Razer’s upcoming wearable computer is enabling one of the biggest games in China to reward players for healthy behavior.
Gaming technology company Razer and Chinese megapublisher Tencent revealed that they are teaming up to combine the popularity of Chinese endless platformer Timi Run Everyday with the capabilities of the Razer’s Nabu fitness band. The game, which is one of the most popular on Tencent’s mobile-distribution platform, has players dodging obstacles to see how far they can get. Now, combined with the power of Nabu, players can get in-game rewards in Timi Runs Everyday by exercising and living well in the real world.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1525037,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"A"}']Razer’s Nabu, which doesn’t have an official release date or price, tracks all of your activity. It logs your steps, calories burned, and hours slept. The Nabu then takes that data and transfers it into gold or digital items in Tencent’s virtual running game. This may benefit both companies by getting Timi Runs Everyday fans to pick up the Nabu, and it may encourage Nabu owners to engage with the free-to-play game more often.
Nabu is one of the latest wearable computers. While the device features a lot of fitness technology, it also acts as a smartwatch. It provides notifications on a 32-pixel square LED display as well as a 128 X 32 pixel ticker that can scroll text messages and other info.
“We are incredibly excited to have Tencent come onboard as a partner to enhance their massively popular mobile apps and games with the Nabu,” Razer chief executive Min-Liang Tan said. “Collaborating with them for our new wearable has been nothing short of revolutionary. The integration with Timi Run Everyday to the Nabu is also proof of the immense potential for delight, innovation, and excitement for the end-user, when a developer gets work with the Nabu open SDK.”
“Timi Run Everyday and Nabu will encourage more of our fans to keep fit in their daily lives and be rewarded for it in their favorite game,” Tencent vice president of games Dan Brody said. “The Tencent and Razer collaboration will certainly bring more exciting experiences as we explore more interesting and meaningful methods to integrate mobile games with Nabu.”
While Razer and Tencent are excited about their partnership, it’s hard to tell if gamers or fitness nuts will show up for this kind of combination. It certainly is an intriguing use of wearable computers, but let’s see if that extends into the real world.