Nintendo reveals Wii MotionPlus, a 1:1 motion control add-on for Wii Remote

[parallaxscroll]

Nintendo's upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. The Wii MotionPlus accessory attaches to the end of the Wii Remote and, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player’s arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion. Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen, providing a true 1:1 response in their game play. The Wii MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo’s commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone. Nintendo will reveal more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory and other topics Tuesday morning at its E3 media briefing.

http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/det...JAKWhEO9zBvyPH


Revolution / Wii controller finally complete, the way it was originally meant to be, methinks.

[jcalder8]

That's cool, but my question how much?

[blissfulnoise]

I'm torn.

On one side I think it's hilarious that Nintendo is essentially admitting that their hardware doesn't work as advertised without buying an add-on accessory, but on the other hand, it DOES exist and makes me happy I can finally play Wii games the way they should be able to be played. For an additional fee of course.

[carlcarlson]

I never realized this wasn't already the case. I guess I just haven't played the Wii enough.

[RadiantSvgun]

I never realized this wasn't already the case. I guess I just haven't played the Wii enough.

Ditto.

Nintendo is killing me with the add-ons.

[youruglyclone]

does it have a pass through for the nunchuck? can't really tell in those pics

[blissfulnoise]

does it have a pass through for the nunchuck? can't really tell in those pics

Yes. You can see that the plug has a cap over in on the remote to the right.

[GrandAmChandler]

I can play all of my current Wii games fine right now with the current Wii Mote. What's the deal Nintendo? Star Wars lightsaber need this?

WHERE'S THE EXTRA STORAGE? Don't disappoint on Tuesday!

[Cloud121]

Will this have any effect on older games?

[blissfulnoise]

Odds are on Wii Punch-Out taking advantage of this hardware. And, in all seriousness, play Wii Sports Boxing and tell me that the motion/spatial dection is "fine".

There's been no annoucement about any backwards compatability or future functionality, but seeing as how this is a hardware improvement, I'd bet that it will improve dection on all games.

It's clear that games that require percise dection in 3D space to play the game on a fuctional and accurate level need better dection then the Wiimote provides. This addresses that issue.

I'm not going to try to go back into the "Wii hardware is crap" camp as we already had a knockdown dragout thread on that subject, but to say that Nintendo isn't eating crow over this announcement, you'd have to be blind.

[Atari 5200]

first thought after reading: lighsaber games!!!!!!

[Lothars]

Odds are on Wii Punch-Out taking advantage of this hardware. And, in all seriousness, play Wii Sports Boxing and tell me that the motion/spatial dection is "fine".

There's been no annoucement about any backwards compatability or future functionality, but seeing as how this is a hardware improvement, I'd bet that it will improve dection on all games.

It's clear that games that require percise dection in 3D space to play the game on a fuctional and accurate level need better dection then the Wiimote provides. This addresses that issue.

I'm not going to try to go back into the "Wii hardware is crap" camp as we already had a knockdown dragout thread on that subject, but to say that Nintendo isn't eating crow over this announcement, you'd have to be blind.

It's about time they eat crow as well on it, now they need to fess up about the storage soloution but it's Nintendo so what else is new

even if they have alot of things that are huge problems, it won't get fixed.

[heybtbm]

I think it's hilarious that Nintendo is essentially admitting that their hardware doesn't work as advertised without buying an add-on accessory.

Exactly what I thought. It's reminiscent of the ridiculous 4 mb Expansion Pack for the N64. This is bordering on the "PC gaming mentality". I can't wait to read how the fanboy's will spin this one.

Hopefully they will start making Wiimotes with this feature included. As of now, I can't use it anyway. My Nyco wireless nunchuck uses a similar attachment at the end of the Wiimote. Nintendo would make a killing if they came out with their own version. I'm not sure why they're holding off.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Um ... okay, let me play devil's advocate and ask the question - how can that thing plot space in actual 3-D without some other type of auxillary add-on tracking devices?

There's no way that just adding something to the bottom of the Wiimote is going to produce "genuine 3D tracking" as the press release seems to claim.

While I'm no hardware developer, I have a pretty clear understanding that in order for a device to be tracked 1:1 (as they're claiming) you'll need some type of additional device that plots out a minimum of 4 tracking spots surrounding the device on the horizontal plane. (and 2 for vertical, which I assume the existing sensor bar is capable of)

So ... I'm not holding my breath that this will be anything more than just a more "sensitive" version of what we already have in Wiimote control-ing.

Also ... that's not gonna fit in my Wii Wheel!

[kainemaxwell]

first thought after reading: lighsaber games!!!!!!

Yeah I can see someone doing a video now and adding CG lightsabers to a Wiimote. ^^

Neat idea, though.

[7th lutz]

I am getting sick of the wii add-ons. This one is caused by Nintendo not during their homework on the wiiremote.

Nintendo should've found this problem during the testing stage of the Wiiremote. Nintendo didn't put the wiiremote under enough tests before releasing the system.

I hope to see a storage solution for the wii tomorrow and wiiware games being announce.

[mailman187666]

I don't have any trouble with using my wiimote for any of the games I have. I would think putting out an improved controller as well as having the add on device would be a good idea if they could make it use the wii wheels and all that stuff also. Either way, I probably will buy myself at least one of the addon sensors. Even then your buddies will use the excuse that thier controller isn't as good if you were to be playinng something 2 player and whoopin people's asses

[aclbandit]

I think this is kind of cool; I certainly hope it will improve games like Wii Sports boxing, which, to me, is virtually unplayable.

However, games that only require what I think of as "2D tracking" (i.e., RE: Umbrella Chronicles) work beautifully.

This, to me, is a welcome addition to make my Wii remote better in 3D space rather than just a light-gun-like item.

But, as Frankie stated, I do wonder how this will work without any additional tracking points...
...Surround-SensorBars, anyone ^_^?

[Blitzwing256]

I have a hard time acuratly doing things with the wii mote, so I hope that helps make games a bit more playable (and i hope it doesn't make it soo sensitive that i can't play at all)

[c0ldb33r]

Two questions I had after readings this:

1) how will this effect battery life for wiimotes?

2) how long until this technology is built into new wiimotes?