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New Japanese body weight scale that also lets you play one of the best video games of all time

Casey Baseel Nov 10, 2024
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You can fight the Dream Match as you fight to reach your dream weight.

“Ah yeah, time to hop on the scale and see how much I weigh, ba-byyyy!!!” is a phrase that no one has ever shouted with amped-up joy. Nevertheless, keeping aware of changes in your weight is important for maintaining good health, and some individuals, depending on their wellness needs, will benefit from even more detailed body composition data.

Still, getting on a scale will never be exactly fun…unless, that is, you’re using the latest scale from Japanese wellness device maker Tanita, since in addition to letting you know things like your weight and body fat percentage, it’ll also let you play one of the best fighting video games of all time.

In the company’s most outside-the-box idea since the self-check smelly armpit sensor it previously developed, Tanita is teaming up with SNK, one of the most storied and prolific developers in the fighting game genre. The new model of Tamita’s MC-980A-Nplus-series Multi-frequency Body Composition Meter uses its screen not just to display the results of your body analysis, but also to let you play The King of Fighters ’98-Dream Match Never Ends, regarded by many fans as the most enjoyable and competitively balanced installment of the long-running franchise, which is built into the scale’s hardware.

業務用体組成計のSNKコラボについてわかりやすく言うと、体組成を測定→KOF98が対戦できる！！

SNK松原社長VS タニタ谷田社長

＿人人人人人人人人＿
＞　READY GO！！＜
￣Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^Y^￣https://t.co/7UgRTolrtc https://t.co/wNPH8Tzwkc pic.twitter.com/tcVCUk9njb

— 株式会社タニタ (@TANITAofficial) November 7, 2024

Though the MC-980A-Nplus has a touchscreen monitor, it appears that the MC-980A-Nplus-KOF, as the King of Fighters version is called, also supports regular video game controller inputs, as shown in the demonstration photos in the above tweet where SNK president Kenji Matsubara and Tanita president Senri Tanida went head-to-head.

▼ The scale’s casing also features character artwork of the KoF cast, including Terry Bogard.

On the non-video game side of the concept, body scanning functions include the ability to measure and track changes in fat and muscle mass and percentages in individual limbs, as well as calculations for various other wellness-related ratios and indexes.

So…why? Tanita doesn’t explicitly mention any reason for the team-up with SNK other than providing a way to “manage your health while having fun,” and, weird as the idea may be, there might be something to it. A scale that’s also an entertainment device is less likely to get stuck unused in a corner and gather dust, especially when it’s outfitted with a great game that’s stood the test of time. If the unusual partnership makes people more likely to keep their scale accessible and to turn it on frequently, it should also make them a little more likely to say “Eh, may as well check my weight while I’m here to go a few rounds on KoF.”

In a less-crazy aspect of the partnership, Tanita is also releasing pedometers and digital thermometers with the logo of SNK’s Neo Geo hardware (for which The King of Fighters was originally released) and KoF initial protagonist Kyo Kusanagi, priced at 3,520 yen (US$23.50) and available through the Tanita online store here and here.

The MC-980A-Nplus-KOF (which requires contacting the company to order) on the other hand, being a piece of pro gear-spec health equipment, is quite a bit more, at 2 million yen, making it even pricier than SNK’s infamously expensive Neo Geo home console, while still being the cheapest body composition analyzing scale that you can play a fighting game on.

Source: Tanita
Top image: Tanita
Insert images: Tanita (1, 2, 3)
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