Trend: Brainwave Gaming

Mattel presents a game using brainwaves at CES 2009.

In the game Mind Flex the player wears a headset that measures the brainwaves to control a ball that floats on a cushion of air. The point is to navigate the ball through a maze of hoops. The more you concentrate the harder a fan will blow. The product will be available in retail for $80 later in 2009. CScout already reported on a similar technology called Brainball from Sweden’s Interactive Institut at WIRED’s Next Fest in New York in 2007.

Check out the video below:

Trend Potential
It’s impressive how such a conceptual innovation has made its way to a market ready product in less than 2 years. It also reminds us of all the brain-trainer games targeting the Meta Trend of Aging Population that have become so popular in Asia, such as Nintendo’s Brain Age games or other cool brain trainers available in Japan.

What’s next? Our Japanese scouts are asking: are pedometer-based toys the next big thing? Now that the “brain trainer” craze has died down in Japan, and all of this stationary game playing is making us fat and lazy, games are now forcing us to get off the couch and go somewhere.

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