A small tidbit about the upcoming release of the Wii Vitality Sensor has slipped out from Satoru Iwata in a Q&A session on Nintendo's official website. Many people are still unsure of how the idea that seemed to originally come from SETA back in the Nintendo 64 days will be able to revolutionise gaming via the Wii console. However, Satoru Iwata emphasises the fact that people were quick to dismiss the Wii Balance Board when Wii Fit was originally unveiled, and, of course, the Wii Remote itself caught many off-guard when the lid was lifted on that a few years back. Obviously both of those examples are ones that went on to sell millions around the world, whilst the latest add-on, the Wii MotionPlus device for 1:1 movements, has already taken the world by storm thanks to the likes of Wii Sports Resort, Tiger Woods 2010 and Grand Slam Tennis.
So, when asked to discuss the Vitality Sensor further, Iwata-san had this to say on the matter, inadvertently revealing not only a rough release window, but also what games Nintendo is thinking of creating to promote it:
It seems like the Wii Vitality Sensor is a kind of product which we are having some difficulty in addressing its product concept. The majority of the audience at E3 responded to it like "what in the world is Nintendo planning with a single pulse meter?" A human pulse not only contains information as to how many times a heart beats in a minute, but also various kinds of information such as the condition of automatic nerve.Traditionally, great games has made people excited and stimulated. Wii Vitality Sensor has great potential for various applications like measuring how horrified a player is in a horror title. What we are trying to propose first is a video game with a theme of relaxation, which is completely opposite from traditional ones, to enrich the users' lives. Especially among those who are constantly busy, I am sure you have experienced not being able to go to bed even when you are so tired after a busy day at work and coming home late at night... What if you were able to visualize how to unwind and relax, or check the condition of your automatic nerve by simply inserting your finger in the device once a day? We are conducting some tests internally at Nintendo, and found some patterns among our employees, like improving automatic nerve condition as the weekend nears or vice versa. Seeing what their condition is actually like, they can "visualize" how they are looking forward to weekend. And see completely different patterns on each individual person. And I think you have all had an experience where you are not in tune with how your body is doing or aware of how exhausted you body may be in a busy, strained period, but if you can visibly measure your condition every day, you can start to see how you're doing. It would be like stepping up on a scale every day and seeing the change of your weight. Our new challenge that is different from past software development is to make a video game by using the visible activities of your automatic nerve.
Before Wii Fit launched, everyone doubted how well it could sell. As for Wii Vitality Sensor, I think it will face similar doubts as to whether such a product will sell well in the video game market. Of course no one can tell how people respond to it before the launch. We understand everyone wants to enjoy a vibrant lifestyle, so I believe if the product could support that desire, it would make a large impact in society. We are hoping to make one such proposals a year, or every two years at best, to try and realize what no one has ever done before. As there was concern at E3 this year that people might misunderstand us as makers developing sequels only, we decided to make it (Wii Vitality Sensor) public at the media briefing. We would like to deliver the actual product not too late in the year next year. As I have mentioned, last-minute polishing is crucial for developing video games, so please understand that we'll need to refrain from commenting on an exact release date.
Would you like to see Nintendo make something relaxing for Wii, as well as a horror game? Or do readers have other ideas themselves?