Nintendo's had been keeping awfully quiet these past few months, but today we get our first glimpse at what their R&D team has been cooking up: another Wiimote attachment.
While we typically thumb our nose at most of the cheap plastic garbage that peripheral manufacturers would have us clamp onto our Wiimotes, we have to admit a tinge of excitement over last week's new Nintendo controller patent.
Though that device turned out to be merely the Classic Controller in disguise, our disappointment wouldn't last long.
Within minutes of evacuating the plane and setting foot on Los Angeles soil, Nintendo sent me a text message with the line: "What is Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus accessory?" Clever Nintendo, asking me a question for which they already know the answer. But a quick trip to the Nintendo website yielded the following:
Introducing Wii MotionPlus, Nintendo's upcoming accessory for the revolutionary Wii Remote
2008-07-14
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.
Hello, new Nintendo control scheme. But what could be inside the tiny attachment? Another accelerometer or two? Perhaps a minature camera?
Watch this space -- we'll find out tomorrow morning at Nintendo's E3 press conference.
July 14th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Haha. I just commented about this on the pre-e3 post this morning. I hope developers will actually implement this. It would be nice to get something better than "more responsive" lame waggle controls. (1:1 movement Lightsaber duel anyone?)