Wii MotionPlus- 1:1 add on

[Retro_Link]

it's important to know how people would react to improvements that required buying an add-on, don't fool yourself, not everyone will do it.

We'll have to wait and see the pricing, but if this is given away with Wii Sports 2 with perhaps a slight price increase over the average game [like how you effectively pay £5 more for a re-mote with Wii-Play], it's surely going to sell phoneminally well though!...like Wii Sports did in Japan, and Wii Play still continues to.

Thus I'd expect the Wii majority will own a Motion-plus device.

[Hellfire]

The biggest problem I see with this is that Wii Sports greatest plus was multiplayer, since it only comes with one motion+, unless you buy another one or play with friends that also have it, it won't have the same impact.

[Retro_Link]

The biggest problem I see with this is that Wii Sports greatest plus was multiplayer, since it only comes with one motion+, unless you buy another one or play with friends that also have it, it won't have the same impact.

Very true, hadn't thought of that!!

 

huh! so the games won't work without it, so yeah you are gonna need to buy extra! WTF!

[steggy]

I see them being sold seperatly for about the same price as the nunchuck here. Most probably from day 1, as people will want two if they want to sword fight each other.

 

I don't see the big deal about dev's not knowing about it before it was unveiled at E3, especially when it's 8 months before release. I mean how many games do we know about that are comming out after spring of next year anyway.

 

And if it takes them longer than 8 months to incorperate this into their control scheme, then they have more pressing problems if you ask me. Besides I don't think it would be wise for any dev's to release games that completely rely on Wii MotionPlus around that time, so there work on existing control scheme's wouldn't go to waste.

 

At least Ubisoft have 18 months before there Rabbids Motion Plus is due for Xmas 09 release anyway

 

Very true, hadn't thought of that!!

 

huh! so the games won't work without it, so yeah you are gonna need to buy extra! WTF!

 

Maybe some games in the package won't need motion plus, I've seen mention that the waterski game doesn't need it (I've heard otherwise from Reggie though). Which would put it in a similar case to Wii Sports Boxing, which needed an extra nunchuck for multiplayer.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Nothing to add to the discussion, just one thing: Why the hell does everybody want a wireless Nunchuk? Don't you realise that it means we need extra batteries when the Nunchuk can't run on the same batteries as the Wiimote?

[Emasher]

Didn't we need an extra Wii remote to play Baseball and tennis (multiplayer) and an extra Wii remote and nun-chuck to play multiplay boxing though. I think people are more than capable of buying an extra one and I doubt they'll be expensive.

[Hellfire]

Didn't we need an extra Wii remote to play Baseball and tennis (multiplayer) and an extra Wii remote and nun-chuck to play multiplay boxing though. I think people are more than capable of buying an extra one and I doubt they'll be expensive.

 

It's not the end of the world, but this needs another wiimote and another motion plus. It's a problem, even if it's not a huge one. It won't affect me much, I'd probably buy at least an extra one anyway.

[Gizmo]

Guitar Hero requires a bit more of an investment for multiplayer and it still sold rather well :p

[Hellfire]

Guitar Hero requires a bit more of an investment for multiplayer and it still sold rather well :p

 

Oh, I have no doubts that this will sell beyond well

[Grazza]

I'm sure it'll be like the N64 RAM pack. They were available separately but, if I recall correctly, also came with various games. I bought one for Turok 2 and then got a spare one that came with Majora's Mask.

 

I think they were about £15 separately. If MotionPlus is no more than £20, I think it'll be fine. The benefits far outweigh the hassle.

 

By the way, I thought the announcement of MotionPlus was awesome. It was the last thing I was expecting, and I'm very impressed Nintendo are improving the controls (before Wii 2, that is). It's like the beginning of Wii 1.5

 

I'm glad the release schedule is a bit thin, because I wouldn't want Zelda or Kid Icarus before MotionPlus is out!

