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‘Whack to the Future!’ How the Nintendo Wii is Leading the ‘Active-Interface’ Revolution

Posted by David C. Fein
April 13th, 2007

Nintendo’s Wii has broken new ground in getting your lazy butt off of your couch and physically into the game. Is this a new gimmick, or the beginning of the ‘Get up and move your body!” — ‘Active-Interface’ revolution?

Nintendo shocked everyone by releasing an ugly stupid controller system that looked more like a poor television remote than a breakthrough in gaming control. The Wii Remote has motion sensors that translate your movements into controls. If you add the ‘Nunchuck’-attachment, you can have two motion sensitive controllers per person, one for each hand. Unlike every other average gaming controller, this breakthrough insures that people get physical. (There’s even a wrist strap to stop you from throwing the controller across the room accidentally. Too bad the first straps were too thin and people unexpectedly ended up throwing their controllers through windows, at siblings, into their televisions, etc. Nintendo was quick to replace the straps with better ones, but not before they were sued over Wii wrist straps.) The new Wii controllers are not just a gimmick, but they are fun! People have even started documenting how they are on the Wii exercise program with great results! There’s even a website: www.wiiweightlossplan.com.

But what does this simple gaming system have to do with our future? Look at the video below. People are bringing their Wii systems to movie theaters and using the space to really get into the game on the big screen. Is this a new revenue stream for movie theaters with digital proejctors? You can bet on it! Soon you’ll see the end of theaters being closed down during the morning and late night periods, and more interactive entertainment will arrive. The Wii is only the beginning.

You also need to consider the fact that as more and more people sit on their collective butts in front of computers, this ‘active-interface’ is going to grow in popularity. We sit at our computers because it’s the easiest way to operate and focus. But we’re in a world where you get on your treadmill and listen to your iPod with a audiobook or news Podcast, and you’re working. Many new treadmills have televisions in them. The ‘active-interface’ revolution as begun, and we need it!

I’d much rather be up and moving every single moment of every day. It feels better, it keeps the blood flowing, and keeps the ideas fresh and clear. We as a culture need more activity in a world where there is constant enticements to stay home and get on the internet, watch telelvision, or play a video game. Nintendo has made games active, who’s going to make the next move?