Nintendo Explains the Strange Disappearance of the Vitality Sensor

When the Viality Sensor made its debut at E3 2010, it was certainly met with quite a bit of confusion. While the device seemed like it could offer some interesting new experiences for games like Wii Fit or Eternal Darkness, it quickly disappeared, before being officially cancelled. In a recent shareholder’s Q&A, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata gave the official reason behind the unique peripheral’s cancellation. According to Iwata, Nintendo discovered that the device could only register readings from 9 out of 10 users.

“After a large-scale test of a prototype inside the company, we found out that for some people the sensor did not work as expected,” Iwata divulged.

There has been lots of speculation since Nintendo decided to cancel the Vitality Sensor. Just a few months ago, neuro-technology specialist Roger Quy believed Nintendo simply didn’t know what to do with the technology. This is the first time Nintendo has given any official stance on the cancellation, however.

“The Wii Vitality Sensor is an interesting device,” Iwata elaborated, “and we did various experiments to see what is possible when it was combined with a video game. But, as a result, we have not been able to launch it as a commercial product because we could not get it to work as we expected and it was of narrower application than we had originally thought.

“We would like to launch it into the market if technology advancements enable 999 of 1000 people to use it without any problems, not only 90 out of 100 people.”

Iwata’s comments seem to indicate that Nintendo hasn’t completely given up on the technology just yet. It’s important to remember that, in the past, Nintendo has delayed new technology in order to fine tune it and see where best to implement it. Perhaps we’ll see it again when we least expect it.

Source: Nintendo