Nintendo Unveils "Wii MotionPlus"

"Nintendo's upcoming Wii MotionPlus accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote controller again redefines game control, by more quickly and accurately reflecting motions in a 3-D space. 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 MotionPlus accessory reconfirms Nintendo's commitment to making games intuitive and accessible for everyone. Nintendo will reveal more details about the Wii MotionPlus accessory and other topics Tuesday morning at its E3 media briefing."

[Jandre02]

Pressure from someone? Wonder is Sony is really coming with a motion controller. Why else release a Wii-mote upgrade?

[Voiceofreason]

Because they want to keep imroving it and dont want it to look like the fad that is Sixaxis. Its not like they are being forced to do it. Sixaxis has nothing on the Wii remote and Sony has for the most part forgot it.

[Drekken]

Voiceofreason, When I read a comment by someone with a name like yours, I expect to read some common sense reasoning. You do not provide us with this. You provide us with an angry fanboy rant.

Sony's sixaxis used right can be very fun to use. I dont want it in every aspect of my game, but implemented right can be very cool. Sony will be coming out with motion sensing and I would assume by this announcement That is it pretty accurate.

I have played Wii and my main complaint besides the 80's graphics was the bad response time. I am glad to see they acknowledge the problem and are trying to fix it.

[Durffen]

Although I do agree with Drekken, isn't 80's graphics a little low?

[Drekken]

HA, yeah I thought that when typing it... early 90's is more like it!

[Durffen]

Still a little low...

Sure Wii isn't the graphical power house, but do games need to look that good? I mean it's cool to have good looking games, but remember Lair? The game that looked pretty damn good, but completely failed in gameplay? It's not all about graphics.

And no, I'm not attacking the PS3. I'm just using Lair as an example.

[Voiceofreason]

Hey kid, the fanboy would be the one that simple sees a negative about Sony and attacks without the ability to comprehend whats being said. That would be YOU. Not me. This site is infested with inbred Sony fans that cry over the littliest thing said about Sony. Its time you grow up. Sony isnt perfect they are like the other 2. Yet I bet you only go around crying when MS and Nitendo do something wrong. Sorry it doesnt take a fanboy to know that the single motion sensing in the Sixaxis is very limited compared to the 2 in the Wii remote and Nunchuk. BUt please continue to live in ignorance thinking your fanboy behavior is only that of an average gamer. Keep hating on MS and Nintendo while thinking you are not bias. Fool

[Drekken]

Hey I dont hate you for using Lair... I HATED that game. I gave it a shot and didnt even play for 2 hours.... it had to go.

I agree gameplay is more important than graphics, but when you have a $3000 TV... I am sure you want the prettiest image you can get on it.

@ ABOVE - If that wasnt an angry rant, I dont know what is... You are the one bashing sony in NIN news... I just commented on your obvious bias. I grew up on nintendo... so dont call me kid, child. I bet I am older then you by years... Ive seen makers come and go... MS will go. It has nothing to do with being a fanboy... they suck, from windows to gaming... they suck. I am American and I would love to by American... but MS sucks. Everyone is Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I am not trying to stop you from yours, but you can say you are a "true" gamer all you want... I see through it. Sony is NOT perfect... but this generation they absolutely OWN the competition in the quality and features they offer. I didnt even own a PS2.. Had PS1, not 2... so I dont consider myself a fanboy, I do prefer SONY. Get mad, I dont care... but the 360 is a piece of chit made from stockpiled old hardware noone wants. And NIN dropped the ball with last gen graphics.

[linkmaster95]

Drekkenaren't graphics overrated? Would we all've loved pong if it somehow looked like the games that you like for their graphics? In a way that is biased because you fall in love with every little game that looks good no matter how bad the actual gameplay is.

[Voiceofreason]

Nice of them to enhance the best motion sensing on the market. It seems Sony has forgetten its own motion sensing gimmick.

[Panthers]

well ya they are both gimmicks. Wish Nintendo would forget theirs as well.

