Perhaps it should have been called the wee – but then again, that would be too similar to Nintendo’s hit gaming console, the Wii. So veteran video game maker Sega settled for the “Toylet”, a game that targets Japanese men whenever they need, a bladder download.

A number of businesses are already on board with the rather unique idea and the games company famous for its Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has installed 130 ‘Toylets’ at some 100 bars and restaurants in Japan.

The 150,000 yen (£1,250) devices require players to get into the flow, quite literally, with speed and volume being the key to success in the games. The Sega ‘Toylet’ features a screen mounted above a urinal wall that is equipped with pressure sensors. The unit’s five games are controlled by the pressure the user imparts on the urinal; hundreds have already been sold to restaurants and pubs throughout Japan.

The most basic game measures how hard the user can urinate. Others involve the user removing graffiti from a wall and creating wind within the game, that then blows up the skirt of a female character on the screen. Players can also compete against other users and results can be downloaded onto a memory stick for bragging rights. Although I am not sure how much time men will want to spend in the toilet downloading data?

Hiroyuki Tanaka, Sega spokesman said: “This gives bar customers more things to talk about when they return from bathrooms to their tables.”

However, as well as providing some entertainment for visitors to the gents, there is a serious business side to the venture, with advertisers able to place messages on screen.

The ‘Toylet’ is not the first video game for men to play while urinating. In November, UK firm Captive Media was granted patent rights to technology for a game that would let men compete in a pub quiz by aiming at the sensor that represented their multiple choice selection.