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Bayer Working on Blood Glucose Meter for the DS

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News Room Contributor
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Joined: 12 Nov 2002

Bayer Working on Blood Glucose Meter for the DS

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Pharmaceutical giant Bayer is working on a new glucose reader peripheral for the Nintendo DS which will encourage children to regularly test their blood glucose and, hopefully, to take better care of them.

The Didget will plug into Nintendo DS or DS Lite handhelds and works in conjunction with two games, Knock 'Em Downs: World's Fair and Mini Game Arcade, to encourage kids to test their blood glucose regularly. The unit supports two testing modes, basic and advanced, and "consistent" testing is rewarded with points that can be used to unlock levels and buy items within the games.

The device was developed in conjunction with Paul Wessel, the founder of Guidance Interactive Healthcare and creator of the Glucoboy, a blood glucose meter for the Nintendo Game Boy. Wessel noticed that while his son was always losing his blood glucose meter, he never had that problem with his DS and thus struck the inspiration for the Didget.

The Didget fits into the Slot-2 connector on the DS and DS Lite, which unfortunately means it won't be compatible with the newer Nintendo DSi. Pricing is currently set at £29.99 (around $50) in the U.K., which include a £5 donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; pricing in the U.S. hasn't been set because the Didget isn't available here just yet. Check out bayerdidget.com for more information.

via: GamesIndustry

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Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3763
Joined: 22 Jun 2009

More money for Nintendo!

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2602
Joined: 16 Feb 2009

Who the fuck buys that shit?

It's gonna flop.

On the Record
Posts: 6645
Joined: 18 Mar 2009

You can make a profit off of anything these days.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1052
Joined: 14 Sep 2008

Umm... What? Honestly whats next, Mario Condoms?

Master Archivist
Posts: 8395
Joined: 9 Sep 2008

Nintendo D(iabete)S

This is a nice idea, but I'm not sure it will sell. After all, how many kids like to prick their fingers?

Pulitzer Laureate
Posts: 822
Joined: 20 May 2008

Psychosocial:
Who the fuck buys that shit?

It's gonna flop.

People... with diabetes? lmao.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1540
Joined: 6 Feb 2008

kinda cool idea, though attaching it to 2 shovelware games isnt a great way to get stock moving

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2849
Joined: 8 Jul 2008

Ooh

Fun!

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 4012
Joined: 17 Feb 2008

So, how how is this going to test your blood sugar level? By sticking a needle in you? Oh that sounds like great fun...

Onyx Oblivion:
Nintendo D(iabete)S

That was pretty funny, cookie for you.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2602
Joined: 16 Feb 2009

tk1989:

Psychosocial:
Who the fuck buys that shit?

It's gonna flop.

People... with diabetes? lmao.

I wonder how it was when they came up with this idea. "We need to do a game, for people with diabetes."

On the Record
Posts: 5860
Joined: 8 Jun 2009

Great. Now everyone else has a wiimote (Natal etc.), nintendo need a completely random and unheard of thing.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1613
Joined: 7 Dec 2008

... I... just... *sigh* really? "Hey, you know what kids like? Checking their blood-sugar level while playing video-games!" I mean, you really should have to worry unless you have diabetes... I just don't get this world anymore.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2495
Joined: 1 Oct 2008

Yes because we all know people who actually buy those games. And if it isn't packaged with them (probably), how can it be expected to sell really?

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1189
Joined: 1 May 2009

...I don't know if this or that pulse sensor thing is more face-palm-ish. Seriously...I almost cried and laughed at the same time when I read this.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3618
Joined: 6 Apr 2009

Well I don't think anyone was expecting that.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1897
Joined: 3 Dec 2008

See I don't think this is the worse idea, the only problem is parents will still make sure they've done it anyway. Could be useful in hospitals I suppose but price will limit it's use

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2346
Joined: 25 Jun 2008

I wonder how long it is before we read a story about some dumb kid putting themselves into a hyperglycaemic coma because they were trying to get the high score in Knock 'Em Downs: World's Fair or Mini Game Arcade, due to a stupid rumour on one of those bullshit game cheat websites.

"Dude, I read on the internet that if you eat a bag of sugar before doing the blood test game you totally unlock Grim Reaper Mario".

Anonymous Source
Posts: 4
Joined: 27 Feb 2009

Why does it have it's own display? That's a horrible design. It should use the Nintendo DS to display the information. That way it could simply be flush with the DS, and allow you to insert the strips etc into the cartridge. This will get lost just as quickly as any other blood meter.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1896
Joined: 26 Apr 2009

Really, Nintendo?! You're going to approve this?

Have some decency, you greedy little money grubbers.

Muckraker
Posts: 316
Joined: 14 Aug 2008

So... I can see how kids with diabetes could use this... but... isn't that kind of a slim market for a gaming peripheral?

Plus, shouldn't people who have issues with their glucose levels have, I don't know, some sort of other peripheral to help them keep track of this? (Like asthmatic people carrying an inhalator. Speaking of which, is there a Nintendo Inhalator yet?)

