Nintendo considering a football add-on for the Wii

Because gaming nowadays is all about how many peripherals can be shoehorned onto any given console, Nintendo has patented a soft football controller for the Wii and its remote. Official: it is no longer acceptable to play games by pushing buttons.

This latest patent means you might be playing Madden 2011 on the Wii with a squishy faux-pigskin attached to your Wiimote. From the patent description:

“Throwing – Players firmly strap their hands to the ball and make a throwing motion. The pitch angle and force of the throw determines the trajectory arc of the throw. Side to side motion determines the yaw angle. Pressing buttons on the Wii remote can adjust other options.

Running – The football controller sense body motion, shifting left and right to dodge tacklers and even jumping motions by raising the ball. Running speed is determined by players making a jogging motion.”

Before you think Nintendo has lost its marbles, it’s probably worth remembering the company has some recent form for zany patents.

The inflatable Horseback Riding Saddle I wrote about recently probably tops a spongy football for weirdness (as does Sony’s laughter detector), but gawd, this is the same damn company that made the note-perfect, game-of-my-childhood Super Mario Bros. 3, forchrissakes. Can we not just get back to sitting down to play some games? Sitting down is really a big part of why I play games.

[Via Siliconera]