After more than a year, Nintendo revealed it will not continue development of its fitness-minded sleep monitoring device. Announced by former company president Satoru Iwata in October, 2014, the wireless sleep sensor was part of a proposed “quality of life” initiative at Nintendo, intended to build on the success of the Wii Fit and Wii U Fit balance boards. Earlier this week, Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima told investors the company no longer considered the sensor a viable product in a meeting following the company’s recent quarterly earnings report.“In regards to the Quality of Life [device], which was not mentioned in any of today’s questions, we do not have the conviction that the sleep-and-fatigue-themed [device] can enter the phase of actually becoming a product,” Kimishima said, according to a translation from Wired. On the other hand, we still believe there are things we can do in the general category of Quality of Life, and we will continue to study the possibility of expanding into this field.”
Based on an early diagram, users would have placed the sensor on a nightstand or nearby table, allowing it to monitor and analyze users’ breathing, heartbeat, body movement during sleep using “non-contact sensor measurement technology and sleep condition estimation technology.” The device would also provide feedback aimed at improving the user’s lifestyle. Though the device was not connected to any console, Iwata did suggest Nintendo would incorporate its understanding of game design to make the experience of using a fitness tracker into “something fun.”Related: Nintendo’s first mobile app will debut in March, alongside a new user account system“Fatigue and sleep are themes that are rather hard to visualize in more objective ways,” Iwata told investors during an October, 2014, presentation. “At Nintendo, we believe that if we could visualize them, there would be great potential for many people regardless of age, gender, language or culture.”Also watch: Nintendo eShop Updates with a Double-Dose of Final FantasyPlease enable Javascript to watch this video
Scuf Gaming is a small Atlanta-based video game company that makes custom console controllers for professional and everyday gamers. From its inception five years ago, the company has partnered with top eSports gamers and teams to establish its products as the go-to console controllers in eSports.Over 90% of console pro gamers across titles such as Microsoft's Halo 5, Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, and Hi-Rez Studios' Smite use Scuf Gaming controllers, according to Duncan Ironmonger, CEO and co-founder of Scuf Gaming.Now the company is going mainstream by offering artists and presenters at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards Xbox One and PC Scuf Infinity 1 controllers and accessories in the official talent gift bags and backstage gift lounge.The controllers can cost up to $195. They're just one of the many goodies in the Grammy gift bags for this year's show, which airs on CBS on Feb. 15.Scuf Gaming will have several Xbox One consoles available to test out the custom controllers in the Grammy gift lounge backstage in the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Adele, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Skrillex and LL Cool J might be found trying their hand with the controller on games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Motorsport 6, and FIFA 16."There is a natural connect between the top performers in the music industry and our audience of top gamers, so reaching out to the Grammy organizers to discuss our involvement seemed a logical next step," Ironmonger says. "Many of our fans are musicians, celebrities, and band members who regularly play video games both on tour and at home."Get Data Sheet, Fortune's technology newsletter.One such band is Avenged Sevenfold, which worked with Scuf Gaming to release a Scuf Hybrid Avenged controller in 2013 and has a new Scuf Infinity 1 Avenged controller launching in a few weeks. Lead singer M. Shadows, who's a huge Call of Duty gamer, says video games have given artists a medium that used to be exclusive to MTV and radio."Opportunities that used to exist through these channels have dried up and now we feel the best ways to reach our potential fans is through gaming," Shadows says.
"It's young, fresh, intelligent, and exciting."Lash Fary, founder and president of Distinctive Assets, says with so many gentlemen on the Grammy stage, his LA-based entertainment marketing and gifting company has always sought out cool tech items to satisfy the male artists’ love of gadgets."Gaming has been a hit in the past, so whether they are gamers themselves or simply get to return home after Grammy rehearsals and be a hero with their kids, we've included a couple great gaming-related gift items in the official talent gift lounge," Fary says.Unlike a traditional controller, each Scuf controller is handmade by one of 200 employees after its been customized online by the gamer. That process is being re-created within the 5,000-square-foot gifting lounge by offering artists a variety of colors and accessories to choose from. Then they can play games while their controller is being built."Musicians understand the value of using professional tools and appreciate the unique customization that Scuf controllers offer," Ironmonger says.
For more on musicians and Xbox, watch:Ironmonger is using the Grammys to establish additional relationships with musicians who game. The partnership with Avenged Sevenfold has been successful in extending the Scuf brand to the band's global rock audience, he says."Music is one of the few things that go hand in hand with gaming and eSports," Ironmonger says. "Many of our sponsored pro players and influencers play music during their live streams, practice matches, and scrimmages."Scuf Gaming, which filed 55 patents and had 17 granted for the technology that makes the Infinity 1 controller a reality, licensed its technology to Microsoft for its $150 Xbox One Elite Controller, which has been selling out at retail since it launched last year.January, as a month, isn’t know for a whole lot, especially when it comes to video-game releases. Having just sent the heavy hitters out for release in the busy holiday shopping season, publishers don’t always have a lot scheduled in the start of the new year.
