TGS 08: Sega turns a cardboard box into a peripheral with Let's Tap for the Wii

10:43 AM on 10.13.2008   |   Nick Chester

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What a strange world we live in when the next words I'm going to write are not sarcasm: playing Sega's Let's Tap, a game which utilizes the Wii Remote and a cardboard box to "control" a series of mini-games, was the most fun I had a Tokyo Game Show this year. 

Let's Tap is the mystery Prope-developed title teased a few weeks back, which they described as "the game that even penguins can play." The title will include 10 different games, but all share a similar and unique control scheme -- you place the Wii Remote face down on a cardboard box, and you simply tap the box to play the game. The Wii Remote and game will react to the vibration of the box, and won't require you to use the controller (outside of menu selection). 

Hands-on with Sega's new "box" peripheral after the jump.

Sega was showing off one of the ten Let's Tap mini-games at Tokyo Game Show, a Track and Field-esque mode called "Tap Runner." Tapping the box lightly (but quickly) with your fingers causes your on-screen runner to sprint; tapping harder would make it jump. The different levels we played had hurdles and other obstacles, and competing head-to-head was a blast. The box/Wii Remote combination was surprisingly sensitive; only a light touch was required to make your runner go.

Let's Tap will be released in Japan this December, and will support up to four players, but will only ship with two "Tap Boxes." We suspect other cardboard box surfaces could be used, so we suggest saving your empty Boo Berry and Count Chocula boxes. Although the "Tap Runner" game was extremely basic, the curious interface felt fresh and fun; all of a sudden, a "game that even penguins can play" has become one of my most wanted titles.

Bonus: Check out out these awesome broken-English descriptions of four revealed Let's Tap mini-games, direct from Sega Japan.

• 【Tap Runner】: Adjusting the strength of the tap to “Run”, “Walk” and “Jump”. A side scroll action needs to pass the obstacles and head to the goal.
• 【Silent Blocks】: In the game, the blocks are stacked in a tower formation and the player take 1 block one by one by tapping. The strength of the tap converted to the power to pull the block. The player needs to tap sometimes gently and sometimes fearlessly.
• 【Bubble Voyager】: A side scroll action the player needs to guide the characters by tapping strong and week in the mysterious space. Avoid the danger looming continuously to go as farther as possible.
• 【Visualizer】: In the water surface screen, gentle tap produce riffle and hard tap produce the big wave. The mode allows the player to enjoy making movement to the variety of the background with the strength of the tap. The tiny vibration from the box may produce the unexpected graphic world.