Motion Blur Part 1 – Nintendo

Motion controls on home consoles are happening, like it or not. A path to the future for some, a step backwards in game accomplishment for other. In this feature we’ll be looking first at the Nintendo Wiimote and Wii motion plus, because they’re already available. In part 2 we’ll look at Sony’s unnamed motion controller as an evolution of the wand based system. It  marries with the concept of the full body video control, as Microsoft have done with Natal which will comprise part 3.

Let’s stop eyeing each other up and get on with this.

Onward, then. To Nintendo…

The Wii Remote was unveiled by Nintendo at the Tokyo Game Show in September of 2005 for its (then) Revolution console. It underwent some design tweaks through to E3 2006 where the console was renamed Wii, then was modified again for aesthetic purposes before its release on 19 November 2006 (PAL).

The wii mote contains accelerometers to measure the (you gussed it) acceleration of the controller along a given axis. The Wii can orient it relative to the screen using the LED sensor bar as a geometry marker and uses these methods in synthesis to read the user’s gestures.

It was unlike anything expected and love it or hate it and upset as I am at having to use this phrase, it was an undeniable game changer. I had one from launch and I wont hide that I was disappointed at the lack of fidelity of the Wiimote. It was accurate but it was apparent from Red Steel that it wasn’t doing what I thought, what I had been told it was going to be doing.

The IR aspect was little more than a pointer and the accelerometers could become sketchy and confused, especially in the nunchuck attatchment. The IR pointer was accurate though, it is testament to good game design that devs like Retro Studios could turn it into a great mechanic in Metroid Prime 3, but i’ve seen it used for naught else officially besides a pointer.

For some Wiimote potential check out this site by Johnny Chung Lee for some great perspective on how it was under used. Incidentally that guy was snapped up by Microsoft to work in their Applied Sciences Division. Well played Nintendo. That featured a Virtual Reality proposal, a pseudo 3D concept and finger tracking (now a Project Natal boast). The Wiimote is most definitely under used.

As it turns out though the best (official) use of the Wiimote is incidental. Zelda uses the pointer and a tiny flick to swing the sword, if you choose. No More Heroes uses tiny gestures to denote whether the Wiimote is pointing up or down, and grander ones to access finishing moves. Super Mario Galaxy used the pointer to collect pointless star fragments and the motion sensitivity to perform a spin/attack.

Actual motion control was having more of an impact on acheiving the Wii’s mission statement of casual market penetration. Your full motion control experiences on Wii largely boil down to cheap gimmicks on shovelware titles designed to get a small group around the television for 30 minute intervals. The Wiimote succeeded admirably in this. As of the 28th January 2010 it has sold approximately 67.4 million units worldwide.

Still, the tech was lacking and so back in 2008 Nintendo announced a new peripheral.

The Wii MotionPlus

The Wii MotionPlus finally delivers 1:1 motion control, replicating exact movements through the use of a rotation sensing gyroscope. the Wiimote can now do what it was supposed to have done but the uptake has been slow. It’s sold reasonably well but there are simply very few games for it, most being sports and shovelware. Only three title actively require it and two aren’t even released yet; Zelda and Red Steel 2. Only Wii Sports Resort is on shelves, and I’m coninced its Zelda integration is purely to sell the peripheral.

The Wii MotionPlus matters little at this point though. The flood gates have been opened and the casual market is now firmly a part of target demographics. Though they have stated repeatedly that they don’t consider the Wii competition, Sony And Microsoft are developing their motion controllers to capture a part of this market. It may expand beyond that sure but it was the Wii that took them there. It would be nice if they acknowledged that.

Part 2 – Sony, here.