The new year is upon us and 2009 looks to be all about change. So, can Wiispin get a ticket to the change train? Yes We Can. Starting this week we are beginning a new feature called, Do Work Fridays. Every Friday we will look at some of the shortcomings of our beloved system, and ponder on ways Nintendo could improve on them. These are going to tend to be ideas that have the distinct possibility of working, just have yet to come into fruition. Think powerglove.

So, without further ado, I present to you Wiispin’s inaugural “Do Work Friday!” This week I want to talk about the Wii balance board. Now, we all have heard about Wiifit. We know it’s pros and cons, mainly being that it’s an even more expensive Wiiplay, something you buy for the controller and then toss aside. As for the controller, it’s one that Ninty has not capitalized on so far. So, I ask, nay implore, Nintendo to Do Work! They’ve tried, and I’m sure they are going to continue to try but, it just isn’t happening. Take the latest game to use the technology, Shaun White’s Snowboarding: Road Trip. Bottom line, the game just isn’t fun. Ok, we can pin that one on Ubisoft but, it’s a Wii game so Nintendo must take some of the blame. Using the balance board to snowboard seems like it could be amazing, but it kinda fails and on more than one level. Take for example the most basic move in snowboarding, the spin, trying to pull it off can easily result in you almost falling off the board, losing all balance. Ok, we can maybe blame that on my sub par motor skills but, isn’t that the group of gamers Nintendo is marketing to? I mean, how many times do you see a kid fall down a day? Once? Twice?

So, what can Nintendo do to pull it together and live up to the potential of the balance board? First and foremost, make the games utilizing it fun to play. Sure, the hula-hooping in WiiFit can be a bit fun, and playing with your butt is a novel approach but, none of these are what we’re looking for. Secondly, and the most obvious way to improve on the Board, make more games use the Board. Right now there is only a select amount of titles, there should be many more. Sure, more are on the way but none that really seem exciting. I mean, how many people are going to actually play “All-Star Cheer Squad”? Another improvement could be made in the controls. Make them more intuitive, put us in the game even more. In my opinion, the Wii is amazing because it touches on what I dreamed of as a kid, virtual reality. Sure, it’s not VR but, it’s the closest gaming has to it. The Wii gives you that “in the game” feeling of being there and in control, like Tron. It also makes gameplay more meaningful and exciting, like The Wizard (that’s right, two The Wizard references in one post, eat your heart out!). The Balance Board can capitalize on this in so many different ways. How about a racing game for the Balance Board? Not butt-racing, instead have the left foot break and the right foot gas. Rayman’s Raving Rabbids TV Party touched on those controls and it worked well, if not a bit gimicky. You could even throw in the Mario Kart control scheme, just leave out the God-awful racing wheel! Hopefully they will consider this for Mario Kart 2. What about some WiiWare games? Maybe they could have a whack-a-mole type of game which sees you playing a giant and stepping on things. Bugs perhaps?

As you can tell, there are definitely very many possibilities to improve on the Wii Balance Board, we can only hope that Nintendo will Do Work and make the peripheral something that you truly want to use.