Sunlight: Wii's biggest foe [update 1]
by Ross Miller 
{ Oct 9th 2006 at 4:55PM }
Nintendo Wii's sensor bar goes awry when confronted with natural light, according to a report by a "Warpstar Knight" on the Nintendo NSIDER Forums. The impressions, from OMBRENOIR17's September 14 visit to the Nintendo World Store (soon to be posted on Nintendo Gal), reveal that Mother Nature's carcinogen forced Metroid Prime 3 kiosks under curtains and completely shut down Wii Sports Tennis and Shooting Game. The kiosks returned to normal as soon as the bright star took a few steps back.It is as of yet unclear how garlic affects Wiimote functionality or load times.
[Via Engadget]
[Update 1: A representative for Nintendo told 1UP, "our testing thus far shows no great risk of light interference when playing a game that relies on the pointer and sensor bar."]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Joel G @ Oct 9th 2006 5:28PM
Sunlight happens to be a gamer's biggest foe, too. I can't stand to use my TV while there's some kind of sun-reflextion on it.
Blake @ Oct 9th 2006 5:02PM
Shouldn't be a problem considering natural light is the ancestral enemy of all gamers...
Dave Mendez @ Oct 9th 2006 5:05PM
ROFLMAO @ Garlic effect on the wii!!!!!
Toneman @ Oct 9th 2006 5:06PM
Well all consoles have a weakness. Xbox 360's weakness is that it overheats. PS3's weakness is that it's made by Sony. -ZING!
R.U.Sirius @ Oct 9th 2006 5:07PM
Can someone please explain to me why sunlight is a problem? I thought the wiimote doesn't use IR but bluetooth...? o_O?
-R.U.Sirius
Renarudo @ Oct 9th 2006 5:09PM
Indeed, Blake. Us gamers shun the evil light! RPGs FTW!
Todd @ Oct 9th 2006 5:08PM
Damn, so there go my chances of playing outside amongst the sun and fresh air.
MetaHuman @ Oct 9th 2006 5:09PM
The Wii is powered by Green Lantern energies. Of course it is weak to YELLOW sunlight. :o
Blast you yellow!
Blackmoon @ Oct 9th 2006 5:09PM
Shouldn't be to much of a problem for most people, still pretty limiting at gay though.
klinko @ Oct 9th 2006 5:10PM
I wonder how fond it is of metal halide lights. I have two 250W pendants over my reef tank that reprodure tropical mid-day sun not too terribly far from my TV.
Todd @ Oct 9th 2006 5:10PM
I've also seen that there is a problem with halogen lights as well. Considering that is what I'm using in the ceiling fan located over the TV I'm wondering if I'm going to have to change them out. I'll let you know how that goes.
Eliytres @ Oct 9th 2006 5:10PM
LMAO @ 3
I don't know about you guys but I've been recently playing RE4 and Metroid Prime 2 and it's always pitch dark in my living room while playing.
QTF Blake, QTF.
Great pic BTW. :D
halobreaker @ Oct 9th 2006 5:12PM
Darn I guess I'll be unable to play my Wii with the huge glare on the screen now...
I want to know how big this bar is. They make it seem like the Wii is so small and can fit anywhere, but yet pictures never include this bar in them at all.
Bodie @ Oct 9th 2006 5:11PM
@R.U.Sirius
The controllers use Bluetooth to communicate button pushing and stick movement, but the sensor-bar uses infrared to detect positioning.
But then, who can see their TV anyway when it's in direct sunlight? I think this is going to end up being a non-issue, but we'll see.
Jelster @ Oct 9th 2006 5:12PM
Likewise, staring into the sun doesn't help your eyesight much either. Luckily both the Sensorbar and your eyes function normally in indirect daylight.
Now in other related news, the PS3 has been found to be unplayable if someone stands between you and the TV.