[titntin]

There Sony solution was ADDITIONAL control options, whilst still leaving you with a decent level of normal control.
As expected, some developers utilised it wisely - some didn't.
Titles like Folklore and Brunswick Bowling, show it can be a very cool addition to the control options, and theres plenty of mainstrem titles that play with stadard controls but have some cool six axis additional functionality too (the heavenly sword arrow sections spring to mind, as does Glave aftertouch..).
At least games that need responsive normal control solutions on the PS3, still have them, and owners of that machine are not forced to use a control system thats plainly only suited to some genres...

[Testo]

"Nice of them to enhance the best motion sensing on the market"

I wouldn't brag about that. Considering they are upgrading the controls to make them more accurate, if you can say they were accurate yo begin with.

I have ALWAYS said that the Wii had bad, inaccurate controls and yet the fanboys always said that "Obvioulsy you've never played the Wii"

This proves that even Ninty thinks the controls are off.

[ChickeyCantor]

Actually the controller is accurate, the only problem was the delay between the controller and the console/game calculation it and return the values on screen. Wii-sports:Baseball game showed it but with little delay.

This just takes away the Delay.....STARWAAAAAAAAARS!!!

[JoelR]

Sixaxis was more accurate .25mm vs 2cm detection
it also detected motion on more axis then the wiimote

this is to compete with the detection level of the sixaxis - it does not make it better then the sixaxis.

[unsunghero28]

Jesus, fanboys won't stop complaining.

I love how people manage to put a negative spin on the fact that Nintendo is ADDRESSING GAMERS' COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE WII.

Personally, I'm very excited. I'm not saying that as a Nintendo fanboy (I'm not) but as a gamer, and I think it's a damn shame people can't see this as the great news that it is.

@1.5
I... don't think so.

Something you seem to forget about the Wii remote is that it has accelerometer, IR AND tilt sensors whereas the SIXAXIS just has tilt. The SIXAXIS, therefore, shouldn't be compared because it was never meant to compete with the Wii Remote.

Anyway, the point is that this is a totally different type of motion sensing being added to the Wii Remote. Nintendo is doing more than just improving their tilt control.

[Odiah]

Nintendo: What's crackalackin dizz doggs? Check out our new motion tingdem fo' shizdem.

Sony: Rassss mon, we better cook up someting licketysplit ya naaaa.

In conclusion, I've forgotten whatever it is we were meant to be talking about =|

[jtucker78]

This is actually what I thought the Wii could do when I first bought one. Hence the severe disappointment when I realised the machine was underpowered and the motion control didn't work properly.

To be fair Nintendo could just lie back and continue to make money from a flawed motion experience BUT I'm impressed they are raising their game and developing better solutions.
Respect to Nintendo for producing a 1:1 motion controller.
Good job.

Now we just need it to release before force unleashed so we can get some sweet lightsaber action.

[Torch]

"I have ALWAYS said that the Wii had bad, inaccurate controls and yet the fanboys always said that "Obvioulsy you've never played the Wii"

I'm with you 100%

Man, upon first hearing about the Wii's <ahem> "revolutionary" new controller scheme, I can't exaggerate how excited I was...namely due to my anticipation with Wii Boxing and the likes of sword fighting games such as Red Steel.

In theory, the possibilities were ENDLESS!!!

In reality...another story. My excitement came to a crashing halt when I quickly learned that Wii Boxing wouldn't even REGISTER my punches unless I poked my fists out in minuscule short burst in a crippling, Granny-like fashion...thereby pretty much instantly crippling all my hopes and dreams of what I was hoping it to be.

Let's not even talk about accuracy...or utter absence of it.

Sure, it's "motion-sensing"...i t just can't accurately discriminate which direction or the speed that said motion is being executed.

As far as I'm concerned, the so-called motion-sensing capabilities are a disappointing gimmick.

I will say this, however: the pointer is another story, and actually has some potential. Although I may be in the minority, I had a TON of fun playing Call of Duty 3 on the system...even though the jaggies nearly blinded me.

[Leathersoup]

Typical Nintendo. Sell you a controller and then make you purchase 15 accessories for the damned thing.

[hunter21]

haha yeah, the wii has the most accessories of all console ive owned well its good to know that they upgrading it.

[jackdoe]

Wonder how much extra this accessory would cost me?

