Charlie's Blog

Peekaboo Poledancing, has recently announced their intentions to produce a "game" for the Wii saying: "...we are pleased to confirm that Peekaboo is in talks to develop a game for the Nintendo Wii that meets mainstream demand for the fun and fitness benefits of pole dancing."

Read the full release on Peekaboo's website They go on to say that "Men and women of all shapes and sizes will be encouraged to work on improving their skills" and "Peekaboo and its partners are focussed on using Wii friendly hardware to make aerobic pole dancing instantly accessible just as Guitar Hero did for rock’n’roll." I understand that just like any exercise there are health benefits to pole-dancing but I truly do not believe that men and women of all shapes and sizes should be doing it. And while we're on the subject, let's talk about Guitar Hero: What *did* Guitar Hero do for rock'n'roll, Peekaboo? I'll tell you. It let people play guitar and pretend they were a rock star, even people who had no business wielding a guitar. Don't get me wrong there are several different schools of thought regarding the ease-of-rockstar-ness of Guitar Hero. The purists believe that music should be practiced, it requires years of aching fingers and often ends with carpal-tunnel surgery but damn-it, it's pure and there is passion in the music. The other says that our musical instruments are primitive and rudimentary and everyone should be able to make music. Either way, Guitar Hero let everybody play music. Do we really *want* everyone to pole dance? In researching the subject I saw someone suggested it be an expansion for WiiFit and if the person is labeled overweight or "not fit" they will not be allowed to pole-dance. I kind of like that idea.

The bigger issue here is the evolution of Nintendo that we are seeing here. I'm sure this is not the first questionable game that has tried to make its way onto a Nintendo console but Nintendo has a decent niche in the "family-friendly" market but I can't help to wonder if they are getting restless. Especially when I see this viral video of a guy videotaping his scantily-clad girlfriend on the WiiFit:

There's potential there.