(Credit:
Nyko)
LAS VEGAS--Last year we saw the introduction of the Nyko Wand, which allowed for button commands to be sent through the controller's Transport technology. Though promising, we found the Nyko Wand useful only when using it with the company's Action Pak system.
While we had been anticipating that Nintendo would eventually come up with a device that incorporates Wii MotionPlus technology into one single controller, Nyko has beaten Nintendo to the punch with the Wand +.
This is most significant because it eliminates the clunky setup that using the Nintendo-branded products require. The Wand + severely reduces the controller's overall size and should provide for an more comfortable total gaming experience.
(Credit:
Nyko)
We hope Nyko introduces a few more useful accessories for the Transport technology in 2010. The Nyko Wand + will go on sale in March for $40.
This is the way Wii Sports Resort should have been packaged in the first place.
(Credit: Nintendo)Now that the Nintendo Wii is $199, there are two ways to go about using your savings: putting it in a low-risk bank account, or buying the rest of the peripherals Nintendo wants you to have to complete your Wii experience. Wii Fit notwithstanding, the biggest new plug-in Nintendo has is Wii MotionPlus, the motion sensor enhancement that plugs into the back of every Wii remote. And, sadly, they're still not included with the Nintendo Wii.
In an attempt to make amends, Wii Sports Resort is now selling a $59.99 bundle that includes two MotionPlus accessories instead of just one. It's a $10 savings over getting the $49.99 Wii Sports Resort and a second $19.99 MotionPlus separately. Honestly, it's a wise investment if you're going to buy Wii Sports Resort, since many of the games are two-player and require two MotionPlus accessories anyway.
These little discounts are appreciated, but it's still surprising that Nintendo's not simply releasing a Wii bundle that includes Wii Sports Resort and Wii MotionPlus inside. $250 for a Wii bundle that has both versions of Wii Sports and two controllers with MotionPlus...how about it, Nintendo? We can always dream.
Meanwhile, get your Wii Sports Resort bundles while they last.
Last month, we got some hands-on time with Wii Sports Resort, the first-party Nintendo game that comes bundled with Wii MotionPlus.
While most of the minigames are new, you'll recognize a few classics from the original title such as golf and bowling. That aside, there's a lot of new activities in Wii Sports Resort, all of which take advantage of Wii MotionPlus (which we reviewed earlier this week).
During our demo, we especially enjoyed our time with Table Tennis and Archery. After playing with the final version for about a week now, Table Tennis remains among the highlights of the game. The capability to perform top spin and fades on the ball makes for a very satisfying experience.
We also enjoyed the Frisbee game where MotionPlus really shines. You have complete 1:1 control over your character's toss, in which you must have a dog catch the disc in a bull's-eyed area.
Wii Sports Resort comes bundled with one Wii MotionPlus attachment and rubber sleeve and is available July 26 for $50. Additional Wii MotionPlus units are available now for $20 each.
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As we mentioned previously, this week we got all close-up and hands-on with Nintendo's E3 lineup for the holidays, courtesy of a meeting in a NY hotel room deep in midtown Manhattan. And to our surprise (and clearly, Nintendo's delight), they've gone a little hardcore competitive on us all of a sudden.
We told you about New Super Mario Bros. Wii (a.k.a. "Super Mario Smash Bros."), and now we'll let you in on our three-game session with Nintendo's ace-in-the-hole, Wii Sports Resort.
While you've probably heard a lot about this game, did you know it's including updates of classics like bowling and golf? While we didn't spend time with those, we took on whole new challenges that provoked a bit of smack-talking between Jeff and Scott. ... Read More
(Credit:
Jeff Bakalar/CNET)
Last night in New York City, Nintendo treated two of our CNET editors to some lengthy hands-on demos of major upcoming titles for the Wii and DS. We'll have impressions of our time with Wii Sports Resort and other games later on, but first we wanted to talk about New Super Mario Bros. Wii. ... Read More
Our good buddy Russ Frushtick of MTV Multiplayer (formerly of UGO) comes onto the show today to talk shop and give us the inside scoop on Project Natal, "Ghostbusters," and the Nintendo Wii Motion Plus.
