Wii MotionPlus
Encyclopedia
The is an expansion device for the Wii Remote
video game controller for the Wii
that allows it to more accurately capture complex motion. According to Nintendo
, the sensor in the device supplements the accelerometer
and Sensor Bar capabilities of the Wii Remote to enable actions to be rendered identically on the screen in real time.
During Nintendo's presentation of Wii's successor console, the Wii U, it was announced that it will have support for the Wii Remote Plus and its peripherals in games where use of its touchscreen-built-in primary controller is not imperative.
The Wii MotionPlus features a pass-through External Extension Connector, allowing other expansions such as the Nunchuk or Classic Controller to be used simultaneously with the device. The attachment has a color-coded mechanical slide switch for locking the clip release. When attached to the Wii Remote, the unit extends the length of the controller body by approximately 1.5 in (4 cm). Each Wii MotionPlus includes a longer version of the Wii Remote Jacket to accommodate the added length.
The device is only used by games that have been specifically developed to use its functionality. It can remain attached to the Wii Remote when playing games that do not support it without causing any problems, but it will not enhance gameplay. The device must be detached when using the Wii Remote with certain accessories such as the Wii Wheel or Wii Zapper
and when using most third-party peripherals, such as the Guitar Hero
controllers.
company AiLive
. The sensor used is an InvenSense IDG-600 designed in accordance to Nintendo's specification; with a high dynamic range
, high mechanical shock
tolerance, high temperature
and humidity
resistance, and small physical size.
The Wii MotionPlus was conceived soon after the completion of the initial Wii Remote design, to address developer demand for more capable motion sensing, but was only announced after the sensors could be purchased in sufficient volume at a reasonable price. During a developer roundtable
discussion at E3 2008, Wii Sports Resort
producer Katsuya Eguchi
discussed the potential influence of the Wii MotionPlus on the Wii's existing market, stating that Nintendo was looking at whether the MotionPlus capability will be built into the Wii Remote in the future, or kept "as an attachment we only use for certain software."
In November 2009, a black Wii MotionPlus was released to coincide with the release of the black Wii console. Bundles containing a black Wii Remote and MotionPlus attachment were also released. In North America, all black, blue, and pink Wii remotes are bundled with a MotionPlus. The Wii Remote Jacket accompanying each black Wii Remote is itself black, while the jacket in blue and pink bundles is the standard translucent color. In a 2010 Nintendo Conference, the Wii Remote Plus was announced, which places the function of the MotionPlus into a regular sized Wii remote.
have noted that the fidelity of the device can be too sensitive and at times inaccurate, although technology reviewers have likened the improved accuracy to the leap from the fidelity of VHS
to that of Blu-ray
.
Game reviewers at Official Nintendo Magazine have called the device "100% accurate" and stated that movements are "captured extremely accurately".
In North America, approximately 374,000 Wii MotionPlus units were sold in June 2009 (including nearly 205,000 units sold as part of a bundle with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10), according to the NPD Group
.
In Japan, the Wii MotionPlus sold approximately 650,000 units in its opening week (including units sold as part of a bundle with Wii Sports Resort), with about 296,000 sold as standalone units.
and Wii Wheel without having to remove Wii MotionPlus from the Wii Remote. Nintendo later announced that the remote would be available in white, black, blue and pink. It was released in Australia on October 28, 2010, in Europe on November 5, 2010, in North America on November 7, 2010 and in Japan on November 11, 2010. It was also released as part of a bundle containing Wii Sports, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a red Wii, red Wii Remote Plus and red Nunchuck. Currently, the red Wii Remote Plus is only planned to be available for individual sale in Japan; in all other regions they must be purchased as part of a red Wii bundle. It has been announced that the European version of Wii Play: Motion
will be bundled with the red Wii Remote Plus, while the Black Wii Remote Plus is also included with other versions of the game.
At E3 2011, it was revealed that a gold Wii Remote Plus stylized with a Triforce logo will be released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
. It will be available as part of a bundle with Skyward Sword for a limited time.
revealed the Nyko Wand+ at CES
2009, a Wii Remote alternative with the MotionPlus functionality built into the device, saving players from having to change plugins.
In Europe, Snakebyte launched its Premium Remote XL +, with built-in Wii MotionPlus, and its Minimote, a smaller version of the Premium Remote, for children.
Memorex
launched a series of controllers in 2011 under the "Game Controller Plus" moniker. Available in black, pink and blue, the Game Controller Plus line has Wii MotionPlus functionality built in.
