Nintendo upgrading Wii controllers with Wii MotionPlus accessory
Phenomenally successful though the Nintendo Wii is, it certainly isn’t without its own share of niggles. Among them, perhaps at the forefront of ‘core’ players’ minds, is the fact that the motion sensing Wii remote is, well, not all that hot at sensing motion.
Limitations in its ability to perceive precisely how you’re holding it, what you’re swinging it at and how quickly it makes up its mind have, in the most part, been relieved by the design of Wii games and simply getting to know its limits. But games like Wii Sports do become considerably less fun when you realise that you really don’t have to take full tennis swings to pull off a decent shot and are in fact hindering yourself, putting your telly at risk and potentially giving your loved one a black eye by doing so.
The Wii MotionPlus aims to change all that.
The Wii MotionPlus attaches to the base of any ordinary Wii Remote. It includes its own set of sensors that complement the accelerometers and sensor bar to deliver more comprehensive tracking of the player’s movements. How much difference will it make? “Every slight movement players make with their wrist or arm is rendered identically in real time on the screen,” Nintendo stated. That’s full 1:1 tracking.
If this is really true (we’re remaining a tad sceptical for the moment) then it will make a huge difference to the wealth of titles already out on the console. It has to be said that there must be more than a few that stand to be rendered nigh impossible of just plain broken by the addition of the device though, so at least it is optional.
The most exciting prospects, however, are for what lies in the future. Once developers are given the chance to discover the full potential of the improved motion sensing technology, then that can only encourage more sophisticated movements and gameplay. And I don’t think there’s a single person out there who isn’t thinking ‘Light Sabre’ right now.
Or as our sister-blog, WiiWii.tv, points out, it could just be paving the way to Wii Sports 2. How about that then, eh?
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