No, Really, Eh: Canadian company develops CrowdWave game system for the masses

While many video games including FIFA or Madden already address the average couch quarterback or striker, Canadian Bent 360 has designed a game aimed at people who are actually at a sports event.

CrowdWave is a system that allows people at a sports arena to participate in a video game by moving their bodies. The system is composed of a series of cameras and motion sensors that analyze the movements and position of bodies in a crowd. This way the crowd can point their bodies in the right direction and manipulate objects in a game.

A number of interactive games can be played on the big screens at sports arenas, creating an entertaining activity for spectators during breaks in the action.

The system has already made a debut at a hockey arena in Ottawa, Canada. Between periods, the scoreboard shows a game that puts the crowd in control of a hockey goalie and they have to move their bodies in the right direction in order to block the shots coming at him.

Kinda makes Project Natal, the Wii MotionPlus and whatever Sony calls it’s new motion control scheme look small, eh?

This sounds really fun and I think it would be a great addition to any sports venue. Breaks in a game are mostly used for bathroom or beer runs and the rest of the time everybody just sits around waiting for the game to start again )pr hope they aren’t forced to smooch someone on the JumboTron). A system like this could turn those boring times into something the crowd looks forward to.

I really hope this catches on soon. It would be awesome to see thousands of people moving and playing a game together and, with some clever ideas, this could become a highlight of any sports event.

Read [Vancouver Sun] Site [Bent 360]