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
video game controller for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
that allows it to more accurately capture complex motion. According to Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, the sensor in the device supplements the accelerometer
Accelerometer
An accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, also called the four-acceleration. This is not necessarily the same as the coordinate acceleration , but is rather the type of acceleration associated with the phenomenon of weight experienced by a test mass that resides in the frame...
and Sensor Bar capabilities of the Wii Remote to enable actions to be rendered identically on the screen in real time.
During Nintendo's presentation of Wii's successor console, the Wii U, it was announced that it will have support for the Wii Remote Plus and its peripherals in games where use of its touchscreen-built-in primary controller is not imperative.
History
The Wii MotionPlus was announced by Nintendo in a press release on July 14, 2008, and revealed the next day at a press conference at the E3 Media & Business Summit. It was released in June 2009. On May 3, 2010, Nintendo announced that starting May 9, 2010, the company will include its Wii Sports Resort game and MotionPlus controller with new consoles with no price increase.Technology and features
The device incorporates a dual-axis tuning fork gyroscope, and a single-axis gyroscope which can determine rotational motion. The information captured by the angular rate sensor can then be used to distinguish true linear motion from the accelerometer readings. This allows for the capture of more complex movements than possible with the Wii Remote alone.The Wii MotionPlus features a pass-through External Extension Connector, allowing other expansions such as the Nunchuk or Classic Controller to be used simultaneously with the device. The attachment has a color-coded mechanical slide switch for locking the clip release. When attached to the Wii Remote, the unit extends the length of the controller body by approximately 1.5 in (4 cm). Each Wii MotionPlus includes a longer version of the Wii Remote Jacket to accommodate the added length.
The device is only used by games that have been specifically developed to use its functionality. It can remain attached to the Wii Remote when playing games that do not support it without causing any problems, but it will not enhance gameplay. The device must be detached when using the Wii Remote with certain accessories such as the Wii Wheel or Wii Zapper
Wii Zapper
The Wii Zapper is a gun shell peripheral for the Wii Remote. The name is a reference to the NES Zapper light gun for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
and when using most third-party peripherals, such as the Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
controllers.
Development
The Wii MotionPlus was developed by Nintendo in collaboration with game development toolGame development tool
A game development tool is a specialized software application that assists or facilitates the making of a computer or video game. Some tasks handled by tools include the conversion of assets into formats required by the game, level editing and script compilation.Almost all game development tools...
company AiLive
AiLive
AiLive Inc. is a software company based in Mountain View, California. The company was founded in 2000 by software programmer and developer Wei Yen. The company has worked closely with Nintendo on the development of motion-sensing hardware, tools and software for the Wii video game...
. The sensor used is an InvenSense IDG-600 designed in accordance to Nintendo's specification; with a high dynamic range
Dynamic range
Dynamic range, abbreviated DR or DNR, is the ratio between the largest and smallest possible values of a changeable quantity, such as in sound and light. It is measured as a ratio, or as a base-10 or base-2 logarithmic value.-Dynamic range and human perception:The human senses of sight and...
, high mechanical shock
Shock (mechanics)
A mechanical or physical shock is a sudden acceleration or deceleration caused, for example, by impact, drop, kick, earthquake, or explosion. Shock is a transient physical excitation....
tolerance, high temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
and humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
resistance, and small physical size.
The Wii MotionPlus was conceived soon after the completion of the initial Wii Remote design, to address developer demand for more capable motion sensing, but was only announced after the sensors could be purchased in sufficient volume at a reasonable price. During a developer roundtable
Round table
A round table is a table which has no "head" and no "sides", and therefore no one person sitting at it is given a privileged position and all are treated as equals. The idea stems from the Arthurian legend about the Knights of the Round Table in Camelot....
discussion at E3 2008, Wii Sports Resort
Wii Sports Resort
Wii Sports Resort has received generally favorable reviews, with an average score on Metacritic of 80%. IGN gave it a 7.7 out of 10, citing the impressive fidelity of the controls and how the graphics, as compared to the majority of Wii games, were superb. GameTrailers gave an 8.6 out of 10....
producer Katsuya Eguchi
Katsuya Eguchi
is a game designer and manager at Nintendo EAD. He was born in 1965 in Tokyo, Japan and grew up in the Chiba Prefecture. He began work at Nintendo in 1986 and spent some time doing promotional artwork before starting as a designer on Super Mario Bros. 3. He first served as director for Star Fox in...
discussed the potential influence of the Wii MotionPlus on the Wii's existing market, stating that Nintendo was looking at whether the MotionPlus capability will be built into the Wii Remote in the future, or kept "as an attachment we only use for certain software."
