Wii Warm Up: Motion controls ... plus
by Alisha Karabinus 
{ Jul 15th 2008 at 8:00AM }
But we'll find out more about exactly what it does later. What we want to know right now is: what was the first thing you thought of when you heard? An old game that could have used improvement? A new game that's already been announced? Or something completely different that, before, you didn't think was quite possible? One of these?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ik_never @ Jul 15th 2008 8:12AM
I suppose there will be a hyroscope or somthing like that to allow 6 degrre of freedom
Tom @ Jul 15th 2008 8:18AM
Hey if they offer it at a small price then it'll be worth it, but the whole setup for a wii remote and nunchuck is already at $60. How much am I supposed to spend to get the full experience of a game?
A. says "raw" @ Jul 15th 2008 11:17AM
maybe since the whole controller enchallida costs $60, they'll design a new wiimote with the add-on built-in, but also sell it to the early adapters like us! And while they're at it, maybe design a new wii with DVD playback and a HD
Kevin @ Jul 15th 2008 10:24AM
So are they going to send out new wii jackets or can you stretch the old ones around this sucker?
jasenj1 @ Jul 15th 2008 8:24AM
It's still unclear to me WHAT this thing does. I've done programming for the wiimote, and it reports the values of the accelerometers in a certain message format. Will this new gizmo make the accelerometer values less jittery and more accurate? If so, that doesn't seem real compelling, I'm pretty happy with the way the Wiimote works now.
Will this gizmo act like the nunchuk or classic controller and have its own set of messages? If so, games will need to be written to handle these new messages - unless there's a firmware upgrade to hide that from games somehow.
At this point, it is still very unclear what this little do-dad does and how it works. I'm eagerly awaiting the press conference.
espybum @ Jul 15th 2008 8:26AM
My first thought was: Perfect 1:1 sword fighting in a new Zelda = badass. Also a better golf shot in Wii Sports, naturally came to mind.
crazypenguin @ Jul 15th 2008 8:38AM
i have no idea what to think of this contraption, its very strange to me and i need way more info about it.
andyr @ Jul 15th 2008 8:40AM
My first thought was finally! The almost 1-2-1 controls in Wii-Sports, Boom Blox and Tiger 08 were a real high point of the Wii for me. But even these obviously struggle to get enough information from the controller.
I discussed the benefits of 1-2-1 controls in a We Love Golf review http://www.gamepeople.co.uk/family_wii_welovegolf.htm - a game that side steps the issue.
With the new MotionPlus add on now we can hope for proper direct control of our games. Good on Nintendo for continuing their innovation. And fingers crossed it's not too expensive.
The question is now what is inside it, more accelerometers, gyroscope, pixie dust?
Shaq-Fu @ Jul 15th 2008 8:41AM
This might be what they package in Wii Music, to continue the trend of Wii ___ games with peripherals. It "speeds up the reflection in 3D space", so it could be helping the IR sensor and some extra parts for the accelerometer It sounds like it adds a I like how it still has that slot for the nunchuck. Who knows, maybe the next Red Steel will have good sword fights.
BDR @ Jul 15th 2008 8:41AM
Red Steel 2, and also Zelda. (Possible for Mad World)
I'm not too happy about the idea in general though. When you fork out pretty big money for something centred around motion control, you don't really want to dig in again to get the full experience. It should have come like this straight out of the box, because now to get a new controller we'll need a wiimote, a motion plus and a nunchuck. The wiimote may end up the most expensive controller.
Bad Mojo @ Jul 15th 2008 8:49AM
First thing I thought of? Hmmm... another Wii GIMMICK!
Seriously, bring out some games. My Wii grows stale.... ok that sounded bad... but you know the drill.
It would be awesome if they could retrofit games to take advantage of this, but we all know how that will turn out too.
This better be one helluva press conference today.
Henry @ Jul 15th 2008 10:25AM
Thank you, I'm glad someone else isn't excited about this. I don't want to have to buy a box just to store all of my Wii peripherals and add-ons in. And I still can't find any games that I want to buy for it.
I just feel cheated.
il_duce620 @ Jul 15th 2008 8:51AM
The only thing that comes to mind is a Darth Maul-style lightsaber. And then use the Balance Board to model some of those badass moves.
Wishful thinking, perhaps... :-P
Gemini Ace @ Jul 15th 2008 8:59AM
1:1 lightsaber battles in Force Unleashed.
Geoff @ Jul 15th 2008 9:08AM
My first thought...
Will Nintendo build this into new Wiimotes? I mean... to me it looks like an upgrade. So... why not just build it into new Wiimotes? And where do I get the extended Nintendo designed Wiimote covers that fit over the extension?
Or am I gonna end up buying 4 new Wiimotes with the in-built motion controls?
Louie @ Jul 15th 2008 9:24AM
Hrm. I like the idea of improved accuracy. While I can't think of a way around it (besides a Wiimote hardware revamp) changing the form factor of the Wiimote is a bit of a bummer for those of us that use Nyko charging stations/batteries. My family has already learned to slip off the bottom of the jacket and fold it upwards to get the Wiimotes in the stand. Now we'll also need to unplug these and put them somewhere amongst the mass of controllers.
Daring to dream: It's too bad that the accessory port doesn't have a few dedicated pins that are designed for charging. Then all we'd need is a wall-wart with a few cables coming out of it, and any old rechargeables that meet certain specs in the wiimote. There'd be no more fiddling with jackets, cover plates, or other mess like that.
Shaq-Fu @ Jul 15th 2008 9:27AM
Bad Mojo: STFU and open your mind to 3rd party games. I find that most times, the people who complain that the Wii has no good 3rd party games and only Nintendo makes good games for it are the same people who only own Nintendo published games. Chocobos Dungeon came out, We Love Golf, older games, theres always something to play
Shaq-Fu @ Jul 15th 2008 10:31AM
You don't need a new Wii jacket, you don't even need the old one. Just use the dang wriststrap and you're fine. Also, I might want to send this into tips, but check out this new GH:WT guitar spotted in the wild
http://gizmodo.com/5025149/mysterious-wireless-guitar-hero-controller-for-wii-surfaces
Louie @ Jul 15th 2008 11:09AM
Good advice if all you're worried about is the Wiimote flying out of your or your kids' hands. I'm more worried about one connecting with the wandering toddler or four-year-old's head. The wrist strap does nothing there.
mikia @ Jul 15th 2008 11:32AM
if you look at the picture, one of the wii-motes has a jacket on it. no new slip for the wii-motes thankfully.
Dralthi @ Jul 15th 2008 12:29PM
Um...The Wii remote does not need to get any longer then it already is.
This thing is a downside to me just by appearance alone.
Jeff @ Jul 15th 2008 2:06PM
I'm looking forward to it. I'm not concerned about how much extra space it'll use (though it would be nice to build in this piece into a smaller package for future Wiimotes) but improved accuracy is great.
I'm thinking they'll start bundling the piece in with the Wiimote, and it'll remain an optional add on so you can take it off when games don't use it.
bring on the press conference!