Eric Von Shpeel @ Oct 9th 2006 5:12PM
Boktai Wii CANCELLED
Vince @ Oct 9th 2006 5:16PM
Didn't I see a Wii parasol amongst the Wii's accessories?
Dracula Jones @ Oct 9th 2006 5:15PM
I can empathize, my draculan brother.
WedgeTalon @ Oct 9th 2006 5:17PM
MetaHuman wins the thread!
reguy @ Oct 9th 2006 5:16PM
i wouldnt be surprised if $ony paid the sun a little extra(cash in hand) just so this would happen
Pince @ Oct 9th 2006 5:19PM
Well, as much as i hate sunlight when i am gaming and do not allow it into my gaming spaces, that is still going to spell trouble for a lot of people and for nintendo if some people take to playing in the light (but why the hell would you do that...gross...light).
BTW, thats picture id freaking hilarious. I can't stop giggling at it.
B33 @ Oct 9th 2006 5:20PM
"Well all consoles have a weakness. Xbox 360's weakness is that it overheats. PS3's weakness is that it's made by Sony. -ZING!"
Very old and lame...
Leper Messiah @ Apr 1st 2007 11:37AM
I heard that sunlight screws up the wii mote and sensor bar, and then I heard it was fixed, but now I hear the final demo units at the Nintendo World Store are sensitive to it.
But the way it sounds, just as long as the sunlight isnt touching the sensor bar, liek on teh cronikles of redick!, it should be fine, so people who could experience a problem could probably just put up a slab of cardboard or something to block the sunlight, or position the bar so its in the shadows.
Evil Closet Monkey @ Oct 9th 2006 5:25PM
True gamers don't have to worry about natural sunlight.
Patrick @ Oct 9th 2006 5:29PM
lol, and I expected to read some anti-Nintendo remarks, i think this is the first time no one disses any one console.
Well wait. There were those anti-Sony remarks >_>
vidGuy @ Oct 9th 2006 5:36PM
@Bodie,
"but the sensor-bar uses infrared to detect positioning."
Close, but not quite. The sensor-bar lays out an infrared field. It does NOT receive anything. The remote determines its position based on the IR field, and then relays this data to the console via BlueTooth just like button presses. Thus it is no surprise that aiming is a problem in direct light: you can't interact with your TV if there's direct sunlight, either.
@halobreak,
"I want to know how big this bar is"
The sensor bar is about the same length as a Bic pen and is less than twice as thick. This is fairly small.
samfish @ Oct 10th 2006 4:28AM
At first I was like, "Man...this isn't good. That's a pretty big problem for me.
But then it occured to me that in all probability, I'm going to look really stupid playing the Wii on my first floor apartment with my bay window that leads right out to a busy parking lot, and I'll probably draw the curtians after someone sees me and points and laughs.
dantebk @ Oct 9th 2006 5:37PM
The windows in my apartment all face north. There is no direct sunlight at any time of day. Therefore I am not concerned about this news.
Direct sunlight and seeing the TV has never mixed anyway...
Art Guy @ Oct 9th 2006 5:39PM
halobreaker - The Wii bar is about 12" long.
vaylen @ Oct 9th 2006 5:38PM
Sunlight is also apparently very harmful to those who spend their day playing the Wii.
kodec @ Oct 10th 2006 12:37AM
This is Sony's chance! They just have to put solar panels on the SIXAXIS, and it'll all be over! Everyone knows that the only way to have an immersive, fully totally really truely HD gaming experience is in direct sunlight. With the Wii unplayable in such conditions, it's SIXAXIS FTW!
Embassy @ Oct 9th 2006 5:48PM
so...the question is...how much sunlight are we talkin here..??...
cuz im sure lots of people have skylights/big windows in thier homes that let in a decent amount of light...but usually not enough to glare the boob tube...
KBalls @ Oct 9th 2006 5:41PM
I can't wait for all the hardcore Nintendo fanboys to get ricketts.
