Wii MotionPlus a response to the technology in Darwin?

Wii MotionPlus is an undeniable step-up in terms of the accuracy of the Wii remote, yet it's a valid point to say that such technology should have already been available in the controller since the Wii launched. So, why has Nintendo taken an initiative to increase the "power" of the controller? The makers of Darwin are making a case that Nintendo is launching MotionPlus as a response to their product.

[mindedone]

just SCREAM speculation and guess. It makes me feel like I'm reading The Enquirer.

EDIT: And after reading the rumor, I see I was correct. It's an article about an interview with the MAKERS of Darwin, who get their own rumors from their grandmothers, cousins, and the neighbors down the street.

[ChickeyCantor]

Why do people have the idea hardware can just pop-up in a day without doing months of research and spend money on the actually tech.

These articles are LAME.
I doubt Nintendo even knew about the controller before they could even put Motion-plus as a response.

[Parapraxis]

"It’s still missing the magnetometers, so it’s still a system that needs that IR strip to figure out where it is, whereas the Darwin is completely self-contained."

Kind of like the SIXAXIS controller, which actually has far more accuracy that the Wiimote, however it still has the primary function of a standard controller.
Protip: SIXAXIS was out long before the "darwin" concept.

[ChickeyCantor]

Sixaxes looks nothing like Darwin or the Wii-mote.
Thats the concern here, when people see the Sixaxes/Dualshock 3 they will not associate it with the Wii-mote or Darwin.

Sixaxes may have more accuracy then the Wii-mote now but you still hold it differently. The IR on top of it makes it more functional in terms of usage.
Still i don't think M+ was the response to Darwin, because you don't magically make hardware in a day or 2 the moment you hear about a company making a controller.(especially not Nintendo since they aren't really a Hardware company like Sony)

[Parapraxis]

It isn't remote-shaped hence the "it still has the primary function of a standard controller. " bit.
However functionally it works better.
"A major feature of the controller is the ability to sense both rotational orientation and translational acceleration along all three dimensional axes, providing six degrees of freedom"
- Wiki
If any company could easily make a more accurate remote-shaped peripheral it's Sony.

My point, in the end, was that it's much more likely Nintendo looked at the accelerometor and 3D movement of the SIXAXIS when making the M+, not the "darwin" controller.

[ChickeyCantor]

Nintendo was already looking into gyroscopes shortly after launch but for the Wii-mote the Hardware wasn't ready.
They could have, but even Sony suddenly popped up with motion controls after everyone hating the banana/boomerang and Nintendo revealing the Wii-mote.

Let's face it Sony already had loads of this kind of hardware, Nintendo has to look somewhere else for it. Even the Sound chip in the SNES was from Sony XD(hence Sony coming out so soon with Sixaxes shortly after Wii-mote was revealed)
So who got it from who is something we will never know.

[lewis]

im gonna get it.

[TruthbeTold]

...about getting Xbox360 owners to buy this thing, they would have just shaped it like a gun and called it a day. Nintendo has already got the lock on mini games with waggle. A host of people aren't going to flock out to buy a 360 specifically with this thing. On the other hand, even the many gamers who like aiming with their thumbs on a FPS can't help but like the idea of actual gun-like aiming and shooting in such games.

[Product]

@Parapraxis
Gyroscope technology is actually superior to that of accelerometers.Both together is what make 3d motion precise.a mulit-axis accelerometer alone isnt nearly enough for 3d motion.
here:
http://www.invensense.com/s...
Watch this video comparing the two
"My point, in the end, was that it's much more likely Nintendo looked at the accelerometor and 3D movement of the SIXAXIS when making the M+, not the "darwin" controller."
Not true because accelerometers are not what makes the motion plus 1:1.

[Parapraxis]

Did a little digging.
Maybe this video will help people understand the differences between the two.
In the end it would appear as though the best use of both technologies is when they are combined. For a motion sensing controller to truly be accurate they need both.

http://www.invensense.com/s...

EDIT: Wow, way to post the same video =P
But you must admit, accelerometers are 1/2 of the reason M+ could deliver 1:1 responsiveness.

[Product]

true but accelerometers are already int he wii remote and yes i will agree with you on that.

[Parapraxis]

for myself, when I spent time playing Wii I felt the controls were poor. In comparison to SIXAXIS at that time it didn't come close in accuracy.

Unfortunately for myself and probably others, M+ is too little too late.
For a console such as the Wii that touted motion controls at it's epicentre the controls seemed lackluster at best, and I quickly dismissed it as a half-assed gimmick.

Maybe with M+ Nintendo brings true 1:1 motion sensing and it could be absolutely fantastic for many games, but I believe for many it will be viewed as yet another un-necessary peripheral.
This is very unfortunate for Nintendo as it's pretty clear they wanted the most accurate motion controls from the get-go. Yet in the end it was their choice to launch with partially accurate controllers.

I suppose they didn't want to be 3rd out of the gate and sales have proved that indeed it was a great time to launch, not that launching 6 months later with amazing controls would made it any less successful a console IMO, I actually think the opposite.

If Nintendo had waited 6 months until the Wiimote was perfected I as well would probably have one sitting in my living room right now.

[ChickeyCantor]

" Wii I felt the controls were poor. In comparison to SIXAXIS at that time it didn't come close in accuracy."

I have a hard time understanding how you can compare the two.
Wii-mote is being used in different ways making you hold/point or move it differently. While the Sixaxes is held with 2 hands.
yes i've heard of the bowling game but really still...thats one.
But for racing/flying/balancing games its just one position.

Some games on the Wii had Waggle, some required large/small movements/flicks, some just used the Tilt.

So I think the inaccuracy is more of a bad design then the hardware it self.
Wii-mote does work, as long you are doing it right regardless of bad Design with the game itself.
Even with motion plus i think some things might feel inaccurate, and not because of the hardware more because of the bad design that's coming from the developers.
Wii-mote alone does not do full 1:1 detection but it does work with tilting and large movements.

Because of the different ways you can use the Wii-mote i honestly don't think you should compare it to the Sixaxes.

[dib8rman]

I think the Wiimote came out before the Darwin I'm not sure anymore with articles like these.

The face that the Wiimote can send that information to the M+ means that that every Wiimote was intended to use it.

[Product]

the wii remote sends information to the nunchuck/classic controller so whats your point?