The original balance board... by Amiga!

The guys over at QJ.net have dug up some info on the history of the Wii Balance Board. I agree 100%, there is hardly anything unique nowadays and this is just another example of something recycled into a new phenomenon.

Ian Bogost, via Water Cooler Games, has revealed that back in 1982, an Atari VCS peripheral called the Joyboard was released by Amiga.

Here's what the author had to say about this reinvention:

My point is not that Nintendo has "stolen" the idea of a balance board from Amiga, nor that their revisions are unimportant. Rather, I want to suggest that product like Wii Fit don't come out of a vacuum. Fit evolved from decades of experimentation in physical interfaces and creative game design. Game players and critics alike would do well to learn some history about their medium to help make sense of new entries like this one.

Check out the whole article here.