And if you don't think this will be an issue for some casual gamers, you're kidding yourselves.
wolfie @ Oct 9th 2006 5:44PM
"It is as of yet unclear how garlic affects Wiimote functionality or load times."
lol, nice one!
Regarding sunlight, that is not much of an issue since I rather play without the sun shining on my TV(Wii and sensor bar will be close to the TV).
Art Guy @ Oct 9th 2006 5:44PM
I take that back, it's closer to 8.5"
Tim @ Oct 9th 2006 5:45PM
Who still gets glare anyway? I thought all the gamers had flat-screens by now.
phantoccine @ Oct 16th 2006 10:42PM
actually, this is going to be quite a problem for me. I've always had problems finding a spot in my apartment to watch tv/play games where the sun isnt shining on the tv. too poor/lazy to buy new windowshades that completely block the sun...what am I going to have to do, tape blankets over my windows?
bv @ Oct 9th 2006 5:49PM
What a glaring oversight by nintendo.
Dracula Jones @ Oct 9th 2006 5:50PM
It should also be noted that the Nintendo World Store has floor to ceiling two-story windows to let all that sunlight in. How many gamers do you think have the same layout?
Jason T. @ Oct 9th 2006 5:51PM
Holy crap! I'm on Joystiq! :D I'm OMBRENOIR17, for the record.
I forgot to mention that in a recent "Iwata Asks" session, Mr. Iwata brought up the effects of halogen lights and sunlight on the sensor bar. I think he mentioned that at first there will be problems, but by the launch it'll be ironed out.
MysticX @ Oct 9th 2006 5:57PM
I don´t see what the problem is. When there´s too much sunlight in your playing room, then you should be outside in the sandbox playing. But not with the Wii :-Þ.
But yes, the sunlight is our enemy.
LordMinogue @ Oct 9th 2006 5:58PM
what most of you fail to realize is that nintendo's largest audiance (12 and under) tends to use a family TV, which is probably in a well lit room.
This is probably not a all or nothing problem: interferance will vary as time of day changes, and a strong light shining at an angle to your TV might not bother you but it could bother the Wii.
Thus many children will have trouble with their units during certain hours of the day, and neither the parent nor the child will likely understand that infared light is heat, and the sun produces the heat that the Wii samples.
Kaemon @ Oct 9th 2006 5:57PM
#33.... ahahahahahahah, not everyone had flatscreen TV :-/ I only know a few, most people still use the other style.
moofree @ Oct 9th 2006 5:57PM
They better have this ironed out by the release date.
I bet they will. I have faith in nintendo.
willt @ Oct 9th 2006 6:02PM
check out post number 5....
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2006/10/09/wii-cod3-compared-and-contrasted/
all i want is recognition for my hardwork...
please...
i got there first.
Demon_Can_Whoop @ Oct 9th 2006 6:08PM
Wow how pathetic that the Hardcore nintendo fanboys can sugar coat this... >_>
News: "Wii can't function when around Oxygen"
Hardcore Nintendo fanboys: "Yeah well I always hold my breath when I game, who needs oxygen!" -_-
It's lame news, coat in sugar and suck on it all you want, it is still an annoyance.
*Goes off to home depot to buy boards for my windows, so I can hook up my wii*
Cyborg771 @ Oct 9th 2006 6:06PM
Just more fuel for my promotion to block out the sun. God ridance!
Inspired @ Oct 9th 2006 6:08PM
I didn't see a Wii-cape or a Wii-coffin case in the accessories post. Are they limited edition?
Vulpis @ Oct 9th 2006 6:11PM
Hmmm. How does that IR bar for the Wiimote compare to the rig for the old Power Glove, size and shape-wise? And is this an additional part that's put on top of the TV, or build into the main Wii unit?
Mike @ Oct 9th 2006 6:25PM
How much sunlight are we talking about. Nintendo store has big windows, so unless your playing in the entry to the Louve, or in the woods, I dont think it will be a problem.
And just think of the sales nintendo will gain with Vampires.