Leave it up to Sonic's daddy, Yuji Naka to develop a unique game for the Wii. His new game
Let's Tap finds an even goofier way to control games than waggling the Wii remote--vibration. The game has you set the remote on a flat surface like a box or table, and then tap on that surface to control the game. There are five minigames on the disc and each one sounds pretty clever considering the interface method. I'm surprised the Wii's motion sensor is sensitive enough to detect vibration like this, but regardless this is a fascinating idea.
This is the kind of game the Wii was made for, not lame tech demos that make me flail around like a maniac.
From the Creative Mind that brought
Sonic the Hedgehog to Life Comes a Finger Tapping Sensation
Yuji Naka's Next Creation Set to Revolutionize How Gamers Interact with Nintendo™ Wiis
SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (February 3, 2009) – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announces Let's Tap™, a game that is blazing new ground in Nintendo Wii™ control design. Developed by Prope, the studio that Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka established in 2006, Let's Tap is the first product from the new studio to be released to in North America and Europe. Developed exclusively for Nintendo's Wii™ system, Let's Tap utilizes a ground-breaking control scheme where the Wii controller is placed on a box or flat surface so that the controller can detect minute vibrations. Players of all ages and skill levels then tap the box or flat surface to interact with the game; there's no need to hold the controller. Let's Tap is slated for a summer 2009 ship for the Nintendo Wii in North America.
"Let's Tap represents innovation and a departure from any preconceived notion of how video games are to be played," says Sean Ratcliffe, VP of Marketing at SEGA of America. "Naka san is one of the video game industry's creative luminaries. This game is his newest creation and we are excited to be able to expose the gamers in North America to something fresh and different from anything they've played before."
Featuring five separate game modes with multiple levels and allowing up to four players for multiplayer action, Let's Tap presents an assortment of different finger-tapping challenges for players to master. In Tap Runner players use differing finger tapping pressure to make simple stick figure racers run through an obstacle course. In Visualizer players are allowed to create dazzling fireworks effects, dramatic paint strokes, amongst other effect as they tap out different rhythm patterns that correspond to different effects. Silent Blocks finds players taking turns removing blocks from a large stack, tapping too hard will result in a collapsing stack of blocks. Bubble Voyager allows players to fly through space, blasting obstacles and enemies in order to reach the far stretches of the universe. And finally Rhythm Tap allows players to time the taps of their fingers to high energy music.
Let's Tap was developed at Prope Tokyo and is tapping its way to release in summer 2009. For more information please visit www.SEGA.com/Letstap. For screenshots, please visit the SEGA FTP site at http://segapr.segaamerica.com
About SEGA of America
SEGA® of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. SEGA of America's Web site is located at www.sega.com/us
About SEGA® Europe:
SEGA® Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA® Corporation, and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. SEGA Europe's web site is located at www.sega-europe.com.