Once again Nintendo comes up with something that makes me more interested in video games!
The Wii Balance Board is a board that a player stands on to interact with games. It contains a bunch of pressure sensors and connects wirelessly to the Nintendo Wii. Users can play games by shifting their weight.
The first game to use the accessory will be Wii Fit. It appears to be a bunch of fitness themed mini-games including (what they clearly hope will sell the device to middle-aged women) some sort of virtual yogalates class. It also uses the device as a scale to determine (presumably approximate) BMI.
Check out this Wii Fit introduction video from the E3 2007 Nintendo press conference:
The Wii Balance Board Wikipedia page mentions that Shigeru Miyamoto (in an interview with IGN) noted that:
Probably the simplest and most straightforward [idea] would be a snowboarding game.
Hell yeah! I want that game!
Update: As an aside, it’s great that Nintendo promotes their products in a very inclusive manner; demonstrating use by a wide range of people and focusing on families. Maybe this will help break the perception of the “video gamer” as social outcast!