-Sega seeks stream of success with 'Toylet' games
TOKYO — Japanese games maker Sega is pushing beyond living rooms and barging into bar bathrooms with "Toylet" devices that are played by speed and volume of urine.
The games use urinals fitted with sensors and small digital displays placed at eye level.
Five titles are available, including "Hold, Manneken Pis!", named after the iconic Brussels fountain depicting a small boy in the act. Players compete on the basis of volume.
But in "Splashing Battle!" the user takes on the previous visitor in a virtual fight based on stream strength.
In "Violent wind warning has been issued", the player tries to blow up a virtual girl's skirt with a digital wind, also dependent on the power of his flow.
Sega has so far installed about 130 Toylets at some 100 bars and restaurants across Japan for 150,000 yen ($1,900) each.
The incentive for bar owners is the ability to show digital adverts after the games, once they have gained the players' full attention.
"This gives bar customers more things to talk about when they return from bathrooms to their tables," said Hiroyuki Tanaka, Sega spokesman.
The Toylets also acted as a subliminal incentive for men to take an extra step towards the urinals -- helping to prevent missed targets and keep lavatories clean, he added.
"We have had good feedback from our customers that toilet cleanliness has improved," he said.
