10 Ambitious Video Game Gimmicks That BOMBED
3. Biofeedback Video Games
In 2009, Nintendo infamously announced the Wii Vitality Sensor, a peripheral which would track the player's pulse within games, yet without showing off any accompanying software, players weren't quite sure what its utility would be.
Despite planning to show the device off with games at E3 2010, the Vitality Sensor skipped the show and was quietly cancelled, with the late Satoru Iwata confirming in 2013 that they couldn't get to the product to function with more than 90% of players.
In 2012, light-gun game Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013 introduced a new "Top Shot Fearmaster" gun peripheral which would measure the player's heartrate and adjust gameplay accordingly.
If your pulse ran too high, the screen would blur until you calmed down, and camera sensors on the gun could even detect if you were shaking and lessen your accuracy as a result.
The game ultimately received mixed reviews, coming and going without much fanfare at all.
Similarly in 2015, indie horror game Nevermind offered up its own take by allowing players to strap on a heartrate monitor, and in the event their pulse ran too high, the game would begin to make its puzzles more challenging.
Though the game itself received broadly positive reviews, the supported heart monitor hardware was expensive, and even though players could alternately use a webcam to measure registered anxiety in their face, it ultimately felt like a bit of a half-measure.
As fascinating as it is to see forward-thinking game creators pushing the boundaries of the medium, biofeedback gaming isn't ever going to catch on with the mainstream.
Though we all have half-decent heartrate sensors on our phones these days, it's a market unlikely to ever grow substantially beyond the mobile sphere.