Poor January can sometimes be a wasteland new-release wise. But, this year, there’s actually a number of new releases to look forward to this month, everything from new entries in favorite series, indie adventures, HD re-releases, and deeply serious experiences. Hold on to your wallets because January is kicking off one of the biggest years in gaming. If super heroes and LEGO are your things, then look no further than LEGO Marvel Avengers, the latest entry in the LEGO series of games. And this time you actually get to assemble the Avengers. Because they are made out of LEGO. Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America are all here, with a story that spans not just the Avengers movie, but also Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Solider, Thor: The Dark World, and Iron Man 3. That’s a lot of stuff there. The game also boasts over 100 different unlockable characters. And of course, you can expect that unique brand of humor you know and love that the LEGO games are known for.
LEGO Marvel’s Avengers releases on January 26. And it’s available on pretty much every system under the sun. Mario has done a lot over the years. And for role-playing-games, he’s also searched for seven stars and found himself turned into paper. But for the newest Mario RPG title, Nintendo is having Mario meet himself in a meta mash-up, and bringing together two of hero’s series. Enter Mario & Luigi Paper Jam, which combines the lovely little plumber’s two turn-based, role-playing franchises into one game. The characters from the Paper Mario universe meet up with the Mario & Luigi crew, and apparently Mario doesn’t mind meeting up with himself in the form of a giant piece of paper. The game has been out in other territories for a bit, and has been getting pretty solid reviews, so fans of both of the original series, and turn-based RPGs, should keep a paper-eye on this one. Already booking time to play it? Mario & Luigi Paper Jam releases on January 22 for the Nintendo 3DS.
Time to go back to the beginning in HD! Mansions, T-Virus, Umbrella, it’s all here. Oh, and well yeah, zombies that want to eat your brains out. Resident Evil Origins Collection brings together Resident Evil HD and Resident Evil 0, along with a brand new Wesker Mode for Resident Evil 0. Get ready to hunt some zombies, and rediscover the start of this classical survival horror franchise. Or, if you’ve never played the games before, discover the beginning of the Resident Evil franchise, but spruced up with some new, shiny graphics. Resident Evil Origins Collection releases on January 19 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Some fantasies just aren’t final. In Final Fantasy Explorers, you are tasked with exploring an island rich with crystals — the power source in the game — and ultimately trying to take over the Grand Crystal. Of course, there’s mages and monks and everything in between in this action-RPG adventure. For fans of the larger Final Fantasy universe as a whole, you can even use the Trance feature to transform into some characters you might be familiar with that all have airy sounding names you might recognize…
Cloud, Squall, and Lightning…ring a bell? The game has a solo mode, as well as local and online (!!!) co-op with two to four players, so you’ll be able to grab some friends and bring them along, even if they are across the country, and explore, vanquish foes, and prove to the world that every team really does need a White Mage. Ready to explore some of your final-est fantasies? Final Fantasy Explorers releases on January 26 for the Nintendo 3DS.That’s what The Witness wants you to do. A self-penned “exploration-puzzle game,” The Witness puts you on an island. You have to explore. You have to figure everything out. So get to it. The team working on it has also been involved with everything from Braid, Dead Space, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Myst, so there’s quite the caliber of talent behind The Witness. Take a look for yourself to see some of the land you’ll be exploring: The Witness releases on January 26, for PlayStation 4 and PC, with iOS and other platforms coming in the future.
Let’s step back for a minute. That Dragon, Cancer is a memorization for Joel Green, who was diagnosed with Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (AT/RT) when he was one year old. You can read more about Joel and his story here, which is probably better read yourself than for me to try to even begin to capture or retell it. The Kickstarter-funded game is being developer by Ryan Green, Joel’s father, and is a two hour experience as you become part of the family and care for Joel through his journey of treatments, therapy, and recurrence. Kickstarter backers also contributed their own personal stories for the game as well, creating a communal story that reflects on the horrors of cancer and its impact on family. That Dragon, Cancer releases on January 12 for Steam and Ouya. A Steam Early Access title, Darkest Dungeon isn’t just about having enough health or lives to complete the game, but about the toll that the adventure can have on the heroes going through it.
Being a video-game hero is tough stuff, you know. The gothic side-scrolling RPG tasks you with guiding a band of heroes, and helping them to survive things like paranoia, greed, anger, or hopelessness. The art is all hand-drawn, and yup, it’s a turn-based battle system, which is sure to hit all those nostalgia buttons in just the right (and dark) places. It’s a very human take on a traditional genre. Darkest Dungeon releases on January 19 for PC/Mac, with PlayStation 4 and Vita versions to follow. And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids. There’s no talking dog or Mystery Machine here, though. Oxenfree is a high-school adventure, where you accidentally, oh, you know, no big deal…open up a ghostly rift on a decommissioned military island. That’s probably the last time you are allowed to take your stepbrother anywhere. The studio, Night School Studio, was founded in 2014 with people from Telltale and Disney, so expect a focus on story and characters in this supernatural romp.