I saw this, and my inner Nintendo fan-boy fell down and wept.

"Mr. Iwata's Wii Vitality Censor Announcement" - Reggie.

I get the feeling that no one will want this. There's a difference between buying Wii Fit to play some excersising mini games, and dropping how ever this will be to let the Wii tell you your pulse.

Why? There cannot be ANYONE dumb enough to buy this (Or is there...)

I lol'd SO hard. This whole presentation was seriously lacking IMHO. Oh well, Super Mario Bros. Wii looked really cool. So did Mario Galaxy 2. Don't know about Metroid yet.

Anyone remember the vitality sensor for tetris 64 in japan?

Seriously, wtf?

This is actually kinda cool, but its not for the everyday gamer. So Iwata is thinking to himself, lets make something for the 40+ age group. Oh I know, (Iwata after having a doctors appointment) Lets bring the doctor to your house.

I suppose if you had a good idea this might actually be useful for something. I mean, how about a survival horror game that changes what's going on based on your heart rate? If you're all nice and calm, it starts throwing stuff at you from all directions and eases up a little when you start to panic?

Fingerbangtastic!

Obviously, this will be Nintendo's answer to Natal.

I've never facepalmed so hard

Am I the only one who thought Iwata was joking when he announced this?

A new peripheral. Doesn't surprise me, Nintendo is the master at advertising these kinds of things. This will probably sell pretty good and there will probably be some kind of linkage with WiiFit plus, good idea nintendo.

Maybe it contacts the hospital just before I have a heart attack due to rage.

Spoiler: People will put their penis in it.

What? We were all thinking it.

Actually,as Iwata was talking about this. All I could think of was Eternal Darkness 2.

I am happy to hear there is an other person that thinks this could be used for other things.

Don't be so harsh just yet. It is all how it is used. Hell I would use it if it could make me feel better.

There's uses for it if you think about it. Not many, but there are good uses for it.

Move along, nothing to see here.

The Meat: I don't understand how a pulse sensor is the same as bringing the doctor to your house. In fact, it's only 1/3 of the basic, BASIC diagnostic tests that are so simple the non-doctors are allowed to perform them on you at a clinic. (Blood pressure, pulse, temperature would be the three.) Especially when measuring your pulse is the one diagnostic you can actually do anywhere for free without any equipment.

IF this was to be used in a video game, the horror genre would be perfect. But as a fitness tool it's actually pretty cool. Heart monitors are great to indicate whether you are pushing yourself hard enough or not. Hell the biggest complaint about Nike+ is that it doesn't have a heart monitor!!

Of course, expecting video game nerds to have a bit of knowledge in fitness training is asking a lot........>_>

The only thing I can think it'd work really well in is a horror title to guage how scared you are and where you have to try and remain calm.

Umm, It's definitely not the greatest announcement, but its not THAT bad either, you guys have no imagination as to how this can actually enhance the gaming experience. Aside from the obvious Wii fit possibilities, imagine stuff like horror games or stealth games, even trauma center, the peripheral can measure your pulse and affect the game in new ways. And for all you untrustworthys out there, maybe a lying detector? :P

I mean, c'mon guys, can't you see the positive in things like this?

There is no defense for sh*t like this. Don't even attempt to put a positive spin on it. There is no fun attached to this. It is crap, another pointless peripheral that will do nothing. I can put my finger on my neck or wrist for 15 seconds and count my heart rate. I don't need a $20 piece of f***ing sh*t to do that for me.

Nintendo fans, listen to your company. They are focused on the "maybe" gamers...that's not you.

Next Stop: Wii Thinking Cap: Turning Ingenious Idea One Thought at a Time

I really thought this was a joke. Like... how in god's name can they actually be serious?

@ShawnKelfonne

exactly. There are some really interesting game design things that could be done with this. Eternal darkness 2 would be fantastic with this.

Let's hope there are some developers with some imagination out there. This could be really, really cool with the right game mechanics.

Its a sexy ed game/peripheral. I can already see stuff getting caught in there!

