Wii MotionPlus Took Developers By Surprise
One of Nintendos reveals at last weeks E3 was a new peripheral, the Wii MotionPlus. The gizmo, which snaps onto the base of the systems remote, promises to give users more precise levels of control in games. The attachment will be bundled with the upcoming Wii Sports Resort, which also serves as a showcase of sorts for the peripheral. For example, players will be able to compete in a fencing-by-way-of-American-Gladiators duel, and their sword attacks and blocks are accurately rendered on screen. Another game has players hold the remote and nunchuk like a Jet Skis handlebars, and they get to drive through rings in the ocean.
After getting our hands on it, its clear that Wii MotionPlus delivers what its advertised as doing. Whod be upset with such functionality? As it turns out, the answer to that question is developers.
We asked several third-party Wii developers about the Wii MotionPlus, and the general feeling was one of annoyance and betrayal. None of them said they had any advance notice about the peripheral, and we were told that they were as surprised as everyone else when Nintendo revealed its existence on stage. That lack of prior notice means that, aside from Nintendos own roster of games, users wont likely see any support for the device for at least six to nine months. The developers we spoke to said they hadnt received any information from Nintendo about how to implement Wii MotionPlus into their upcoming projects, and they also expressed doubt that they would be able to incorporate it into games that are currently deep in development.
What does this mean for consumers? It looks as though Nintendos making what could already be a tough sell even tougher. One of the Wiis strengths is that it streamlines the process of getting into games. Imagine the confusion that gaming neophytes will face when theyre told theyll have to buy an additional gizmo to make the controller function the way it says it does on the Wiis box. Couple that with a limited selection of gameswith little third-party support at firstand the waters get even murkier.
http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200807/N08.0721.1542.23275.htm
EA: Wiimote is imprecise and has an impact on quality of games
The announcement of Wii MotionPlus was somewhat surprising, especially considering that the peripheral was unveiled a day before E3. Although, without a doubt, Wii MotionPlus is sure to add precision to future games. According to EA, the current standalone Wii controller is considerably imprecise, which unfortunately, can impact how well the control is on certain games.
The Wii MotionPlus is going to be good. If I had to pick one thing we suffered from, it was imprecise control on the Wii. That meant certain genres were never going to perform as well on the Wii. There are a couple of franchises in our booth. Go look at Dead Space and imagine playing that game with a wand and a Nunchuk. If they improve the precision, then you could have a good experience. There is no doubt that Wii Speak will appeal to a certain group of people. I thought what was nice is that they created an opportunity for third parties to be more successful. - Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello
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