MotionPlus to be 'very affordable,' Wii add-ons curtailed for now
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Aug 4th 2008 at 1:48PM }
The Wii has long been heralded as the cheapest console out there, but that claim soon weakens if you want to own every add-on that is available for the platform. Nintendo seems to recognize that Wii ownership is getting increasingly pricey, and now company bossman Satoru Iwata has said: no more add-ons!
Okay, so he didn't quite make that promise. But Iwata has told the Wall Street Journal that "most of the ideas for accessories that we had initially come up with are out now." If you can hear sighing, that'll be our wallets, though don't get comfy right away: Iwata has warned that Nintendo might think up more, presumably once the company's bank balance has dipped below the danger level of one trillion-gazillion* dollars.
Iwata also confirmed that Nintendo would try and make the Wii MotionPlus "very affordable," an attainable goal considering that the add-on is apparently cheap to make. There will also be games that can only be played with a MotionPlus plugged in -- beginning, we'd assume, with Wii Sports Resort.
* Possibly not a real number.
Gallery: Wii Sports Resort
[Via Edge; thanks, supa_s!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Randy @ Aug 4th 2008 2:13PM
I'd rather have a Wiimote 2.0 w/ the MotionPlus built-in. Unless it comes with a Must-have game, I will be skipping it. I'm putting 2 of my 3 Wiimotes up for sale.
zchry @ Aug 4th 2008 6:10PM
It comes with Wii Sports Resort.
Al3xand3r @ Aug 4th 2008 2:45PM
I didn't expect to see fanboy-like statements such as "IF YOU BUY ALL TEH ACCESORIZ IT IS EXPUNSIVE LIEK MY SP3!!!" on a Nintendo news site but, whatever... Good news MotionPlus will be cheap, it will be the only accessory I own as the others add nothing and are aimed @ the casuals more than anything else. I might eventually also purchase a game with the balance board if many games use it in creative ways, imagine a Jet Set Radio game with support for it for example. But it doesn't seem to be the case, though it's a fun addition for those Skiing games for people who have bought Wii Fit so I'm fine with that anyway.
Chris Greenhough @ Aug 4th 2008 3:25PM
"I didn't expect to see fanboy-like statements such as "IF YOU BUY ALL TEH ACCESORIZ IT IS EXPUNSIVE LIEK MY SP3!!!" on a Nintendo news site but, whatever"
I'm struggling to see where I wrote that myself.
o0joshua0o @ Aug 5th 2008 6:02AM
I know it would be expensive, but here's what Nintendo should really do:
1. Give the MotionPlus away for free. That's right. They should have a website that allows anyone with a Wii serial code to order up to 4 of these suckers for free, just like they did with the Wiimote sleeves. This will ensure maximum adoption.
2. Release a firmware update that allows for an external hard drive to be plugged in to the Wii via the USB port. This will be important for step 3.
3. Release patches to already released games that allow them to take advantage of the MotionPlus. If Nintendo set an example by doing this for 1st party games, and encouraged 3rd party publishers to follow suite, it would be probably become common practice.
All three of these combined would do a lot to improve the Wii's public image.
brian @ Aug 5th 2008 7:45AM
No chance.
What everyone here seems to be forgetting is that the US is not the only country that buys Wii systems and games. Remember that place known as Japan? Wii Sports was NOT a bundled game and it still sold plenty there. Nintendo knows they'll sell plenty of the new Wii Sports Resort.
I know they've asked on here before about how many people would BUY Wii Sports if it was not a pack-in game.
To people in Japan who were willing to pay that much for the original, getting the Motion Plus adapter in it for the same price is as good as it getting it for free.
FYIan @ Aug 4th 2008 3:16PM
If it's so cheap, they should release a Wiimote 2.0 with it built in. I have no idea, but it seems like they could outright replace the accelerometer with it, which would lead to better battery life than the WMP and reduce costs.
And as for all the plastic costing too much money, let's go through the things in that picture.
WiiMotionPlus - may be required eventually to play many games, but right now its a long way off
Wii Wheel - free with Mario Kart, extras are definitely not required
Balance Board - Required to play balance board games, but there aren't many of those. This is far from required for Wii owners.
Wii Remote Jacket - Who even uses these? Alright, my family does. They're free, anyway.
WiiSpeak - hopefully this will be useful, but its not going to be an expense that owners of other consoles don't have to face
Zapper - it doesn't even do anything, definitely not required
So, it looks like the Wii owner's required peripheral expense might end up being a couple of WiiMotionPluses. If you count nunchucks in the mix, you really only need two, at most. I don't really see the big deal.
