Wii MotionPlus could be a game-changer

Wii MotionPlus will likely make the Wiimote much better.

(Credit: Nintendo)

The MotionPlus, a $20 accessory designed to improve motion detection for the Nintendo Wii remote control, will easily sell 10 million units after its market debut on June 8, an analyst contends.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told Edge this week that the majority of those sales will occur when the accessory is bundled with Wii Sports Resort, EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10 later this year.

He contends that 20 percent of U.S. and European Wii owners will buy those three titles, helping the Nintendo sell 8 million units of the Wii MotionPlus in just a few months. Pachter predicts another 2 million units will sell with new Wii consoles.

EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich, also interviewed by Edge, isn't so quick to agree. He estimates that only 3 million units of the accessory will sell by the end of 2009 and that sales will reach 10 million units during Nintendo's next fiscal year, which starts in March 2010.

Although they don't agree on exactly when the 10 million mark will be reached, the analysts both predict that the accessory will be popular.

"I expect MotionPlus to be a sneaky success and ultimately attach to at least one third of the (Wii's) installed base," Pachter told Edge.

"Our forecast could be conservative," Divnich added. "Yearly sales could balloon much higher."

In addition to selling well, the MotionPlus is set to transform the Wii experience.

Nintendo, in its announcement of the device last July, said the following:

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 is fun, but it's far from perfect. I've played dozens of games on the console--obviously, without the upcoming accessory. In almost every title, I've had at least one issue, during which my movements weren't in line with the character on the screen. It's been frustrating.

I have this issue quite often when I play a first-person shooter like House of the Dead Overkill or even Wii Sports. The responsiveness is sharp, but the accuracy of my movements feels a little off. Scoring a head shot in a first-person shooter on the Wii is far more difficult to do than on my Xbox 360, for example. My performance feels hobbled by the Wii remote, aka Wiimote.

But 1-to-1 responses through the MotionPlus could change all that. I realize that the device won't improve older titles, so increasing accuracy in current games isn't really an option. But having real, life-like control seems like it will be a reality. I look forward to being able to score that head shot without much trouble. Having pinpoint accuracy would help me sink a big putt in Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10.

The Wii's market advantage--and biggest shortcoming--is its motion control. It's cool, it's fun, but it's not accurate. Nintendo has promised us that the MotionPlus will change all that.

Say what you will about the Wii. But with the help of the MotionPlus, I think that Nintendo will finally achieve its goal of creating a top-of-the-line motion-control experience.

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[TaxmanCDN]

I doubt many people will buy this, unless it's bundled with games. I don't think that many people complain about the motion abilities the Wii currently has. Most people with a Wii are playing Wii Sports or Mario Kart. Those games are just fine without perfect motion-sensing. We're not talking about allot of gamers playing shooters where accuracy is really important. I just don't think it will be that big of a deal. I'm certainly not dropping another $40 to get this for both of my controllers.

[Brett109]

I may get one but I think they should bundle it with a game to showcase its abilities. Right now my family uses the Wii Fit board more than the hand controllers so I'd need to see some game that can really benefit from it. Perhaps the Boom Blox sequel?

[cyruszuo]

It's bundled with Wii Sports 2 and Tiger Woods as the article mentioned. (it's also bundled with EA's Grand Slam Tennis...but only if you happen to live in Europe)

[allensmith9]

Nintendo should plan ahead and start offering Wiimotes with built in MotionPlus. Then a year later they could have this upgraded controller standard with new systems and stop selling basic remotes. Why should they do all this (and lose potential accessory sales)? Because it will make their customers and third party developers happy. It will increase game sales. It will enable Nintendo to remake Gamecube and "first gen" Wii games to use the MotionPlus and sell multiple copies of the same game. (For proof on how Nintendo likes to offer old games with improved control options, google (New Play Control!")

