Interest
First "Superhuman Sports Games" Held in Tokyo
posted on by Eric Stimson
The Superhuman Sports Society has been developing sports that use machinery and advanced technology to transcend the physical limitations of the human body and go in new directions in sports. Their efforts were on display on November 23 at the first Superhuman Sports Games, held in Tokyo Tower Media Studio.
The first sport we see in the video above is Hado, which is the Japanese word for wave motion. It allows people to fight each other in teams of three with bursts of energy from their hands. It's something we've seen many times before in anime and video games, and here it's brought to life by virtual reality. Next is Bubble Jumper, which outfits the players in transparent bubble-like shields and bouncy stilts and makes them knock each other over. After that we see Wheelchair Ball Shooter, where players navigate in wheelchairs and blast balls into nets suspended over their opponents' wheelchairs using air guns. The journalist who tried it said "the curve is hard, but aiming is pretty easy." Other sports used gizmos like Segways and drones.
Superhuman Sports Society spokesman and Tokyo University professor Masahiko Inami explains that he wants to expand the definition of what a sport is and continue developing new technologies and styles of play. The concept also places an emphasis on making sports more accessible to those with weaker bodies — Wheelchair Ball Shooter, for instance, or Bubble Jumper, which allows players to simulate wrestling without hurting themselves. Inami is a big supporter of virtual reality and recommends anime like Ghost in the Shell, Sword Art Online, Den-noh Coil, and Doraemon (who has a VR gadget called the "Moshi Mo Box," or "What If Box") for those interested.
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie and Sword Art Online have been used as the basis for virtual reality experiences.
