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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The follow-up to the sword-slashing original, Red Steel 2 will make full use of Wii MotionPlus, promising a 1:1 representation of your movements on screen. Developed by Ubisoft, the company plans to bundle the accessory with the game as well. While no release date has been set yet, Red Steel 2 will be available exclusively for the Wii when it does launch.
Sony takes aim at Nintendo and Microsoft's motion controls.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)Amid an already-good Sony E3 press conference, a time-out was taken amid PSP Go details, PSP games, and PS3 holiday titles to peek into the future at some on-the-horizon motion-control technology. The routine was familiar already: in fact, Microsoft and Nintendo had similar "the future is motion" pit stops in their 2009 E3 press conferences.
Being last, it seemed, would be a disadvantage to Sony. Appearing onstage were two of Sony's team behind the PlayStation Eye and EyeToy, and the general nervousness seemed palpable. When the prototype device was revealed--a black wand with a glowing purple bulb on top--it almost seemed like a joke. But a funny thing happened: the longer the demo went on, the better it got.
Sony's black wand appears to be the PS3's Wii-mote. Configured with an analog trigger and some number of buttons, the wand has one-to-one mapping just like the . The glowing orb, which changed color during the demo, was integral to the positioning technology, although exactly how wasn't detailed in the press conference. ... Read more
Wii Vitality Sensor: Lets you know if you're alive?
(Credit: CNET)Yesterday, Microsoft raised the bar on the mainstream-interactive landscape with the demonstration of its futuristic Project Natal. Today, Nintendo had a chance for a rebuttal, during which it chose to focus on Wii Motion Plus.
Scheduled to debut in a few weeks when it's packaged in with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, the more accurate plug-in to the Wiimote has its greatest killer app in Wii Sports Resort, the delayed sequel to Wii Sports. Showed off last year as well, two new sports in the package, archery and a three-point hoops contest, were demonstrated once again by Reggie Fils-Aime and Bill Trinen. The accuracy benefits were more noticeable to the naked eye on the archery demo: smaller hand motions allow for greater focus and targeting.
The Wii Motion Plus is a funny update to the Wii, because the advertising around it (virtual swordplay, archery) is exactly the same angle that was used for the original Wiimote. It arrives in a few weeks to stores. ... Read more
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)
Jason Howell, from Bore Out Loud, keeps us classy in this very special episode of The 404. We make our big videocasting announcement. That's right! The 404, podcast of the future, is going to become a video podcast, so you'll be able to watch as Wilson looks deeply/creeply into the camera every morning. Plus, we get into some studio shenanigans as we prepare to revamp this place. And CNET TV is nominated for a Webby!
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Wilson G. Tang/CNET)
On today's show, find out why you should never eat Domino's pizza, especially if you live in New York City. It's all about the Ray'z Pizza, man. Also, Amazon says it had a homophobic "glitch" that caused several LGBT books to be removed from its listings. We think Nazis did it.
On the second half of the show, it's Tuna Tuesday! (Please listen to the show to find out what that means.) Nintendo releases an add-on to the Wiimote that makes it even longer and more precise. TWSS. Also, a 79-year-old Japanese man has the greatest job in the world.
By the by, is Miramax sending the right message to a girl who couldn't find a copy of "Adventureland" on bittorrent by giving her free tickets to see the movie? Or is it all a ploy to get her arrested? Finally, be sure to check out your RSS and iTunes feeds for our little "404 presents."
Keep sending in your best survival stories and character voices to the show at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Be sure to RSVP for The 404 and Buzz Out Loud Meetup here in New York City. Alison Rosen, Jason Howell, Natali Del Conte, Kenley Bradstreet, and so many more are going to be making their appearance. Maybe you can buy them a drink? (Be warned: Jason is ours though.)
EPISODE 320
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(Credit:
Nintendo)
Nintendo first hinted at a new motion accessory for the Wii remote last July. Just announced this morning, the Wii MotionPlus attachment will officially be released on June 8 for $20. MotionPlus promises a more precise and accurate experience while using the motion controls on the Wii remote. The device attaches into the nunchuk port at the base of the remote and will work with all existing games but most noticeably with the sequel to Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort.
Resort will allow for a platform that best displays these new "deep control enhancements" such as riding a Jet Ski, dueling with a sword, and throwing a Frisbee. Wii Sports Resort will go on sale July 26 for $50 and will include one MotionPlus attachment. We've got some screenshots of the game here.
Whether or not MotionPlus will improve the motion control experience in prior games is still up in the air, but you can be sure we'll address this concern and others in our full review in June. Although as Engadget has pointed out, it seems MotionPlus will not work with any game that hasn't been programmed accordingly. But for now, what are your first reactions to MotionPlus?
UPDATED: New information on the backwards compatibility on MotionPlus with older Wii games.
(Credit:
GeekStuff4U.com)
Finally, you can save on purchasing all those AA batteries weekly for your Wii remote. Nintendo has teamed with Sanyo in Japan to come up with a custom battery back based on its eneloop technology--a low self-discharge NiMH battery that charges on contact.
... Read more