[sdf0013]

If it weren't for the game bundles this would be useless. And, some of the game bundles aren't all that worth it. The reviews for Mario Tennis weren't stellar. Nintendo has a long history of developing accessories that can potentially fragment the user base. This goes all the way back to the NES. Almost as bad as Sony and their quest for format dominance (evil!). Except no Nintendo accessory has ever taken off. I guess this could be the first one. After all, Sony eventually won a format war. (Evil!)

[NervClaX]

Since most games will make MotionPlus an option rather than mandatory, I think it will have a very limited impact upon the marketplace and upon the shovelware we've been seeing for the Wii.

Does this device make me more likely to buy a Wii? No.
Will Wii games be made more fun with the addition of MotionPlus? Probably not.

[amber0728]

I for one believe that Nintendo made a huge mistake in emulating one of the greatest mistakes Sony ever made - backwards compatabiity. They have already confirmed the new controllers can NOT be used with older games and so you're basically asking consumers to buy one or two new controllers PLUS gamble on the new games being worth the investment. Moreover, it remains to be seen how much integration is actually adopted by the game producers - most likely - the early games will simply be programmed 'business as usual' with the end result being smoother response but no earth shattering, revolutionary changes - at a premium price.

[amber0728]

BTW - with regards to Tiger Woods, the Wii is already pretty good at emulating the actual swing but is absolutely HORRIBLE at putting. They should have used button controls for that function versus the current method that feels like putting with a rope. Believe me, I've actually done that in a wacky golf tournament - motion plus will do NOTHING to help putting.

Wii Tiger Woods was the worse purchase I ever made for that console, graphics didn't come close to the box are and putting ruined otherwise good holes. From now on all of Tiger Woods titles will be restricted to the 360.

[Thranx]

It'll only sell bundled. With 0 advantage in other games, this will simply sell because it's attached to the next incarnation of Wii Sports.

[Kwasiowusu]

From the article :"U.S. and European Wii owners will buy those three titles, helping the Nintendo sell 8 million units of the Wii MotionPlus in just a few months. Pachter predicts another 2 million units will sell with new Wii consoles."

Pachter strikes again!
That snake oil salesman hasn't seen anything about the Wii he didn't think was going to be a "game changer" yet. Talk about a so-called "analyst" drinking Nintendo Kool Aide.
Is this the same Pachter that predicted the Wii would sell 800,000 in March, and it ended up selling only 601,000?
And thought the Wii would sell 480,000 in April and it ended up selling just 340,000?
And is this the same Pachter that thought the Wii would sell a massive 3 million in December only for the Wii to sell only 2 million?
If he can't even predict how much the Wii will sell in any one month, AFTER that month has already passed, how on earth can he even pretend to predict how many Motion Plus units will sell months before it's launched?
Pre-order indications for the Motion Plus are not looking too great right now. As for Tiger Woods, when did that game ever sell even 600,000 in any release on the Wii?
Tiger Woods franchise has never even come close to selling as many units as Madden in this country, so I don't see Tiger Woods sales pushing all these millions of Motion Plus Pachter is talking about.
Grand Slam Tennis will push Motion Plus units? Gimme a break!
As for Wii Sports Resorts, it could be another Nintendo under performer like Wii Music. Nobody's ever bought Wii Sports in the US or the EU. It's come bundled free with the Wii. You can?t use a free bundled game to predict that the next release of that game is going to sell well.

[uthinguknow]

True, No one has ever purchase Wii Sports In US or EU, but most did purchase a Wii ($249) for just "Wii Sports($10)."
Now Nintendo will bundle Wii Sports 2 with Motion Plus. So, I predict by the year's end 10% of Nintendo World Wide Customer's base will have purchase Wii Sports 2 with and Extra Motion Plus device(for the second Wii mote) and the comes to around 10 million unit sold. It's the same sale strategy use to sale Wii Play. Yes, Nintendo will start bundling Motion Plus with Wii System & Controllers in the future, because this is not just a new device. It is the next level of game play. Since now Microsoft & Sony are going to release a new control technology with this video generation.