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Wii 'Vitality Sensor' Aims to Analyze and Reduce Stress of Gamers

by Evan Shamoon on June 8, 2009 at 06:08 AM



One of the announcements at Nintendo's E3 press conference last week concerned what the company is calling the Wii Vitality Sensor. The device attaches to the tip of the player's forefinger, measuring their vital signs and working them into gameplay (either alone or in conjunction with the Wii remote or other peripherals).

Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata explained that the new device will let players see the information relating to the "inner world" of his or her body, in order to achieve "greater relaxation".

The idea, like other biorhythm devices, will be to measure stress levels as dictated by the player's pulse; the application is of course relevant for Wii Fit exercise games, but can also be used for games involving meditation and relaxation, as well as to dynamically adjust difficulty and/or tension for any game that embraces the technology. "Maybe you will play a horror game and the sensor can tell how scared you are", Iwata suggested as one possibility.

No date or price were given for the device, so don't start holding your breath just yet.

Tags: e32009, health, nintendo, stress, top, wii

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