Having played WiiFit a couple hours now I have really begun to see how the balance board might become a standard for gaming on the Wii. A combination of WiiMotes with the balance board could easily create basically a virtual reality that we have only dreamed of till now.
Is the balance board something that will stay or is it like the PowerGlove and R.O.B?
Playing on the balance board made me realize just how complex the board is and how sensative it is to your balance and movement. Combined with the Wii-Mote and Nunchuck you get an experiance as close to virtual reality then we have ever had before. Infact I remember the days of watching cartoons and TV show virtual reality systems where you wore Power Glove style controllers and stood on a pad while wearing VirtualBoy style goggles. Could those TV shows have been leading to the creation of the Wii's next successor?
In 2011 when we see the next Nintendo console. In its full HD glory (As Miyamoto said it would be) will it be accompanied by a WiiMote/Nunchuck style controller and a balance board as standard with each console? I mean can you imagine playing CallOfDuty6/Frontlines/Halo/Mario.LegendOfZelda using a combo of WiiMotes and balance boards. Of course that will add to the hardware cost of the new Nintendo console.
Will it be worth an additional 50$ to 100$ for Nintendo to make the balance board standard alongside the nunchuck and Wiimote?
First person shooters will become extremely realistic with you actually walking on the spot or jogging on the spot to move your character forward. You want to duck in the game duck in real life and the board recognizes your bodies weight shift making the character on screen duck. The controllers being used soully for arm movements and holding firing weapons.
Third person shooters would also see a significant improvement. Shift side to side to dodge bullets and take cover. Of course running and walking would act much like it would in a first person shooter and you could use the Wii mote to aim at targets on screen.
Platformer, when playing the race in the Balance Games section of WiiFit I was reminded on the race against Koopa The Quick in the Mario64 game. To walk and run you could simply lift up your heals as if you were running or walking on the spot. You could lift your heals simultaniously to jump over obstacles etc...etc...Of course all of the platforming elements of the Wiimote would be retained such as using it to turn your character which ever direction you want while using the Nun-Chuck or Wiimote for the additional actions like punching etc...etc...
Racing would be one of the harder genres to see the balance board used. However I think it could be used like a brake and accelerator. Using them as you would in an actual vehicle alongside your WiiWheel, maybe a third party would develope actual paddles to be hooked on top of the balance board to better simulate the driving experiance.
Sports is also a notable genre that could be improved with the Wii Balance Board. I played the soccer challange and I have to say I could see it used alongside a Wiimote. Using the balance boards weight sensativity you could headbutt and body slam other players by leaning your body forward in a thrusting motion.
Of course games like Monkey Ball and other touch sensative games could easily be adapted and improved to use the Wii Balance board. I think almost every genre could be adapted to use it fully in every future game starting next generation.
So is the balance board a solid part of gaming future or is it just a novelty that will be left in the past?
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
