One of the biggest revelations at PAX Midwest this year was a DS title that had more in common with games on its bigger brother, the Wii, than anything you’d expect from a handheld device.

Harvest Moon Greenfingers, a DS exclusive, was available to demonstrate using an outdoor cabbage patch and its own special pedometer-style peripheral. As I tweeted earlier, I figured I’d give it a shot.

Following the trend of DS games which come with jogging pedometers, Harvest Moon Greenfingers comes with a special sensor – which I mistook for a similar pedometer – attachable to both belt and farming implement alike. The developers promise “full-on hardcore farming action” when the game hits stores, with the sensor detecting and adding up movements performed during work on your field of choice and giving you an overall “Farm Age” score.

On the demonstration cabbage patch, I was equipped with a hoe and a DS, and set to work. The minute sensor was attached to the end of the hoe and recorded every correct farming manouvre I performed, relayed back to me via the DS’ screens. Touch technology is used little in this game, with the emphasis on Wii-style movement.

“PAX Midwest is the perfect platform on which to demonstrate Harvest Moon Greenfingers,” commented a spokesperson from the publisher. “Topeka sure loves its farming, so we’ve had a pretty good turnout.”

“Nobody’s even left after being told the hoes they’d be using were gardening tools. If anything, it’s brought more people in than ever.”

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