[zerolinkgannon]

Bundle it with punch out and its a go baby!

[DanteLinkX]

Maybe they will bundle it with some cool game. Or don't make it too expensive, I also SUPPOSE that all the wiimotes will come with that, and that it also has some port to attach nunchuck.

[zen_fart]

im not too happy about nintendo constantly bringing out hardware for us to purchase but lets face it, the wii mote needs this. currently the controls are sloppy as hell. i dont know if its the hardware or software that causes this sloppy responsiveness but is it too much to ask that my wee guy swings his tennis racket when i swing the wii mote?

[GodsHand]

Every month, this consumer friendly console, is fast becoming the the console that has last gen. graphics, for next gen. prices.

[mint royale]

as the wii is printing money whilst the ps3 is trying to put sony in the hole. I can guarantee you that if sony could take things back to 2005 they'd go down the route of the wii more. And microsoft for that matter!

[GodsHand]

Im not disagreeing with you, im sure Nintendo is happy. But what's with all these accessories. There is nothing there that says you have to buy it, but im sure it will be required to have to play some games. Just like the ram expansion pak for the N64.

Wiimote - $40
wii nunchuk - $20
wii motion+ - $15 (speculation)

Some people already invested in buying 3 more of the wii motes with the nunchuk. Im just saying this console is becoming into the price range of Sony/Microsft's consoles.

[N4g_null]

How does an optional device suddently make the Wii $500-600?
Even at $50 it's $200 for four of them. The Wii is $250? If you are like me then people will have to bring their own Wii accuracy then or just get owned. Also if this thing has a wireless nunchuck to go with it then it is already sold.

Also too this thing has conduit all over it!

[GodsHand]

Optional for some game. Im sure some games are going to make it mandatory to have. Ever play Donkey Kong 64 with out the 4MB expansion pak on the N64? I doubt it.

[GVON]

who wants to bet it's free with wii sports 2

[mint royale]

yes the controllers are expensive but so are sony's and microsoft's? why round on nintendo? it just sounds like nit picking. Not that i disagree with you, they all are expensive as the big 3 know we can't do anything without the controllers so they can charge a premium price.

[GodsHand]

I got my DS3 for $40/ech. on Amazon.c0/\/\

The Wii's are a bit more expensive, and you have to buy the sister controller to go with it. Now maybe you are going to have to buy a third piece.

[Veni Vidi Vici]

this is backwards compatible with old games. i'm guessing there's going to need to be at least a little bit of programming for older games to utilize this. does the wii even do game patches?

[Harry190]

Caesar.

[ChickeyCantor]

If it just improves movement calculations i dont think they ened patches.

[sloth4urluv]

I doubt all it does is just help with the calculations, at first glance I thought it was a gyro pack.
We use a combination of gyros and accelerometers at work for our aviation equipment.

[titntin]

Is it just me or do all these plastic add-ons remind you of the kitchen gadgets you end up sticking in a draw and forgetting you've got?

To my mind, there's only few titles that have really exploited the current system properly. I'd like to see more killer games like Metroid and Galaxey that use the contoller well, then 'yet another add-on'.

[dannyhinote_13]

Depending on what this announcement comes coupled with this (what games that will be affected)...Nintendo probably stole the show already. They are on their game.

[Drekken]

LOL. Stole the show? Please explain how a pretty much mandatory add on to make the controller work as it SHOULD of been is stealing the show. More like a slap in the face.

[Durffen]

If they announce a new Zelda to go with this add-on, then yeah, they pretty much stole the show.

Or maybe some new IP's?

[dktxx2]

Nintendo has already lost e3. A "new" zelda game, or even a "new" mario game won't change that. They need truly new games that actually use the wiimote to its potential. Unfortunately, all nintendo wants to make is mini game collections.

[RealityCheck]

Star Wars game anyone? This could actually allow some lightsaber action...

[pwnsause]

lets hope that this would help fix the slopiness of 3rd party games on the wii; BTW i think wiisports 2 will be announced and unvieled tomorrow if we are hearing this kind of mod for the controller.

[Ps3Fanboy777]

Which is M$ does release how LAME..I mean truly undeniably LAME. Then to copy singstar, they are lost..