[M-PG71C]

I know I'll buy an extra one, I know too many drunks...well, friends who would kill to play the sequel. :P

[tapedeck]

I'm sure it'll be like the N64 RAM pack...

 

I'd love to see motion plus add an extra 4mb of memory I certainly see what you mean though!

 

Personally I'm looking forward to this as it will certainly mean the Wii is kept fresh. Unfortuntely I get the feeling we will see a slew of "swordz" and "wizardz" games!

 

Yet if I cast away those doubts, I actually like the way Nintendo are offering options for developers and consumers through branching out of the core console.

 

Make a title feature the balance board and it will appeal to "x" amount of people. Or how about a "zapper" game? Then there's the "wheel" racing games and then uber-precise motion-titles with motion plus. Options are what all of the best-(historically) selling consoles were all about. I certainly hope motion plus adds variety to the wii library and brings a lot of other developers into the fray. Developers, whom previously thought the wii remote was too "amateur" for them.

 

Perhaps now we will finally see immersive titles which develop the core Wii Sports premises. Tennis, baseball, golf, boxing? All done better? Furthermore, fleshed out into fully fledged titles?! Count. Me. In.

 

I'm actually thinking of titles such as Tiger Woods, Rockstars Table Tennis, Top Spin 3. Titles which (by their core) involve subtle movements which can accutely alter the outcome of a match.

[Dante]

Next spring, over two years after the launch of the Wii, we'll finally get 1:1 motion control. Those sublte movements that have previously caused the system to freak out will be possible. We caught up with InvenSense, maker of the Wii Motion Plus technology, to find out more about the device. Some of the following interview gets fairly technical, so it might be helpful to check out InvenSense's informational video comparing accelerometers and gyroscopes before you keep reading, to get a general idea of how the new chipset works.

 

IGN: So tell us a little about what you did with the Wii Motion Plus.

Joe Virginia, VP of Wireless Business and Corporate Communications for InvenSense: What we're doing is, in combination with the sensor bar and the three axis accelerometer that is available within the current Wii Remote, we're now introducing MEMS gyroscope capability. And what that allows you is, rather than just having up/down, left/right, back/forth motion, you now have the ability to do rotational movements within each of those X, Y, and Z axis. So if you imagine you had extended straight out and twisted your hand, now you have the ability to measure rotational force. Did you have an opportunity to use the Wii Motion Plus attachment?

 

IGN: Yes, I got to play the sword fighting game in Wii Sports Resort.

Virginia: Great, so you had the opportunity to swing the sword above your head, behind your head, thrust right, thrust forward. All of those types of motions in the past weren't possible, but this is the gyroscope capability, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar within the Wii remote system that bring a new level of gameplay. There were several other things. Maybe not as cool of a game, but I'm looking at it from a motions sensing perspective, do you remember the jet ski demonstration? If you notice how [Reggie Fils-Aime] was using the throttle in the jet ski application where you had to move left and right and move through the course. The throttling really showed rotational movement that has never been able to be tracked before by the Wii Remote controller. So that was another area where rotational force was used.

 

So the multi axis gyroscope provides new capabilities to game developers. Now there's where the line is drawn. We provide the capability as a motions sensing provider and the game developer takes that and says "Okay what can we do with this new capability?" If you can measure six degrees of freedom in free space, a game developer has enormous opportunities. As you saw in Wii Sports Resort, the ability to control the angle of a disc flying through space, sword fighting. We can envision things in the future like golf swings. There's a very, very fast rotational time. The kind of specification we're looking at in response is between 500 and 2,000 degrees per second. So a very, very fast response, such as for golf swings or sword motions. So all we do is provide the capabilities and enable that, but that's where we stop and the game developers take over.

IGN: So what's the story behind your partnership with Nintendo? Who approached whom?

Virginia: Well, I can't get into the details of how all that began. All I'm permitted to say is that both companies were leaders in their respective fields, and the partnership just made sense. You've got the motion sensing leader in gaming understanding that a company called InvenSense makes a low cost, high performance gyroscope product with the ability to mass produce.

