Before I get started I would just like to thank the people at Captive Media for inspiring this blog post. Without their tireless drive towards innovation I wouldn't be able to write about the games of the past, and the impact those games had on the games of today. And I must say I am quite excited about this particular gaming innovation.
Ever since Nintendo released R.O.B. the robot, game companies have scrambled to find new ways for gamers to experience their games. The lists of ideas ranged from the Power Glove, the Power Pad, and the Konami LaserScope, to the more recent Wii motion controllers, Playstation's Sixaxis and Move controllers, and Xbox's Kinect. While many of these ideas went on to be great, others were monumental flops. While everybody always wonders where the next great innovation in gaming will come from, Captive Media is trying to answer that question for us.
As you can see the Captive Media game system is not controlled by your standard means of gaming, but instead by nature's call. That's right you play while you pee. The games are controlled by literally by aiming your urine stream to the left and right. The "p-controller"
According to the Captive Media website there are currently seven games available to play. There is a snowmobiling game, a track and field game, a trivia game, a pirate game, a art game, an opinion poll game, and finally a game where you can flip through advertisements. Since the game system is online enabled there is actually a worldwide leaderboard available online to see how you rank against other players.
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| I feel like this game would make me imagine the unpleasant sensation of peeing outside in the cold |
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| Just what I want when I pee, some bearded dude standing right in front of me , and a parrot trying to sneak a peek at my junk |
In addition to the games the video monitors also act as a means of advertisements, and entertainment while in the bathroom. The cleverly named "PTV" feature is designed to be a combination of those two elements. The PTV channel can be customized by each venue that hosts the Captive Media system in order to create a unique and fun restroom experience.
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| I think that the lack of a firefighting game is a horrible letdown |
The system is just now over one year old and has been almost exclusively used in Europe. However next week Coca Cola Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs will debut the systems in their restrooms. The team's General Manager, Kurt Landes said in a press release that "These games are sure to make a huge splash." I am sure that the stadiums janitorial staff is hoping that isn't true. One thing that is true is that now instead of pumping quarters into a machine to get replay a game, now one must pump beer into themselves to get to replay the machines.
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| If I was an IronPigs player I might be concerned that my management doesn't have a lot of faith in exciting baseball this summer if they are trying to make the bathroom more entertaining |
I do have a few concerns about the machine. First off their website mentions content for women, which leads me to wonder how exactly that works. Normally the curious part of me would want to know the answer, but the cautious part of me is afraid enough of the answer not to try to find out.
Secondly, all good gaming companies have a life cycle for their systems. I wonder what is going to happen when the Captive Media Number Two is released. What will those games be like? I won't lie, when I know I need my number two is going to take a while, I might just grab my GameBoy Advance and play something. Maybe they could make a Turd Man RPG.
Anyways I could go on all day with jokes. Check out Captive Media's website, and their YouTube channel for something unique and different.
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