[DevonTheDude535]

Yea M$ did completely ripoff singstar but, Microsft created the first motion sensitive controller, the Sidewinder Freestyle pro for PC back in 97', it was a flop. Nintendo steals motion control idea, M$ steals Mii avatars, an uneven trade.

[Fox01]

hmm... where do you plug the Nunchuck??

[Dark-vash]

Or maybe it will become wireless! :D

[djt23]

it going to be wireless man

[GodsHand]

The same as befor this wii motion+ is just an extension of the wiimote.

[--Onilink--]

if you look at the picture there is a small rectangle at the bottom of the accesory that look like it can be detached or moved. Probably for covering the hole, kind of the way its done with the plastic protection that have the new controllers

[Royantk]

Unless they give me a good reason... x)

[PirateThom]

So, yeah, Nintendo are just admitting that motion sensing isn't accurate enough and needs more add ons.

[--Onilink--]

Or maybe they just want to make it better??

Just because u can make something better doesnt mean its bad right now. Im not saying the wiimote is perfect right now, but to say its inaccurate or sloppy its a bit to far. The only thing that was missing from the wiimote so far war true 1:1 controls for games with sword or sports, and if this is gonna do it, then games are gonna get even better.

Also i can be damm sure that nintendo is gonna release this with some game, that way they sell millions of these and then 3rd party devs wont have any problems including this thing on their games.

[poopsack]

So I get to pay them to make the controller more accurate, something they could've done before release? But I'll do it because they call it an upgrade! awesome!

Nintendo's press conference

Reggie (Plugs in accessory and waggles controller)

Yeah Im about kickin ass and takin names and... as you can see I move it... and it reacts faster... and it doesnt do half of the things you chose to do in the opposite direction anymore.

(Applause)

[--Onilink--]

Yuo can say all you want, but EVERY company constantly upgrades their products to make them better. Or you think trophies and in game XMB are dumb because they should have been from the start??? or how about paying $50 for dualshock 3??? or paying $100 for a hard drive or wifi on the 360????

I suppose that you prefer that things stay the way the started even if they can be improved because then you would have to pay for it...

[epiphany323]

Nintendo upgrading the accuracy of the wii remote is nothing less than sony adding rumble to it's sixaxis and calling it the dual shock 3 and charging for it.

Why is it that nobody made a big fuss when sony did it but people are screaming bloody murder when nintendo does it.

[JoelR]

17.2
because rumble is an addition not a fix

[poopsack]

uhh hey geniouses, when you buy a ds3 you actually get another controller with the rumble. ANd I dont remeber paying for trophies so theres no prob there. Agaiin they are additions, not fixes.

[lynta]

It does, but only on the crappy family third-party games ninty has used it very well and capcom some games from other devs like no more heroes, boom blox etc.

but some games really drags the wii down in the mud i mean big beach sports, carnival games etc dont think every wii owner loves them...

and hopefully mad world and the conduit will use the controls well..

Cheers!!!!!!!

[V_Ben]

With 1:1 control... i can only dream...

[--Onilink--]

yeah i think they are gonna show wii sports 2 when they show this, and then give us a teaser about a new zelda, like what they did for the first trailer of TP, and say its gonna use it along with a some 3rd party titles like red steel 2

[nintendojunkie28]

...this is excellent news..originally this is how I imagined the wii would function...

[condorstrike]

people are never satisfied, imagine the posibilities...
most probably it'll come out with the new starwars: clone wars or battlefront..

I think the clone wars might be 1:1...

and hopefully bigN patents it in a way that sony and microsoft don't go crying after they hear this news and try to make their own crappy version...lol.
gotta love Nintendo.

[ZonexFavel]

This seems like a little too much. It would be nice to have actual like sword action and that would most definitely net more games but I've already bought wiimotes and nunchucks. Just seems like more money in the hole.

Hopefully there will be some redeeming factor. I like hearing about a new Zelda. A new Zelda with actual sword action would be awesome. This would have been even better at launch though when Red Steel was announced. I'm sure most of us were hoping for real sword swinging action.

