Mind-controlled games in the near future?

Forget a Wiimote. An implanted sensor in a paralyzed man's brain has allowed him to control both on-screen and off-screen objects solely by the power of thought. The US team heading up the project successfully enabled Mathew Nagle, who has no limb movement whatsoever, to "open e-mail, play a computer game [emphasis added], and pinch a prosthetic hand's fingers."

The BBC explains how it works: "A team of scientists inserted the device, called a neuromotor prosthesis (NMP), into an area of the brain known as the motor cortex, which is responsible for voluntary movement. The NMP comprises an internal sensor that detects brain cell activity, and external processors that convert the activity into signals that can be recognized by a computer."

"It's just wild," said Nagle of the experience. Better living through technology indeed. Though the commercial use of such technology is years out, one can hope for next-next-generation games, right?