Russ of MTV Multiplayer
(Credit: CNET/Dan Ackerman)We're always stoked when Russ Frushtick drops into the studio because he always brings us the best news, and today is no different. Russ recently accepted an offer to work at MTV Multiplayer as the only guy covering video games! Now that he's the head honcho, we feel extra special that he's willing to talk with us about E3. Granted, E3 was awhile ago, but Russ gives us his take on Project Natal and how he thinks it will effect the industry as a whole. Believe it or not, I'm actually kind of psyched to play the handball game despite how weird I'll probably looking flailing my arms around like a maniac in that 3-foot square. Russ also talks about the Milo demo, where you apparently have to establish a relationship and "connect" with a young boy in order to win the game? Maybe they should've called it "Project Wilson Tang."
After the break, we jump right back into more video game talk. We chat about the a game called Scribblenauts for the Nintendo DS. From how Russ described it, it sounds pretty cool: you just wander around and when you encounter a problem, all you have to do is write in what you'd need to get out of it and the object appears onscreen. And the game has 10,000 words you can write in! Listen in for more details about Prototype and a hilarious rant about the Wii MotionPlus.
EPISODE 367
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... Read More
When Nintendo announced Wii MotionPlus at last year's E3 2008 press conference, it certainly raised a few eyebrows. First off, we wondered why this technology wasn't included in the original Wii remote to begin with. Would every game be able to take advantage of MotionPlus?
We've had a few days to play around with Wii MotionPlus along with a few games that take advantage of what it offers. That said, we're not convinced that these games maximize its capability and therefore we're not giving it a score yet. We're going to wait until Wii Sports Resort is released--the first game that is supposedly fully optimized for MotionPlus--before we make any final judgments.
Regardless of a final score, we got to experience what MotionPlus is mostly all about, and for the most part, it does offer an impressive 1:1 representation of your movements on screen. We tested it out with two early games that can use it, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis.... Read More
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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.
... Read MoreDon Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
CNET News Poll
With the arrival of Wii MotionPlus, Nintendo promises even more accurate motion control for Wii games that are developed with the hardware in mind. Unfortunately, this means that all games developed up until now cannot benefit from MotionPlus in any way, shape, or form.
But is all this too little, too late for Nintendo? There's no denying that the Wii is popular; it's the best selling console by far this generation with supply only just recently catching up with demand. But as far as the idea of motion control is concerned, is it as satisfying as we all had hoped?
We're not saying motion control doesn't work. It has done wonders for balance games like Super Monkey Ball and has really shined in the first-person-shooter department with titles like House of the Dead Overkill and the yet to be released The Conduit.
But for other genre titles, it seems the Wii's motion control arsenal really doesn't exist beyond a shake or a smack. There are plenty of times while playing a game like Zelda: Twilight Princess where a slice of the sword could occur much quicker with a push of a button rather than a shaking of a Wii remote. In fact, the game had been originally designed for the Nintendo GameCube, but got held off to launch along with the Wii.
We're not knocking the Wii, there's impressive technology there. There's a lot of very satisfying experiences to be had playing Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, and No More Heroes. That said, we can't say the same for the majority of third-party games where motion control is clearly an afterthought.
(Credit:
Nintendo)
Surely anyone who's played a variety of Wii games can spot tacked-on motion controls, so why is it that it takes two and a half years after the console's release to get "true," accurate control? And doesn't the consumer have a right to be a tad upset with the fact that these improvements should have been included in the original hardware all along?
The Wii might be the cheapest home console on the market (except for the bare-bones Xbox 360 Arcade), but after you've bought enough Wii remotes, nunchuks, Wii wheels, zappers, and now MotionPluses for up to four players, you're a lot more heavily invested than you might think.
Wii MotionPlus is set to release on June 8 for $20. While there won't be any first-party titles to try it out with, EA has bumped up the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis--two games designed with MotionPlus in mind.
The jury may still be out on MotionPlus, but rest assured we'll have a full review soon after its release. Will it revolutionize gaming on the Wii? Or will it come off as just another tacked-on gimmick? Vote in the poll (above), and share your thoughts in detail in the comments section.
(Credit:
Kotaku)
Last week Nintendo announced a June 8 release date for MotionPlus, an attachment device that promises more accurate and precise motion control. While you can't use the technology with preexisting Wii games, you'll certainly be able to take advantage of it with the 2010 EA Sports lineup of titles.
In fact, EA has just revealed that MotionPlus will be bundled with select games from the publisher. In the U.K., you'll be able to purchase Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis with the accessory, but only with the Tiger Woods game here in the U.S.
We'd imagine the bundled games will go for a bit of a premium and, of course, you'll be able to purchase the game separately without MotionPlus. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 ships on June 15 and looks like it will be the first game available to make use of MotionPlus.
(Via Kotaku)