Anyways this kind of thing encourages the watch and see approach in my opinion. Early adopters might actually be left with good software developers making quality games with accurate use of the sensors in the current Wii remote and only a hand full initially supporting it. I hope Nintendo is able to find someway to sell this but even an extra one with a game would seem too much after I already bought four full sets of controllers.

[--Onilink--]

I understand what u say about all the accesories, because lets face it, nintendo likes to release a lot of them, on the other hand, you always get on free because they come in a game. But yeah for those of us with many controllers its anoying to buy 3 more. They should do something like what they did for the controllers(the cord replacement and the protection thing), and maybe give away one for every wii to the people that want to.

About the add-on itself if you look at the picture the thing is really small, and something you can just leave placed on the wiimote so its not like the zapper or the wheel.

I like to think of it as the expansion pack for this generation, lol

[linkmaster95]

I agree 1:1 Zelda would be the best announcement for me at e3

[--Onilink--]

yeah, what i like about this anouncement is that its gonna make the 360 motion controller look like crap, lol

BTW i have nothing against the 360...

[ia_studio]

I hope this improves graphics nintendo has bad graphics
BTW i'm jocking

[ChickeyCantor]

STAAAAAAAAAAAAAR WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAARSSSSSSSSS
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAA

Really, Starwars and upcoming RedSteel could really make use of this.
If(true){Sidar.get.WMP}

[SIX]

Does this mean that the initial concept of the wii controller was broken?

[ChickeyCantor]

That could be said about all religions .....
~ Dracula

>_< im trying to say that if thats the case all consoles are broken since they have Firmware updates.

[mint royale]

the innovative idea of the motion controller is being perfected.

[STICKzophrenic]

All 25 million Wii owners were just testers for the Wii controls LMAO.

[mint royale]

were just tests for microsoft to see how many people would pay money for a console that doesnt work.....LMAO

/sarcasm

[chrstphr567]

IMO this is a great add-on for all of the wii games that came out and had trouble controlling where you are aiming. Red Steel and Metriod Prime are great examples. But what nintendo should have done is just Added a Screen Calibration for all of there future titles so the wii will know how big you tv really is. It would cost nintendo much less money.

[squallheart]

i would have been more exited if there was actually more gamest to play :/ sad but my wii has been just collecting dust now ive been playing with my ps3 more.

[Product]

Man look at all the Nintendo haters here lol.
Its like people thinking they have to buy this or something.Its a choice.
Just like the choice of coming on here, login in and commented in a negative fanboy manner,just to appear dumb.
Which half of you do.....

If you dont like it dont buy it.Its simple.

[zerolinkgannon]

Darwin what?

[NanoGeekTech]

The Wii is nothing but profit...the Games are nothing but profit and garbbage for the most part and then there is the magic beans "accessories"..

Well the Wii is OK..but Nintendo is milking the casual gamer..and making all the money in the process kinda like Exxon..

http://www.gamestop.com/Bro...

I am all for making money and I admire Nintendo for making it happen. Most Console makers make their money on the Accessories and Games but Nintendo is making a killing on everything that relates to the Wii..

Heck it looks like if you get all the Accessories for your Wii you end up spending as much as a 360 maybe more?

With the additional accessories for the Wii would Nintendo profit machine be more expensive than the other guys in the near future..PS3 and 360?

I really do not see a price cut for the Wii no time soon...

[Product]

me either

[bushgreen]

wii should of had this type of motion detection in the first place.

[Vizion26]

I think Nintendo is releasing this in response to the rumored motion controllers from Sony and Microsoft. They don't want to be out done if their motion controlls promise even more precision than the Wii-motes.

The Wii is not capable of knowing the absolute position of the Wii-mote - I don't think Nintendo has ever claimed 1-1 motion controls -, it only can know the relative position of it (unless when using the IR pointer). That is why we haven't had any 1:1 motion control games on the Wii (The boss fight in Wario Ware used the tilt function which is 1-1, not actual swings)

I really dislike add-ons and I assume so does the general consumer. Nintendo ought to sell this for NO more than 10 bucks for not having this precision in the wii-mote in the first place (or should even be free much like the Wii jackets were). But I doubt that will happen.