This really needed an example of use. It seemed they brought it out with the intention of finding a use for it later.

The aforementioned idea of using this in Eternal Darkness is perfect.

I can thank of some decent ways for this to be included in gaming. Yes.

However. Can I honestly say that I feel video games get my heart pumping with fear or excitement? Not really. Matter of factly, I don't think my heart rate increses much at all when i'm gaming. I get oo'd and ah'd, but I don't see a bus getting tossed at me, as in InFamous, and say "HOLY SHIT, BUS!" and dive out of the way.

In order for that to happen, I need MUCH more immersion. I need Nintendo to work with Johnny Lee and actually release a headtracking peripheral to make me feel like the game is actually in a 3D space, rather than something just on my screen.

Aside from this, I can only see it being realistically used in things like Wii Fit. Well that and your occasional oddity, such as Crank: The Video Game - a joke I made on Kotaku about this peripheral. For that, it could work. Could also kill a lot of people by forcing them to have high heart rates for extended periods of time, *nod*. But a Crank'ish game would fit well with a peripheral like this.. Assuming they can turn down the size. Going to be hard to use a controller with that thing around your finger.

I thought this was a stupid idea but then I thought.. what if Survival Horror games used this gadget. Imagine Eternal Darkness 2 that measures your heart beat, and the faster it beats makes your character panic. Maybe if your character starts to panic they could use those hallucinations like in the first game. I think it could add to the horror effect.. but that's just my opinion

Nintendo is better at trolling Nintendo fanboys than even Jim Sterling.

Well I cant knock them for putting a bit of regard to peoples health. Its certainly not a route that i'm interested in, but it might be something that some Wii owners may find useful.

Anyway..

*ignores and goes back to looking for new Metroid and Mario and Golden Sun stuff*

Nintendo wants to see if people are actually playing after they buy a Wii.

OH GAWWWD

Part of Nintendo's Fit / health thing. Japan i think would be more open to this, they have toilets that diagnose your 'emissions' after all - the wii is being sheparded towards a multifunctional, household, interactive 'device' more than a "games console".

One for the collectors closest I guess, should fit easily next to Robby the Robot and the Virtal Boy.

RUN TO THE HILLS PEOPLE!!
NINTENDO IS WATCHING EVERY MOVE WE MAKE!
RUN!!!!

. . . ok.

I am willing to entertain the idea that a survival horror game could make some really awesome uses for this, BUT the thing looks very obtrusive. I would have trouble holding the wii controller and pressing buttons with this on one of my fingers.

That was more uninteresting than the Ubisoft tween section.

Grandmas can simulate skydiving in Wii Sports Resort, but because Nintendo thought that it might be TOO EXTREME, they'll also monitor your blood pressure at the same time. Coupons for Lipitor included.

If it actually bit your finger everytime you screwed up, things could get interesting. But I think it doesn't match all that well with Iwata's "rew-laxay-chan" from the "stuh-ress-ful werld".

WHAT POURPOSE COULD THIS SEREVE, there is no way to make something like this even remotly fun, scratch that you couldnt make this remotly useful. what were they thinking.

On the packaging it should read: Warning- Your Wii must be connected to the internet to allow the device to contact the mortuary in case you die of boredom...

Now Nintendo knows how many people die playing wii in a year! =D

I would actually like to see a "classic" style Resident Evil game with this, like the more scared you are the harder it is for the character to do stuff, managing your fear and stuff... idk

@Dennen Obviously you've never played Resident Evil 2 (way back in the day...)
The mirror scene, where the Licker jumps out from reflective glass? Scariest moment of anything i've ever seen.
I literally went "HOLY SHIT LICKER!!!!!" and unloaded three clips on it. It was dead after the first, I just wanted to make sure it was dead. True survival horror gets your pulse racing.
Also the RE4 scene with the Regeneradors, that scared the shit out of me- I had Iron Maiden* nightmares for weeks
*not the metal band, the monster that stuck spikes out of its body