I do hate, however, that I have to keep a Gamecube controller around. They should have made the Wiimote + nunchuck have enough buttons to handle Gamecube games.
zchry @ Aug 4th 2008 6:15PM
The reason it's not in a Wiimote 2.0 (right now) is because of size. A new Wiimote 2.0 would probably end up the same length as a Wiimote with this attachment, but the thing wouldn't come off and it wouldn't work with all of the accessories out there (Wii Wheel, Zapper, etc.).
I'm sure they've looked into it and found it impractical at this time. Once it shrinks down a bit, they probably will put it in a Wiimote the size of the current one.
FYIan @ Aug 4th 2008 6:20PM
I think the WiiMotionPlus is as big as it is because it a) has to plug into the Wiimote, b) has to be as wide as the Wiimote, c) has to house the gyro, and d) has to have a plug-in for the nunchuck.
The gyro itself is probably not much larger than the accelerometer already in the Wiimote, and it sounds like the gyro can do everything the accelerometer can do, so you wouldn't even have to put the accelerometer in (that would also save battery and costs). Even if you had them both, I imagine that the gyro wouldn't need to add much size, since it wouldn't need its own housing with plug-ins and plug-outs.
KeegdnaB @ Aug 4th 2008 10:05PM
The problem with axing the accelerometer is I'm assuming (so don't eat me out of i'm wrong) the gyro only enhances the tilt sensing. I think they still need the accelerometer for the lateral sensing (left, right, up, down, forward, backward)
FYIan @ Aug 4th 2008 10:07PM
KeegdnaB,
Sounds reasonable. :p
Mr Khan @ Aug 4th 2008 3:19PM
All good to know
However, the $15 Whiil makes me wonder
zchry @ Aug 4th 2008 3:21PM
But...What about the Wiimote Teddy Bear?
zchry @ Aug 4th 2008 3:22PM
But...What about the Wiimote Teddy Bear?
Anthony Johnson @ Aug 4th 2008 4:19PM
A friend of mine and I were discussing this very point. We both agree that we would rather suck it up an buy a "Wiimote 2.0" rather than the attachment no matter how cheap (ok if it is like $5, I might reconsider)
sn1per @ Aug 4th 2008 4:36PM
Remember, this is coming from the company that tried to sell you a completely functionless circle of plastic for $10, should you desire more than one wii wheel. So while most people might think a "cheap" accessory would be defined as ~$10, Iwata is probably thinking more in the $20-$25 range, which I hardly consider cheap, especially when you take into account the fact that I paid $60 for a second controller (remote + nunchuk). If Nintendo wants me to pay $50 for Wii Sports Resort, it had better come with at least 2 motion plus dongles in the box.
JAIME @ Aug 4th 2008 4:43PM
What pisses me off is that this shouldnt be considered cheap no matter what, it's a complete rip off! When we got the wii we all EXPECTED that well get game like zelda or star wars and be able to use the wii mote 1:1 like the motion plus will give, now theyre charging us money to get what we expected the system to get in the first place?? Cmon nintendo I thought you were better than that until you became money hungry!
JAIME @ Aug 4th 2008 4:43PM
What pisses me off is that this shouldnt be considered cheap no matter what, it's a complete rip off! When we got the wii we all EXPECTED that well get game like zelda or star wars and be able to use the wii mote 1:1 like the motion plus will give, now theyre charging us money to get what we expected the system to get in the first place?? Cmon nintendo I thought you were better than that until you became money hungry!
guttertalk @ Aug 4th 2008 5:49PM
Did you also expect 720p?
I never saw Nintendo promise 1:1 motion with the original Wii, so why did you expect it?
I think 1:1 control is overhyped anyway, but the bottomline is that it would not have significantly improved any of the games released so far. (Force Unleashed could be our best first example.) Wii games that have been disappointing have problems more significant than 1:1 controls. Would Red Steel have been a good game? No More Heroes a better game?
Wait, Ninjabreadman would have been . . . nah.
SoshiKitai @ Aug 4th 2008 5:50PM
*reads people's comments*
*face hits desk*
............ it's like people getting mad at PM about all his boasts about Fable for the Xbox.......... if you were intelligent enough, you knew the Xbox couldn't handle those features he spoke about.............. people had a right to be pissed at him for making such impossible hypes, but what was stupid was that a lot of people actually BELIEVED him and threatened his life.........
...what's all this gotta' do with the Motion+?
People talk about "That's what the Wiimote was supposed to do since the beginning of time!"-- yet with all those little tid-bits and demonstrations of the WiiMote... none of the 1:1 ability that the Motion+ was EVER shown for the Wiimote. It wasn't promised, it wasn't 100% full-fledged data that "proved" the Wii could do such things, and yet here we are, ranting as if we made the Wii ourselves! Claiming "That's what it's supposed to do!"!!
Really? It is? Well if that's what it was supposed to do since the beginning of time, how sad would it be that it would go to waste with the hundreds of minigames that were to follow!!!
