Thank god I'm a cross country runner.
I love this idea, NIntendo is always looking for ways to make their gamers active and healthy.
Wait a minute, what about people who are paralyzed, they can't get stuff unless you can get stuff by other means.
Oh Nintendo, you just know how to milk my wallet.
@Mikau94 I think people with partial disability have bigger things to worry about than getting stuff from a game console.
imagine this for world of warcraft, you see people running like cazy just to get some kind of epic or something
This is great! I go for daily walks all the time, finally I will be rewarded for my exercise!
"I'm walking on sunshine, whoooooaaaaaaaa!"
So this is Nintendos idea of advertisement of the 3DS?
rewards for walking? Yet more proof of Nintendo's anti-American bias. Next thing you know, they'll offer rewards for book reading and having free health care.
If you bonk your head on bricks, do you get more coins?
@Raylax I sure hope so, especially going through all that effort.
This is clearly a gimmick from Nintendo to try and get people outside of Japan to carry their DSs with them everywhere, but will it work?
At very least it makes for a nice way to fight the infinite credits problem in arcade games, letting you throw in more coins to continue but not run around with an infinite stash of them.
This sounds like a good idea. Reward people for walking by giving them an exclusive character/track in MarioKart, An extra breed in Nintendogs + Cats, maybe a bonus level in other games. And for those asking for another way to earn these coins, just shake the 3DS. And if you're too lazy to do that, tape your 3DS to one of those up-down moving fans and hope the thing doesn't fall off.
i think its cool!
Interesting feature.... Too bad the only place I do much walking is at the office and the 3DS would technically be qualified as contraband where I work - A Wi-fi enabled "data storage device" with CAMERAS?! Just being seen with a cell phone (even if it's turned off) outside of designated areas can get you fired.
To all those people saying this will drain battery life...
This is Nintendo we're talking about. They're not going to release something if it doesn't work. They'll have tested it for such a long time, and decided that the shortened battery life isn't a problem. Plus, it's 3 - 5 hours, so it's just as likely 5 as 3.
It would be awesome if you could buy virtual console games with earned coins, I would walk everyday to get the maximum of allowed daily coins.
Come on Nintendo, you could make all your fans happy and healthier so they would maybe live longer to buy your products. This would be the ultimate incentive, no ?
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