This does bring up some interesting questions such as what games specifically will be using it, will it become standard, will be a pack-in with some games (Zelda maybe?), and what will be the cost?

[linkmaster95]

If sony and microsoft did release motion controlers, just picture what that would make the average consumer think about them. I don't know about everyone else, but I can just imagine, without even thinking, that people would say "Hey look, originality just died in the gaming industry" It would end the Image of all gaming companies as we know it

[jmiscavish]

That's nice that nintendo is trying to improve their motion detection, except that no games actually use real motion detection, so this whole thing is pretty useless.

I guess I can very, very accurately twist my bat prior to each swing in wii baseball, now.

On to more ninjabread man...

[linkmaster95]

It may be useless with old Wii games, but future Wii gameswill utilie this for better controls that would be Impossible without the Wii motion Plus. For example, they couldn't make 1:1 controls for star wars: the force unleashed because with one sensor, it would be impossible to know what angle the Wiimote was being held at.
1:1 controls are suddenly possible!

[Product]

If the controls for the wii can get better by all means thats good with me.Its funny how people are bashing this when its for
1.an add-on
2.you dont need to buy
and 3.its making the controls better.

How is this possibly a bad thing?

[mint royale]

they don't understand how its so popular, and destroying the consoles they own in terms of sales.

Or perhaps they are afraid that they may lose out on future games (MH3, KH3)

Or perhaps people in N4G are mostly 12 years old.

[SonySoldierEternaL]

Ultimate dildo

[cooke15]

Awsome news! hopefully they use it in the new starwars

[linkmaster95]

Does this new add on mean I can't have one-to-one motion and a nunchuk at the same time?

[kesvalk]

in fact, no one really know what this little thing will do, it can give the wiimote more functions, who knows?

anyway, i think you only need to buy one or two of these as i don't think this will be used in any of the party games (i hate this party games, i really hate them)cuz the know that no casual gamer will buy four of these to begin with...

anyway, tomorrow i think we will see a little more about it... let's just wait and see what nintendo will say...

[cooke15]

Exactly, this is a device for the gamers, not the party gamers.

[jmiscavish]

LOL, casual gamers won't even know this exists or what it does. My 55 year-old mother-in-law probably won't be getting a wiiplus.

[qface64]

i honestly see this being packaged with a game

[tojfs7931]

They came out with a wireless nunchuck peripheral.

[linkmaster95]

With better motion sensetivity than the current nunchuk.

[dribnif]

There are 2 kinds that I know of, both by Nyko.

[DevonTheDude535]

A little too late Nintendo, this should have been in since day one. Expect non-nintendo games to support this in a year +, nintendo games maybe 6 months at the least.

[dribnif]

That's where the bit goes for the wireless controller! Now wuddameye gonna do?

[n00bzRtehgey]

more dildo accessories?

[The Mikester]

Why do you even comment on things you hate?
Just b/c you want to lose more bubbles?
B/c you want to stand up for what you think?
I mean seriously stop commenting anything that has to do with the Wii or PS3 b/c you're a stupid 360 fan and you must really love getting pwned by other N4G users

[n00bzRtehgey]

I have a Wii. It sucks, and so do you.

[flappo]

the wii needs a serious overhaul on it's video out

the quality , even via component is crap , especially on an hdtv*

*tried it on 3 x bravias 720 & 1080p and all utterly awful

[lewis]

you get the chance to have more 1 on 1 with the wii and i bet the accesorey price is good.!!

[The Mikester]

I'm glad they're coming out with this attachment b/c this will really inhance the accuracy. And I the accuracy before wasn't that good...at all

[AWBrawler]

who bro! as a child of the 80's I can tell you, that motion controls were here way before '97. First in Nintendo's own power Glove, then in a few Sega and SNES controls for certain games, hell, even kirby tilt and tumble came out before '97. That has to be the dumbest thing I've heard all day!

[Xelai]

Nobody complains of Nintendo needing to address this issue a year and a half after launch?
Didnt they sell us a great motion sensing device?
It is good they release it, but I believe Nintendo is beginning to feel its customers are dumb. Why not just incorporate the techonology into all new Wiimotes?
Some thoughts.