And no, that accessibility wouldn't have a huge difference if it came out in the beginning. Because here we still are, complaining about which games suck... because third-party developers can't be creative with the controls.
I mean, dear gawd, look how few FPSs (or semi-FPSs) compared to the 360, and the point-and-click action was made for it!
Puzzle games are also so few, you wouldn't expect much of one from the Wii!
And even if we had some 1:1 action in the beginning, I'd still think we'd BARELY have any sword-games!
Pay up the darn price for the Motion+ and play your Wii. If you keep whining you'll sell your Wii and buy a 360, then do it! Stop stalling, because all you're going to do if the Wii actually DELIVERS is switch back to being a Nintendo Fanboy and say either "Oh sorry~! But you've redeemed yourself, Nintendo!" or "I never had any doubt!" as if the company even knew that you existed as an individually important person!
GWAR! I'm tired of all this day-in-day-out whining here! The PS3 Fanboy gets so few whines though they have only half as much good games as the Wii does!
Matt @ Aug 4th 2008 7:24PM
Hey all,
I don't care, this looks like it will make the Wii even more fun than it already is, which is more than I could have asked for...
I'm in! If it's around $30 for the accessory on it's own, then i'm all for it!
Having fun,
Matt!
Arex @ Aug 4th 2008 7:55PM
Wow, I really hope Nintendo doesn't think there are that many people like you out there. No way in hell I'm paying $30 for the accessory itself. That would put the total MSRP of a fully decked out controller at $90 ($40 for the remote, $20 for nunchuk, and $30 for motion+).
These things need to cost under $10 to gain widespread acceptance.
halongw77 @ Aug 5th 2008 10:24PM
We all remember that trailer that came out with the xy1 xy2 whatever buttons on the nunchuck and the kids at the party all having a blast with with Wii. And the video with the blonde guy playing the drums. It was exaggerated yes, but we never thought about the accuracy because up until the Wii came out I never knew anything about the motion sensing technology and how accurate it could've been and I'm sure most didn't know either. We all thought 1:1 sensing before the Wii came out. Now that Wii MotionPlus is coming out I think it would've been a better idea to release the Wii later when they had this technology. Then it could truly deliver better games. I think people are underestimating the possibilities of the MotionPlus. When I play Zelda Twilight Princess I always swing it like a sword but I know in the back of my head all I have to do is waggle it left to right if I wanted to and just that thought makes it feel like my Wii is truly inferior. That's why most games should try to incorporate IR into their games because IR is very accurate and the thought of having to point it at the screen and move it in specific directions instead of just waggling it makes it much more appealing. However, games like Tenkaichi 3 do better without IR and the motions in Tenkaichi 3 surprised me because of the accuracy. That's why I'm hoping developers use the MotionPlus because even cheap shovelware minigame collections could be a whole lot a fun with this where they wouldn't without it!
I'll elaborate on how it works some more. I'm gonna make it simple without going into detail about how the technology works. The Wii MotionPlus detects your actual movements in real life in the game and it all happens in real-time with very very precise accuracy. The Wii MotionPlus can also better differentiate movements that couldn't be distinguished before. With the MotionPlus you could raise it like a sword and slash it forward and it'll detect "Down-ward forward" or you could slash it downward to the right and it'll detect "Down-ward right". It will detect "Down-ward right" from "Up-ward right" or a very close "Down-ward front" easily and accurately. You could do a lasso and a whip and it will accurately be able to tell the difference. It could also perfect your not-so-perfect moves in the game. The MotionPlus will also allow better tilting and rotating and somehow it will work with the IR. To sum it up your ACTUAL movements will displayed in the game smoothly and accurately with MotionPlus.
Now I'll elaborate on the possibilities some more. With the regular Wii remote and nunchuck combination Zelda Twilight Princess has two different basic sword attacks with the motion sensing. If MotionPlus is brought into the picture the combat system could become one of the deepest combat systems ever. With Wii MotionPlus there wouldn't be specific movements that you have to do in order to attack. You just attack any way you want. You could slash them, you could stab them, you could even hit them with the handle of the sword. Of course the programmers would have to create realistic reactions to these attacks but that could be done if an engine like Euphoria was ported over to the Wii. Even games like Mario Kart could benefit from it. With the current Wii remote if you exaggerate your tilting your kart could all of sudden drift off to the opposite direction and you just wouldn't be able to play like that. With MotionPlus Mario Kart could still be played with very minor movements but it could also be affected by drastic movements as well. With MotionPlus hopefully developers who currently don't take advantage of the Wii could look past the dated graphics and create AAA games that take advantage of the MotionPlus. Hopefully they will be more keen to develop for it because of the possibilites of Wii MotionPlus.