From games like Wii Tennis accessories such as the Wii Balance Board, Nintendo loves to convert the consoles into fitness devices to help gamers get active. But hardware hacker Mike Choi maybe not makes the best way to stay fit by turning the Switch on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in a full-body workout.
Among Nintendo fans, Mike Choi is best known for helping the FlipGrip: a $ 12 accessory that allows the Switches Joy-Con controllers must be on either side of the console while in portrait mode to enhance the gameplay experience of vertical mode games like pinball. Choi is also known for its creative console hacks, but the Labo Fit Adventure Kart is undoubtedly his most ambitious creation to date.
The hack connects the Switch console and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the Ring Fit Adventure workout accessory, elements of the Nintendo Labo kits made of cardboard, a completeon an exercise bike, and a personaldesign and design component called the TAPBO. An optical sensor on the exercise bike keeps track of how many times the pedals turn, and that data is used to control acceleration in the game. If the pedaling speed drops below a certain RPM, the player’s character stops accelerating in the game.
More complicated is how the Ring Fit Adventure accessory is used as a steering wheel and a way to use items in the game such as shells and banana peels. The custom TAPBO accessory that Choi created includes a set of small servo-controlled robotic arms that actually push physical buttons on an attached Joy-Con controller. The TAPBO and Joy-Con spoons are then attached to the Ring Fit Adventure accessory, which translates turning movements in steering into the game, while pinching movements are used to fire items or keep behind your cart for protection.
Choi spent about six months designing and perfecting the Labo Fit Adventure Kart, which was realized without actually modifying or hacking any Nintendo hardware. This is all made possible by the TAPBO accessory he has created, so hopefully Nintendo will not try to make this video as it is recently done with other hackers to share their work on YouTube. And as perfect as the setup looks like we’re going to stay at home as responsibly as possible after another year, Choi currently has no plans to put this prototype hardware into production or sell it to other players.