Hi, it’s Machamp with Cross Chop!
The Pokewalker is diabolical.
So the latest Pokemon game, Heart Gold/Soul Silver comes with a pedometer onto which you can transfer Pokemon and take them for walks. As you take steps, you get points in order to do things like get rare items and catch Pokemon. It’s partially designed to curb piracy, as not only is the Pokewalker something that you can’t really pirate, but the cartridge for the game itself has infrared sensors on it, so just having the rom isn’t enough.
But that’s not why it’s so fiendishly clever. The real and more sinister reason is that it’s going to get kids addicted to walking.
Consider the mentality that brought us “gotta catch ’em all,” the mentality that puts small children on the same wavelength as hardcore World of Warcraft players grinding up to max to open up the real game. Now apply it to light exercise. You could very well have kids just going out for long walks practically every day!
To some extent, it feels like saying, “Hey kids, if you get an A on your test, you can get a LEGENDARY POKEMON,” or, “Hey adults, the only way to defeat this super hidden boss is to FILE YOUR TAXES.”
Really, Wii Fit was a nice try, but it’s no Pokewalker.
OGIUE MANIAX 
Isn’t that pokewalker fantastic! Of course, you know lazy people are going to find a way to make the pokewalker to count up without them having to move a muscle. It’s like the guy I was playing against on the wii in some baseball game. I was waving the controller about like a madman while he lay of the couch and swang the thing from the end of his finger.
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Holy shit that image made me lol.
Coolest things about Pokewalker, as I reported in one of my soulSilver posts:
“I still haven’t had the chance to use the Pokewalker yet, but my brother has been wearing his as he goes to school and stuff. I believe he had his Togepi in it, and he told me that one of his friends at school also had a Pokewalker on, his containing Meowth. Now, when you bring your Pokemon back from the Pokewalker to the DS, it gives you a summary of everything that your Pokemon did while it was walking with you. In my brother’s report, it said how his Togepi had been hanging out with the friend’s Meowth. The two of them hadn’t done anything – no pressing buttons or aiming rays at each other – the Pokewalkers had picked up each-other’s signals on their own. That, I thought, was fucking boss.”
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That’s what people said back in the day with the Pikachu Tamagotchi. I just put mine on the dryer to bounce around, walkings for chumps.
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I’ve played my Soul Silver for nearly 20 hours but haven’t tried out the Pokewalker yet. Saving it for an extra treat when I’m done with the main storyline of the game. I should attach it when I exercise on my elliptical XD
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Ok Now I REALLY wanna get one of these things. I confess I tried the occasional rom in the PC emulator, but nothing beats taking your game with you, now I can take my pokemon EVERYWHERE??
Seriously, nintendo is fucking genius when it comes to making kids do stuff. They could very well become America’s salvation over child obesity.
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