...they prove you wrong.

Introducing the latest peripheral from the crazy minds at Nintendo... the inflatable Horseback Riding Saddle!

*Cue cricket noise*

...Yeah, I figured that's the reaction I'd get.

So yesterday this patent for a new peripheral from Nintendo surfaced. Siliconera was the first to find it, and from what I've seen in the patent, it looks (there are concept sketches in the patent) and sounds...odd.

So how does it work? Well it has a small pocket for the Wii remote to be put, which allows it to pick up on the users movement through the Wii remotes accelerometers. Thus giving the user the feel that they're riding an animal. To further convey that feeling, the nunchuck is used to convey the feeling of holding the reins.

And according to the GameSpot article, the device also can incorporate force feedback (also known as, vibration) via "haptic feedback transmitters, which would vibrate in response to occurrences within the game."

So how could this be used? Put simply, a multitude of ways. The most obvious one being the horseback elements of the Zelda series. Using this while riding on horseback in-game, could result in the player becoming more immersed in the game.

Though considering the devices versatility, it could also be used for something like Mario Kart (credit for the idea goes to Siliconera). I don't know how that would work, though, but it's intriguing idea nonetheless.

I'm not quite sure what to think of it yet. The concept, and how it can be used are definitely intriguing, but I'm not sure if this is something I'd want to, you know, use. I'd much rather sit on my couch instead of some small inflatable gaming peripheral while playing videogames. Why? Because I imagine it'd much more comfortable to sit on a couch instead of the aforementioned device.

Though there is one question that remains: Will this actually see the light of day? There have been many patented items over the years, and most of them never come to fruition. Will this suffer the same fate? Or will we actually see it used for something? Only time will tell...