In the old days, playing Twister involved a group of (hopefully drunk) friends of mixed sex, a plastic play mat, and a spinner. In November, thanks to the video game magicians at Majesco, all you'll need it a $200 to $300 video game console, a $150 add-on, and a $50 video game.
Apparently EA didn't need Twister for its Hasbro Family Game Night series, so Zumba Fitness makers Majesco snatched up the license, and they're ready to slightly change the way you play Twister forever. Now instead of the mat and spinner that made the game so much fun, you use the Kinect. Well, the Kinect, and a very special playing piece.
"This is using your full body as a game piece," said Majesco's chief marketing officer, Christina Glorioso.
As our own Stephen Totilo pointed out earlier today, yes, that's pretty much Twister.
The video game version of the body-bending board game comes with some 16 different game modes, including Party Play for up to eight players, which is ... Twister. There's also a mode where players stand in front of the television set, dodging oncoming shapes. That's not Twister.
Honestly I can't think of a single benefit to playing Twister on a video game console. You'll still need enough room for the camera to see and register eight people. Mode that can be enjoyed by one or two players might be nice, but the whole point of Twister is inappropriate touching in the name of good clean fun, so something is definitely lost in translation.
The whole thing just makes me sad.
Twister for the Xbox 360 will be out November 1 for $49.99. Twister is out now at Toys R' Us for $16.99.
Exclusive: Majesco to release Twister video game in Nov [Reuters]