Move out of the way, Kinect. Scram, Playstation Move. Hit the road, Wii. There’s a new video game controller in town, and it’s way more personal than any of you can hope to be. SEGA’s newest game is Toy-Lets (“Toirettsu”), and you play it with your pee. Using a pressure sensor located on the back of a male urinal, Toy-Lets allows you to control simple video games with the power of your stream. The action is played out in a small monitor located above the urinal, near eye-level. Our last article on Toy-Lets got people so excited that we figured we had to track down some videos of this thing in action before our readers had an accident. So here you are: three short clips of the game that could be SEGA’s ticket back to #1. The first two are fine to share with the family, the third might be a little NSFW. Enjoy, and try not to get too nervous about having a video game in the bathroom with you. It’s just another way in which advertising is going to follow you everywhere.
The first clip shows Toy-Let’s most basic game: measuring how much you urinate. As you can see, fun animations accompany the ‘donation’ of your output. For those who worry about dehydration, you can record your pee levels with a memory stick via a USB outlet on the monitor. Got to keep track of that stuff, right?
Of course, what’s the point of peeing on a video game controller if you can’t compete with someone while doing it? The next clip shows a tug of war style game that involves spurting milk out of your nose. The stronger your urine, the stronger your nose-gun. Each player is challenging the record of the previous occupant of the urinal. Defend your honor: pee like a champion.
Our final video demonstrates that Toy-Lets is most certainly aimed at a male audience. One safely entrenched in a men-only location. “The North Wind and Her” game has you playing the part of a naughty wind, aiming to blow up the skirt of a hapless maiden. Pee harder, see more skin. …Japan, you’re so far up on my WTF list that Germany thinks you’re a cloud. Congrats.
Again, probably NSFW:
If these demonstrations of Toy-Lets have you clamoring for your own version at your local bar, don’t get your hopes up just yet. SEGA is demoing the game in only two select locations (Ikebukuro and Akihabara) and only until the end of January. After that, it is anybody’s guess what happens to the concept. Whether or not urine-controllers become the next big global fad in gaming, the underlying financial motivation is going to stick around. For every game the player enjoys, he has to stand through a brief ad (not really seen in the videos above). And you can bet the screens will be displaying marketing campaigns when not in use. As perversely fun as Toy-Lets may be, it’s really just a clever way to make money from advertising. Ingenious, perhaps, but SEGA is only one of many companies that are looking to find digital revenue sources in the unlikeliest of places. I guess I’m okay with that…
…but if SEGA plans on using other bodily emissions to create the next version of Spaced Invaders I’m definitely going to be pissed!
[screen capture credit: UYE515]
Thanks to JapanSugoi.com for finding two of these videos.