IGN: Is this InvenSense's first partnership with a gaming company?

Virginia: I can't say yes or no to that question. As you might imagine there are other gaming companies that InvenSense is working with. What we're proud about the Nintendo relationship is this will be, I do believe the first to market with our product, the IDG 600. But that is not to say this is an exclusive relationship. The IDG 600 is not a custom product, but it is a product that has been designed with Nintendo's specification in mind.

 

IGN: The IDG 600 reportedly has a 10,000G shock rating. What does that mean for gamers?

Virginia: Imagine holding your cellphone over a concrete floor, you're one meter high from that. Let go of your cell phone, let it smash on the floor, and pick up your phone and use it. That gives you an idea of a 10,000 G chock rating. What you can imagine from this is that hands are swinging wildly. These devices are known to be used vigorously. The type of rating that we're looking at, because it's a semi-conductor packaged, hermetically sealed device, would mean it is incredibly robust and would be able to survive an incredibly harsh environment where those hands are swinging wildly. We were able to increase the precision and response time, without making it more delicate.

IGN: Does the Wii Motion Plus provide absolutely true 1:1 movement, or is that even possible with today's technology?

Virginia: Well it's certainly possible with the technology we're offering them, in combination with other sensors. We're not the exclusive sensor provider. There is the accelerometer and the sensor bar. The combination of everything together will provide true 1:1 gaming. Nintendo is able to offer six degrees of freedom. If you imagine an X, Y, Z frame. Now imagine it's not just up down left right, back forth, but also rotation. That's the maximum amount of motion that can ever be tracked.

 

IGN: Will the Wii Motion Plus drain the batteries faster?

Virginia: That's really a system issue and that's something we have no knowledge of from the design perspective. There is some power consumption, sure.

IGN: How many accelerometers are in the Wii Motion Plus?

Virginia: It's one multi-axis accelerometer.

 

IGN: And how subtle can you get with your movement?

Virginia: It's incredibly high precision, so that's difficult to say. All I can say is the combination of the sensor bar, the gyroscopes, and the accelerometer it's more than enough for any gaming purposes.

IGN: We've seen a few applications for how the device can be used: jet skiing, sword fighting. What other games do you see this being used for?

Virginia: Anything that has to do with moving your hand rapidly. So tennis motions, or golf swings. My mind isn't nearly as good a game developer's. From a personal perspective I'd like to fight monsters with my own movements. Using those forward thrusts and twist, sword fighting is something that instantly comes to mind, but also it'd work for golf swings. Or bowling where you could put a twist on the ball and actually bowl. I can hardly wait to see what developer's come up with. Putting this kind of capability is the hand of developers is going to make this a must have.

 

IGN.Wii

[blender]

I'm glad its new technology. I would be annoyed if it was just more acceloerometers meaning that nintendo was too lazy or nasty to include first time arounts

Anyway wii excitebike (with twisty throttle ) confirmed

[Foxfear]

Well, tell us something we didn't know...

But I must admit the 500-2000 degrees in one second is kinda cool (and unnecessary, because who in the world can make 2-11 circles in one second??)

[blender]

Well, tell us something we didn't know...

But I must admit the 500-2000 degrees in one second is kinda cool (and unnecessary, because who in the world can make 2-11 circles in one second??)

 

could be a new game / physcial challenge like with powerballs http://www.powerballs.com/

[Emasher]

I just looked at the gyroscope prices on the InvenSense website. Hopefully Nintendo's cut a deal with them because they aren't cheap.

[Dante]

Another forum user examples it.

