E.T.H.O.S.|Ethical Technology in the Homes of Seniors

With the success of Wii Fit, Nintendo really seems to be focused on fitness and health oriented products (referred to as lifestyle games by the company).  Take for example Walk with me! a new release coming out on the Nintendo DS in February.  Consisting of an “activity meter” (which looks to be a suped-up pedometer) and associated cartridge for the Nintendo DS, the application promises to track your activity and those of your friends and family: 

Ranking yourself against friends and family is a good incentive to improve, but if you have bigger aspirations you can also find out how your activity levels compare to other Walk With Me! users around the world by viewing the World Ranking chart via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Or if you’d rather work alongside others than compete against them, you can combine your step data with players around the globe to see how far your total steps take you around the Solar System in Space Journey.

Also Nintendo is announcing the release of a Wii Fit Body Check Channel in Japan. This channel will supposedly send customized health advice based on data submitted via your Wii Fit.  At first this will only be available for employees of NEC, Panasonic and Hitachi in Japan.  Which raises some interesting questions in regards to privacy and health in the workplace.