balance board

11.21.09

The Horror: Life-Like Baby Made Into Wii Controller

Halloween's not over yet, folks. Nintendo ups the creepy game applications with a crying Wiimote-powered doll

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 11.02.2009 at 3:00 pm 7 Comments

People who hate creepy kids and Halloween aren't out of the woods yet. A new Wii-exclusive Baby and Me arrives just in time for the holiday season, so that every Nintendo-loving household can stick a wiimote in an anatomically correct doll's back to rock it lovingly via accelerometer and hear its gurgles, giggles and wails through a tinny Wiimote speaker.

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READ MORE ABOUT > babies, balance board, dolls, games, gaming, nintendo, wii, wiimote

Are Wii Balance Boards the Future of Airport Security?

Researchers use fun game controllers as part of $20 million effort to screen airport passengers

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 10.07.2009 at 2:30 pm 9 Comments

Airport screening technology has turned to an unusual accessory -- the Nintendo Wii balance board -- to identify fidgety, nervous passengers who might have explosives or illegal items concealed on their persons. Or they could have had a long day and just don't want to stand still.

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READ MORE ABOUT > airport, balance board, nintendo, scanners, screening, security, wii, wii fit

Wii Ski

Skiing and Wii's Balance Board prove a perfect match

By Gregory Mone Posted 03.04.2008 at 11:45 am 1 Comment

This seems like an absolute natural: Namco Bandai just announced that it will deliver a game for Nintendos Wii called We Ski this spring. More importantly, the game will work with the Wii Balance Board—their forthcoming fitness-focused accessory—and should be the first such game developed outside Nintendo.

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READ MORE ABOUT > balance board, Gregory Mone, nintendo, we ski, wii

Exercising and Video Games

By Gregory Mone Posted 07.12.2007 at 5:27 pm 0 Comments

We love the Wii, and we understand that there’s a growing obesity problem in the world, but real exercise? Nintendo now wants us to use its brilliant controller to break an actual sweat? OK, fine, it’s a good idea. Maybe a great one. At a media briefing on Tuesday, the company trotted out Wii Fit, a new program designed to help you run through a range of daily exercises, including push-ups and yoga. The new technology is the Wii Balance Board, a thin, white device that looks like a bathroom scale, but uses sensitive gyroscopes to record shifts in your weight and changes in posture. The product won’t debut here until next year, but the gaming pros at IGN, who very begrudgingly tested this latest effort to expand the reach of games, give it a fairly glowing review. Check out the trailer above for a preview.—Gregory Mone

READ MORE ABOUT > balance board, Gregory Mone, obesity problem, push ups, wii