Glucoboy: Diabetes Management for Your DS or GBA
By Jonathan on Monday, December 3rd, 2007 at 5:20 PM PST In Game Related Science, Gamer Life, Games Industry, Nintendo, Portable
The DS can do a lot of things these days: tune into TV, test your brain, make you look like a fool whenever your asked to blow into the mic while playing it out in public. But it looks like Nintendo’s little device has just gotten a new use with the “Glucoboy.” The Glucoboy is essentially a glucose monitor that plugs into a GBA or the GBA slot on a DS. The cartridge is intended to make diabetes management more fun for younger users by awarding points each time they perform a test. More points are awarded for falling within specific blood sugar limits, which can then be spent in the two included games or in the GRiP (Guidance Reward Platform) community for accessories, apparel, and cards for one of the games, called “Knock ‘Em Downs.”
The device was introduced a couple weeks ago in Australia for World Diabetes Day, and was created by Paul Wessel. Wessel came up with the idea when he noticed his 9-year old son would always misplace his glucose monitor, but could always find his Gameboy. It took him three years to get Nintendo’s approval, but now he has a great gadget in production to help diabetic kids keep track of their blood sugar level. Hopefully though, this doesn’t start a trend of games that require human blood to play.
Via Hippocratech [via Game|Life]
i wish i had diabetes
Well, it would be easy as heck if you didn’t.
A game that requires human blood….
Kudos to Nintento for tapping the forward-thinking market. It would be awesome if the Guidance Reward Platform resulted in dollars going to advancements in treatments to prevent diabetes complications.
Who am I kidding? The Wii is so amazing – I’m not surprised Nintendo went the extra mile for this little number!
Please hate me or love me on http://www.TuDiabetes.com – A Community for People Touched By Diabetes.
Allison Love Beatty – Founder of “Allies Voice”
Making the World Safer for People with Diabetes
http://www.AlliesVoice.com
Wow, Nintendo is so smart. With the world’s diabetes rates going through the ceiling, this is definitely an untapped market.