 

The accelerometer can be calibrated to gravity, which is why games like Excite Truck can make some use of rotations. In addition, any game that uses the sensor bar can also detect rotation since they can watch the IR lights rotate around. However, if you were to put the Wiimote flat on a table and spin it in a horizontal circle, the accelerometers would be unable to detect that motion. Or hold the Wiimote in your hand and turn your wrist side to side (again, so the Wiimote is rotating in a plane perpendicular to gravity's force) and other than the minimal linear motion or such an action most of the motion will be lost. That's why you cant hold the Wiimote or Wii Wheel and rotate it parallel to the floor in Mario Kart or Excite Truck and have it register. The Wiimote can only detect rotations that can be measured against gravity. In addition, since even the rotations that can be detected are inferred due to the effect of gravity, they aren't a true measurement and cannot be distinguished from linear motion along that access. That is to say, if you know exactly where the accelerometer in the Wiimote is located, you could jerk the Wiimote up and down in a way that corresponds to the same rotational motion and fool Excite Truck into thinking you're twisting the Wiimote. THAT'S where the gyroscopes come in.

 

3D space has 3 axis (which is what makes it 3D): X, Y, and Z. Along any given access, there is both translational (aka linear) and rotational movement. IE if you draw lines through an object that go forwards and backwards, side to side, or up and down, there are two kinds of motions possible along each of them. You can either slide the object along that line or you can rotate around it. Right now the Wiimote's accelerometers can directly measure only translational motion along each axis. In addition it can infer rotational motion by measuring relative to gravity, but it cannot differentiate such rotations from linear motion. Rotational motion cannot be measured directly. The gyroscopes, however, can measure rotational motion precisely with a very high degree of precision. They can't detect linear motion at all, but they don't need to, that's where the accelerometers come in. By combing the two you get a very precise measurement of both kinds of motions in all three dimensions.

 

Let me break it down this way. You're playing a game on the Wii where an on-screen character attempts to mimic your motions as accurately as possible. You start by holding the Wiimote straight ahead of you and then proceed to move it 6 inches to the right and stopping. You than turn your wrist 45 degrees to the right (so the Wiimote is pointing slightly to the right instead of straight ahead) and move it another 6 inches to its new right, so relative to you it goes slightly further to the right but also gets pulled slightly closer to you. Gives the current tech in the Wiimote, that rotational motion would be lost and your character would merely move the Wiimote 12 inches to the right while never bringing it closer to him. All the accelerometer knows is that it moves 12 inches to the right, but it doesn't realize that "right" changed directions halfway through. In addition, such a set-up would accurately measure either rotation or linear motion along the Z axis, but not both, since the accelerometers can't distinguish rotation relative to gravity from linear motion along that axis.

 

Motion Plus, by directly measuring rotation in all dimensions fully and independently from linear motion, fixes all of this, and allows the Wiimote to accurately track your every motion.

[Hellfire]

I was surprised gyroscopes weren't used originally considering Nintendo invested a lot in them, it probably wasn't viable before.

[blender]

InvenSense was only trading in 2006 so it looks like it was only recently available for mass production.

[Hellfire]

InvenSense was only trading in 2006 so it looks like it was only recently available for mass production.

 

These particular gyroscopes maybe, but they had Gyration stock.

[Jav_NE]

Do any of you know much about motion sensing and what it means for the Wii with Wii Motion Plus?

 

As far as i can gather WMP can pick-up more movements, but what movements exactly?

 

I think it's 1:2:1 people keep saying, but what does that actually mean?

 

I'm writing a feature about it so any information you can share would be much appreciated

 

Also, if you have any silly/fun ideas for games using WMP, either alone or coupled with WiiSpeak and the Balance Board then that would help too.

 

Cheers guys.

[Tellyn]

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/893/893192p1.html

 

This might help you out a lot, he explains the improvement over the original gyroscopes.

 

And what that allows you is, rather than just having up/down, left/right, back/forth motion, you now have the ability to do rotational movements within each of those X, Y, and Z axis. So if you imagine you had extended straight out and twisted your hand, now you have the ability to measure rotational force.

[Jav_NE]

Ooooh okay, cheers for that, that's really helpful

[D_prOdigy]

I think this a must-watch too:

 

http://uk.wii.ign.com/dor/articles/895294/wii-motion-plus-and-livemove-2/videos/LiveMove2_demo_video_073008.html