In November 2009, a black Wii MotionPlus was released to coincide with the release of the black Wii console. Bundles containing a black Wii Remote and MotionPlus attachment were also released. In North America, all black, blue, and pink Wii remotes are bundled with a MotionPlus. The Wii Remote Jacket accompanying each black Wii Remote is itself black, while the jacket in blue and pink bundles is the standard translucent color. In a 2010 Nintendo Conference, the Wii Remote Plus was announced, which places the function of the MotionPlus into a regular sized Wii remote.
Reception
Developers at Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
have noted that the fidelity of the device can be too sensitive and at times inaccurate, although technology reviewers have likened the improved accuracy to the leap from the fidelity of VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
to that of Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
.
Game reviewers at Official Nintendo Magazine have called the device "100% accurate" and stated that movements are "captured extremely accurately".
In North America, approximately 374,000 Wii MotionPlus units were sold in June 2009 (including nearly 205,000 units sold as part of a bundle with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10), according to the NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
.
In Japan, the Wii MotionPlus sold approximately 650,000 units in its opening week (including units sold as part of a bundle with Wii Sports Resort), with about 296,000 sold as standalone units.
Wii Remote Plus
In September 2010, rumors were circulating of a Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus already built in after the box art for the upcoming FlingSmash revealed it to be bundled with "Wii Remote Plus". Nintendo initially declined to comment, but later announced the device on September 29 2010, confirming it to be a Wii Remote with MotionPlus built in, allowing players to use peripherals like the Wii ZapperWii Zapper
The Wii Zapper is a gun shell peripheral for the Wii Remote. The name is a reference to the NES Zapper light gun for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
and Wii Wheel without having to remove Wii MotionPlus from the Wii Remote. Nintendo later announced that the remote would be available in white, black, blue and pink. It was released in Australia on October 28, 2010, in Europe on November 5, 2010, in North America on November 7, 2010 and in Japan on November 11, 2010. It was also released as part of a bundle containing Wii Sports, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a red Wii, red Wii Remote Plus and red Nunchuck. Currently, the red Wii Remote Plus is only planned to be available for individual sale in Japan; in all other regions they must be purchased as part of a red Wii bundle. It has been announced that the European version of Wii Play: Motion
Wii Play: Motion
Wii Play: Motion, known as in Japan, is a party video game for the Wii console and the sequel to the 2006 game Wii Play. The game is the most recent entry in the Wii game series. It was released in North America on June 13, 2011 and in Europe on June 24...
will be bundled with the red Wii Remote Plus, while the Black Wii Remote Plus is also included with other versions of the game.
At E3 2011, it was revealed that a gold Wii Remote Plus stylized with a Triforce logo will be released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
is an action-adventure game for the Wii console and the sixteenth entry in the Legend of Zelda series. Developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, it was released in Europe on November 18, 2011 in North America on November 20, 2011, in Japan on November 23, 2011, and on November...
. It will be available as part of a bundle with Skyward Sword for a limited time.
Third-party alternatives
NykoNyko
Nyko is a manufacturer of third-party accessories for various gaming consoles.-Wand:The Nyko "Wand" is a 3rd-party replacement for the Wii Remote. It was announced at CES 2009. The Wand features Trans-Port technology, which allows specially designed attachments to pass through key buttons to the...
revealed the Nyko Wand+ at CES
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
2009, a Wii Remote alternative with the MotionPlus functionality built into the device, saving players from having to change plugins.
In Europe, Snakebyte launched its Premium Remote XL +, with built-in Wii MotionPlus, and its Minimote, a smaller version of the Premium Remote, for children.
Memorex
Memorex
Memorex began as a computer tape producer and expanded to become a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It is now a consumer electronics brand of Imation specializing in disk recordable media for CD and DVD drives, flash memory, computer accessories and other electronics.Established in...
launched a series of controllers in 2011 under the "Game Controller Plus" moniker. Available in black, pink and blue, the Game Controller Plus line has Wii MotionPlus functionality built in.
See also
- List of games that support Wii MotionPlus
- Motion captureMotion captureMotion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
- PlayStation Move
- PlayStation EyePlayStation EyeThe PlayStation Eye is a digital camera device, similar to a webcam, for the PlayStation 3. The technology uses computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the camera. This allows players to interact with games using motion and color detection as well as sound through its...
- Kinect