The four best genres for the Wii Balance Board
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 1:01pm by Blake
Games.net has compiled what they believe as the four best genres for the Wii Balance Board, namely rhythm-based games, skateboarding games, fighting games, and party games. It was reported that several developers approached Nintendo at E3 last week with interest in developing “non-fit” games for the peripheral. What genres/games would you like to see make use of the Balance Board?
July 18th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
I wonder if you could use it as a gas pedal for driving games. . . put it on the floor, sit on your couch, and press down on one side for gas, the other for brake? I know, I’m crazy.
July 18th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
FPS
July 18th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
It might’ve been here on Infendo, but I read a comment where someone mentioned a Green Goblin game where you fly around on his jet-scooter thing, controlling it with your feet, and still use the Wiimote/nunchuck to fight and shoot Spidey.
Frankly, some kind of F-Zero/hoverboard racing game would be cool. Lean into turns, forward to gain speed. Maybe like Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, but good. Or like that PS2 EyeToy game, but, you know, good!
July 18th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Strafing sounds really cool. I don’t think you can use it for throttle though.
July 18th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
why the hell has no one thought of boxing? leaning and dodging in boxing what better fit?
July 18th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
samurai snowboard slicer: EXTREME ACTION commence!
July 18th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
I hate to rain on every one’s parade, but what makes you guys think this will be different from any other sold-separately-peripheral that has ever come out?
It’s not going to have mass developer support. I can guarantee that. It will get a handful of games over the first year or so, then be forgotten, like every other peripheral that you’ve ever had to buy separately.
Frankly, I’m amazed Nintendo is wasting money on something like this. I really am.
I’m not saying it will be bad, I’m saying the install base will not be large enough to garner much developer support. I can’t think of a single example, in all of gaming, of a peripheral that had good support behind it. Not a single one.
The closest would be light guns… which got maybe 8 games over the span of a consoles life.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to play very many games with the thing. An exercise game is one thing, but relying on that sort of hardware for any type of action game? No thanks.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
WRESTLING!!!! You use the wiimote to control arms and the pad to step, show weight pressure and best of all, you can actually wrestle your bud right next to you (with 2 pads of course). There’s so much heterosexual fun there.
July 18th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Silver Surfer. A biathalon game with Wii Zapper. Alpine Racer.
The install base will be questionable as an add-on accessory. Factors that help:
-WiiWare’s reduced overhead costs to produce new games
-perhaps a Wii console + board in a fitness bundle marketed to non-gamers/casual/gym freaks
So it may last longer than usual. Other than that, only time will tell.
July 18th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
a killer surf game might be cool, but I do agree with some of the comments that there probably won’t be many games developed that would use the board. Many people have also wondered about the sturdiness and weight bearing capabilities. As Patrick Star would say, “I’m a big man…” I worry about the possibility that I won’t be able to use it or that my kids will totally thrash it while playing games. I guess we’ll have to see how it stands up.
July 18th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Let us not assume that this thing can take the kind of thrashing that some games would demand. I don’t think it will hold up and is probably not designed for that kind of stress. If the game developers want to go that route, Nintendo will have to make sure this thing can handle the beating. Otherwise we’ll be seeing a lot of returns.
July 18th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I immediately thought of skateboarding, snowboarding, and even surfing games when I saw the board, but these are quite obvious. I’m sure there are way more inventive ways to use the board.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:00 am
The balance board makes me want a Godhand port/sequel on the Wii more than ever. Or just a first/third-person beat-’em-up in general.
Anyone who’s played the game (which, I must point out, is the greatest game ever) knows how important dodging is with the second analog stick. It would be a blast to actually have a game where you run around and weave left and right or forward or backward while taking actual punches at thugs with the Wiimote/Nunchuck.
Sure, it would be the most physically intense game ever and you’d probably get worn out in about 20 minutes tops, but still…
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo included a balance board-esque device in their next console, either.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:48 am
even a martial arts game would be awesome. i’m sure the balance board could figure out if you’re doing a side kick or something because of the shifts in balance and forces. i’d like to see a first person streetfighter developed for this with the balance board, nunchuk and wiimote combo.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:49 am
so besides these 4 genres, what else did they come up with that would be good with the board?
July 19th, 2007 at 12:51 am
underhero5, what makes you think the balance board won’t be as successful as the wiimote? the nunchuk? the whole idea of the wii is interaction. basically the balance board is more of the same, only now they’re including foot control in addition to arm control. you are definitely shortsighted my friend.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:54 am
and only nintendo seems to stirring people’s imaginations like this. only nintendo. there hasn’t been this much enthusiasm for video games in a long time. don’t think devs aren’t going crazy at the possibilities of this board and wiimote combination. the possibilities and creativity are endless. only devs with no imagination can find this boring.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:29 am
“underhero5, what makes you think the balance board won’t be as successful as the wiimote? the nunchuk?”
What makes me think that? Umm… how about the fact that the WiiMote/Nunchuck COME WITH THE WII and this does not?
It’s a separate purchase. Like I said, name ONE, SINGLE peripheral, that you had to buy separately, that was successful, on any console.
You can’t.
The only people who are shortsighted are the ones who think this thing will sell a lot, and get a lot of developer support.
It doesn’t matter how creative the pad is. If not enough people buy it (which they won’t, because, like I said, separate peripherals NEVER sell that well) then developers, no matter how excited, won’t make games for it, because they want money first and foremost (or their Publishers do, anyway).
Even if it sells a million or two, that will NOT be enough to warrant any kind of large scale development for the thing. Any games aimed toward it would only have an install base equal to the number of people who own the pad. It would have to have an un-achievable attach rate to make developers take it seriously.
It’s not going to happen. I absolutely guarantee it. After gaming for 20+ years, and seeing endless peripherals come and go, why would I think this is any different?
Why do you, or any one else, think it’s different, for that matter? Why do you think developers will support it? How many of these things do you think Nintendo will sell?
Like I said, not to rain on the parade. I LOVE Nintendo. I love my Wii. I’m just basing my argument on reality here, what is yours based on? Hopes, is my guess.
July 19th, 2007 at 4:49 am
I just don’t see the balance board being any good for skateboarding, snowboarding or surfing games, because it doesn’t have force feedback. When you’re trying to pull a move on a board in real life, you rely on it either physically moving or something (a ramp, a bank, a wave) resisting it.
Arcade machines like Top Skater or Alpine Racer had force feedback to simulate that resistance, and handlebars or rails so you could really throw yourself around.
The balance board doesn’t do those things, so I’m sceptical about how that’s going to work.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:34 am
UnderHero5, while you bring up good points, I have to disagree: many of the early Wii games that came out with a good idea bombed because the Wii-mote/nunchuck implementation was not appropriate, and would have benefitted from a peripherial like this one (like Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, mentioned before).
I can see the Balance Board being included in future SKUs for the Wii, if the price is right, as a way of Nintendo to put support behind the device… But even if they don’t do that, Nintendo does have a history of successfully introducing peripherials to their consoles that were not included in the original package and became a staple of many games, like the Rumble Pack.
July 19th, 2007 at 10:41 am
UnderHero5: How do you know that wii fit will sell a million or two? Disruptive products are unpredictable, and if this thing sells five or ten times more than what you say, it will be a big enough user base. And also, there is the fact that probably wii fit won’t be the only game that nintendo will sell with the board included.
July 22nd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I thought it would be cool to make a flight sim or similar type game where your balance on the board was the pitch and roll controls of the plane. Almost like you are the stick. Whenever I play and flight type of game I usually find myself leaning in to the controls anyway.