Nintendo steals early buzz with… a new Wii-mote plug-in?
On the day when Microsoft’s E3-opening press conference is creating the biggest rumor buzz, Nintendo released some news of its own with the new Wii MotionPlus plug-in for the Wii remote. According to the Big N, this attachment, “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.” It promises more true reaction times and movements in the motion-controlled games. More details (which will hopefully include a price?) will be announced tomorrow at Nintendo’s press conference. Stay tuned here for coverage over the next few days, and check out Nintendo.com for the entire release on the new pseudo-peripheral.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:50 am
“more true reaction times and movements”? Gee, I hope so. Because the current setup, as great as it is on paper, is just too slow and inaccurate for serious gaming in practice. Good enough for bowling? Sure. Good enough for a kick-ass shooter? Not even close.
To be honest I strongly doubt this little doo-hickey is actually going to fix much, because whatever it does, it’s not going to change the technology for transmitting the signal between the Wiimote and the Wii, and if I understand things correctly that’s the major reason for the delayed reaction.
We’ll see soon enough, I guess.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
It looked cool in this fake-sword-fighting mini game they showed in Wii Sports Resort today, but I’m wondering if it’ll be backwards compatible. The boxing in Wii Sports always seemed just a tad off in its reactions, and having that extra sensor might help a bit.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
[…] the sequel will utilize Nintendo’s latest and greatest weapon of minimal distraction, the Wii MotionPlus controller add-on. The development team is hoping that the 1:1 ratio of sucker gamer swinging […]