On the Record
Posts: 5403
Joined: 1 Mar 2009

I seriously think that Nintendo is just fishing for money in a sea full of idiots with big wallets. They have no dignity left, so instead of making real game play innovation like in the olden days they're just selling cheap peripherals to keep the money flowing. They aren't appealing to the audience, they're appealing to themselves. What happened to the 90's when they created some of the greatest Nintendo games in history? Has all that gone away? They have stopped creating real games and are using the consoles as medical equipment. This sounds a bit hateful, but Nintendo seems more and more like sellouts to me. I'm even ashamed to own a Wii. Please, Nintendo, take a risk to lose your pool of money that you swim in and create some real games. Let SEGA take over and make some violent games that everyone can enjoy. I thought it was low to keep creating cheap remakes of old games and release games that are basically copies of old ones, but this? It just seems like they're in it for the money. Hopefully they're building up for a crescendo, so that when they have an ocean of money, they'll invest in making the best games ever, like a good 3D Sonic game, or the world's best sandbox Mario game.

BANNED
Posts: 16327
Joined: 26 Dec 2008

i lold

but then you were srs :[

Seriously, this is just ridiculous.

Eruanno:
So... I can see how kids with diabetes could use this... but... isn't that kind of a slim market for a gaming peripheral?

I dunno, can't you contract diabetes from being massively unhealthy?

Seems like it goes hand and hand with gaming.

User was banned for: When will the beast just die? EDIT. (Permanent)
Pulitzer Laureate
Posts: 730
Joined: 10 Feb 2009

Why the hell are people blaming Nintendo for Bayer's actions? This is a third party accessory made by a pharma company.

The whole point of it is that diabetic children don't like measuring their blood sugar so this thing ties the measuring into a game to encourage children to do the testing regularly. It's like sugar coating medicine, the point is to make it more palatable to children, not to be some new input device for games or anything. Yes, they can get a regular tester device if they are going to be diligent with it but this is for children who aren't.

Why the hell are people here so negative about it? If you're not the parent of a diabetic child this isn't aimed at you anyway. Yes, that may be a small market but I think pharma companies know enough about markets like that to determine profitability.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3414
Joined: 26 Jun 2008

EAT IT, VITALITY SENSOR!

Pendragon9:
Really, Nintendo?! You're going to approve this?

Have some decency, you greedy little money grubbers.

Nintendo wouldn't make any money off this, and did you not read the part where 10% of sales would go to Diabetes research?

Pulitzer Laureate
Posts: 984
Joined: 2 Aug 2008

How gloriously odd.

What we need next is some sort of Playstation fMRI-machine.

Press Junketeer
Posts: 456
Joined: 29 Nov 2007

I approve of this. Young diabetic kids need to watch their blood glucose levels like a hawk, if they don't then bad things happen. Very few schools keep glucose meters, and it's just better if the kid has one - unfortunately, as I remember from having removable braces as a kid, it's damnably easy to lose fiddly medical things like that. They're just not part of your world as a kid.

By making this into an attachment for the Nintendo DS, it makes it part of the kid's world. Even if the shovelware games aren't that good and they only play them a few times, provided the attachment stays in Port 2, they now have entertainment and their most important medical device nearby at all times. Still gonna have to remind them to take it every morning, but it's much easier with a DS than a regular glucose meter.

For all you naysayers... you don't understand diabetes and its effect on kids. Furthermore, THIS IS NOT MANUFACTURED BY NINTENDO, so everyone making comments about Nintendo and Mario are horribly off-kilter. As is everyone screaming about "profit" - this is a MEDICAL DEVICE! Seriously, get a grip.

Leathersoup:
Why does it have it's own display? That's a horrible design. It should use the Nintendo DS to display the information. That way it could simply be flush with the DS, and allow you to insert the strips etc into the cartridge. This will get lost just as quickly as any other blood meter.

Only smart negative comment so far. Yes, it's not a great design. It's still better than nothing.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1000
Joined: 13 May 2009

link670:
Umm... What? Honestly whats next, Mario Condoms?

HEY if they made those me and my bf would use them

Beat Writer
Posts: 198
Joined: 8 Jan 2008

It was only a question of time before developers asked for your blood.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 2006
Joined: 27 Sep 2008

I am begining to think Nintendo should not be allowed in game stores/sections anymore.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 3332
Joined: 9 Mar 2009

Hey if it means I can check my blood sugar and play games at the same time, I'll buy it.

I have diabetes.

Infamous Scribbler
Posts: 529
Joined: 30 May 2009

Oh yeah; I can see this working out.

Because kids really want to jab themselves with needles. Especially if it's not strictly necessary.

On the Record
Posts: 5786
Joined: 21 Aug 2008

KDR_11k:
-snip-.

Exactly. You beat me to it. But you forget that any Nintendo news is an excuse to complain about Nintendo. Didn't you read the Zelda article? Or just about every other one? Anyway, this is a good thing.

bernthalbob616:
Hey if it means I can check my blood sugar and play games at the same time, I'll buy it.

I have diabetes.

Case in point.

TheTygerfire:
EAT IT, VITALITY SENSOR!

Meh, the difference is I could see the vitality sensor being possible for gaming and certain genres, this is just something that's good for the target audience in general, but not gaming.

Infamous Scribbler
Posts: 700
Joined: 18 Jul 2008

Psychosocial:
Who the fuck buys that shit?

It's gonna flop.

For the iPhone/iPod touch, it seems a good idea. w/ software you can log it and stuff.

Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1072
Joined: 2 Feb 2009

Im willing to bet that Nintendo wont release another console after the Wii/DS.
Their just going to open up a hospital and charge kids to play with the syringes and X-ray machines.

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