Though I initially dismissed the Pokewalker as a gimmick, this thing was a stroke of genius by Nintendo. It encourages activity, but not so much as to be obnoxious about it. It's not the message that comes up every hour or so on the Wii and tells you to stop being a lazy fatass and go outside. It's tricky in that it actually encourages you not to play the game by giving you rewards in the game. Paradoxical. I like my pokemon, I really do, but levelling up monsters, especially higher level ones, is a huge grind. If, instead of grinding against the Elite Four for the tenth time, I can go for a run and have my Blastoise gain XP from that, that's something I might actually do. In addition to that, the fact that you can only gain one level per walk means you have to constantly sync it with your DS, meaning it's less likely you'll forget or stop playing their machine. It's an insidious little guy.
 
As a standalone accessory, this thing would never have done well (and that's coming from someone who owned an original Pokemon Pikachu). As a pack in though, it's great. It's a fantastic little way to expand your game and perhaps encourage some activity as well. I just hope this isn't a sign of more peripheral pack-in coming, as Nintendo has certainly been doing it a lot recently, but none of the Wii pack-ins have been as good as the Pokewalker- and you usually have to pay extra on the Wii :|

 
Though I initially dismissed the Pokewalker as a gimmick, this thing was a stroke of genius by Nintendo. It encourages activity, but not so much as to be obnoxious about it. It's not the message that comes up every hour or so on the Wii and tells you to stop being a lazy fatass and go outside. It's tricky in that it actually encourages you not to play the game by giving you rewards in the game. Paradoxical. I like my pokemon, I really do, but levelling up monsters, especially higher level ones, is a huge grind. If, instead of grinding against the Elite Four for the tenth time, I can go for a run and have my Blastoise gain XP from that, that's something I might actually do. In addition to that, the fact that you can only gain one level per walk means you have to constantly sync it with your DS, meaning it's less likely you'll forget or stop playing their machine. It's an insidious little guy.
 
As a standalone accessory, this thing would never have done well (and that's coming from someone who owned an original Pokemon Pikachu). As a pack in though, it's great. It's a fantastic little way to expand your game and perhaps encourage some activity as well. I just hope this isn't a sign of more peripheral pack-in coming, as Nintendo has certainly been doing it a lot recently, but none of the Wii pack-ins have been as good as the Pokewalker- and you usually have to pay extra on the Wii :|

Now if only Nintendo would get with the times and let me connect to the Internet on a non-WEP based system so I could download the cool new areas. ;__;
 
I want a flying Pikachu...
 
But yeah, I agree with you. I've walked home from school more since I got my Pokéwalker. Though, that can be often counterbalanced by stopping off at Burger King or Jack in the Box....

The only thing I've done with mine was transfer a Nidoran and toss it in the air a few times to see if it will walk that way.

My pirate copy didn't come with one. D:

*Waits for the inevitable Vitality Sensor game which will revolutionize the industry...

SoulSilver is the first Pokemon game that I've put a good deal of time into and the Pokewalker is a novel addition to a game I thought to long and tedious to play.  I especially like how you can get hard to get items and rare Pokemon from just walking about.  
 
Not to try and hijack this thread but how did you manage to get your Blog posted here?  When I Blog I only ever have the option of putting it in one of the main boards like Genera or Off-Topic.

" My pirate copy didn't come with one. D: "

I left mine in my pants and now it's filled with water.

" @Meowayne said:

" My pirate copy didn't come with one. D: "

lol? would u want to be seen at school with it? think of it that way "

The Pokewalker is genius.  I too have been walking across my campus more often.

Anyone remember the Digimon Walker? I had that when i was like 10 and it was so awesome. Walk around get in battles and help your Digimon Digivolve!  Loved it.

I"m just bringing my pokewaker everywhere with the hope of leveling my magikarp to 100.