Nintendo’s weird exercise ring is used to control a Switch RPG

• 

  Get up and move!

Last week, Nintendo threw up a vague and unexpected video showing people "moving their bodies, doing some kind of activity, and having a pretty good laugh," as the company now describes it. Today, Nintendo revealed more details about Ring Fit Adventure, a turn-based RPG that uses the flexible "Ring-Con" and a Joy-Con-equipped leg strap to transform physical activity into in-game actions.

That means getting around in Ring Fit Adventure requires actually jogging in place, with your leg speed corresponding to the speed of the character on-screen (there is a less active "silent mode" to reduce the heavy impacts of your footfalls in crowded environments). That also means performing various exercise moves-from leg lifts to yoga poses-in turn-based battles against color-coded enemies.

While the Ring-Con might look like just a rubberized plastic resistance band, the electronic device can actually sense how hard and fast it's being squeezed, jiggled, and tilted (with the help of an attached Joy-Con). Squeezing it in can create an in-game blast of air to affect the environment or launch into the sky, for instance. The trailer shows Ring-Con movements being used for everything from paddleboarding to flapping a a wing suit.

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments