Dude, where's my cursor (Wii annoyance #1)

by Kyle Orland { Nov 11th 2006 at 6:00PM }

For the most part, we've been impressed with the responsiveness and stability of the Wii remote as pointing device. The whole pointer system fails, though, when your remote hand wavers a bit and the pointer goes off the screen. Unlike a computer mouse pointer which stops at the edge of the monitor, the Wii pointer completely disappears if the remote is not pointed directly at the screen area, even if it's still well within the sensor bar's range. What's more, the system doesn't even give any indication of where the missing cursor was last seen or which edge of the monitor it departed through.

It only takes a few seconds to get over the confusion and realign your remote, but it gets a little annoying when it happens multiple times in one play session. The problem is especially apparent when switching from gesture-based to pointer-based functions, such as transferring from sword-swinging to boomerang throwing in Zelda, or from racquet swinging to menu selection in Wii Sports: Tennis.

It doesn't seem to be solely a hardware problem either -- the sensor bar seems perfectly capable of detecting much of the off-screen pointing, but the software and system menus just don't acknowledge it. Even if the pointer is completely out of sensor range, some sort of on-screen indicator of its last known position would be nice. We urge any and all future Wii developers to consider this problem carefully when developing their pointer-based gameplay.

Tags: blogathon06, wiiannoy

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kilodelta @ Nov 11th 2006 6:05PM

whoops.

Tucker @ Nov 11th 2006 6:06PM

Wait for it...

Lansing @ Nov 11th 2006 6:15PM

Stupid questions, but does the sensor bar have to be exactly in the center of the tv? (obviously not on the screen) Does it have to be on top of the tv? Can anyone link me to the exact function of the sensor bar? Thanks in advance!

Oren @ Nov 11th 2006 6:17PM

@ #3 Lansing: All I can tell you is that you can have the sensor bar either above or below the display. Don't know about the other questions though..

delldude420 @ Nov 11th 2006 6:21PM

well this will easily be fixed very soon via a firmware update

bob @ Nov 11th 2006 6:22PM

I think with mario galaxy, from what I could tell, they indicate with a blinking red icon, where you went off the screen so that you know where you left, and how to get back.

Jonathan @ Nov 11th 2006 6:25PM

How do you know delldude?^^

Pedro Van Faulk @ Nov 11th 2006 6:25PM

Ah the annoyances. My favorite part of any system launch. Anyone remember all the flak stiq took at the 360 launch?

I can't wait until they start listing them for the PS3. It'll be like the 360 launch, times 10.

Ritz @ Nov 11th 2006 6:36PM

*TIMES 1000*

'eh, I was about to get all flustered when I read the "Wii Annoyance 1" thing, but I then realized they did this with the 360 and I expect the same for the PS3.

This will become the ultimate fanboy fodder a while from now, when people chose to compare the number of annoyances each system has. Oh. The. Joy.

delldude420 @ Nov 11th 2006 6:38PM

7. How do you know delldude?^^

Posted at 6:24PM on Nov 11th 2006 by Jonathan 0 st

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i don't know, but its obvious that nintendo will have firmware updates, everyone else does

OM @ Nov 11th 2006 6:43PM

This sounds like a firmware update to me. I'm sure Nintendo will be listening closely to bloggers, messageboards, and their surveys to figure out how to improve the Wii interface.

Lex @ Nov 11th 2006 6:52PM

From what I've read the sensor bar tells the console just where you are pointing.

Look around update 10 showing the discrepancy between where the controller was pointing and where it was registering with the sensor bar.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/10/wii-en-la-casa-de-joystiq/

PSWii60 Fanbot @ Nov 11th 2006 7:20PM

This sounds rather petty. Is it that difficult to tell where you are pointing? If the cursor is not visible on the screen, point the God Damn controller at the TV! Christ. Who cares if you were working on the left side of the screen and the cursor disappears. You have to be pretty f*cking stupid not to realize that you have gone a bit too far to the left. Get it together. I would imagine even if this was an insurmountable problem for Joystiq, it still beats the shit out of browsing with an analog controller.

equim @ Nov 11th 2006 7:22PM

I don't understand. That sounds like the way you would expect it to behave - surely showing a cursor on screen when you're not actually pointing at the screen is a bad idea.

"[...] a blinking red icon, where you went off the screen so that you know where you left, and how to get back"

Surely you don't need to know how to get back - you just point the wiimote at the screen again?!

Andrex @ Nov 11th 2006 7:23PM

"8. Ah the annoyances. My favorite part of any system launch. Anyone remember all the flak stiq took at the 360 launch?

I can't wait until they start listing them for the PS3. It'll be like the 360 launch, times 10."

Yeah, i read the title and I'm like: "It has started."

But then I calmed down and remember it's a ritual, like hazing, with Joystiq. I too look forward to the PS3's, although it wouldn't surprise me if Wii had more. The Wiimote is new *and* crucial for games, whereas the tech in the PS3 is mostly for other BS.

It will be interesting. One week to go!

Robert @ Nov 11th 2006 7:29PM

Even on my computer when the pointer doesn't leave the screen, I lose my mouse fairly often after reading a lengthy article or email. A quick shake of the mouse and I'm back on track (I never got into the whole "push ctrl to highlight pointer" thing).

I think as long as the cursor is easily noticed on the screen in the first place (the fairy in Zelda looks huge in the videos), this will be a short annoyance for me.

Sancho @ Nov 11th 2006 7:31PM

This sounds like a really good point. It would be great if developers provided some kind of indication (like a small arrow near the edge of the screen) where the pointer is. This is definitely fixable on the Wii OS via a firmware upgrade. Anyone know if upgrades are going to be possible/available for specific games (e.g. Zelda)?

nick @ Nov 11th 2006 7:42PM

Well, at least Joystiq is being fair with their annoyance articles, and it appears it'll used for all systems. But like I said in the past, I wish noone had to go through that again, and it could have easily been summed up in a article instead of a series. Anyone remember the annoyance article about the console NOT being made of chocolate?

olanarchangel @ Nov 11th 2006 7:45PM

I can already see the comments:

Wii Fanboy: STFU Wii is perfect!!11!one! Screw the PS3, that hunk of junk
PS3 Fanboy: Ur system is obsolete n inferior lolol
Rational Nintendo fan: It'll probably get a firmware update
Anti-Wii person: Yeah right, why would they utilize the online update downloading feature they designed to fix a problem? that's stupid. You're stupid.
Another Wii fanboy: You suck, the PS3 sucks.
Rational Sony fan: Uh... what does the PS3 have to do with this?

corwin @ Nov 11th 2006 7:54PM

obviously, joystiq has an ajenda to discredit the wii in any way. dont believe me? this article is called "wii annoyance #1" for shits sake. so what happends when joystiq cant find "wii annoyance #2?" Fabrication maybe.

corwin @ Nov 11th 2006 8:00PM

i agree with nick, that is an annoyance.

Ritz @ Nov 11th 2006 8:03PM

corwin, how did you get a star?

Its already been said over and over here, but I'll repeat since you seemed to have missed it.

http://www.joystiq.com/2005/12/11/painful-xbox-360-texting-needs-work-xbox-360-annoyance-009/
There was a BUNCH for the 360. There will most likely be a BUNCH for Wii and PS3.

corwin @ Nov 11th 2006 8:10PM

sorry... but give me a break i havent been on joystiq for a while. my internet was out for a while. i wish they'd make you study up first before posting.

adrian @ Nov 11th 2006 8:29PM

Are you an idiot?

what are you sitting there in front of the console holding the controler backwards pointing at you and wondering why it isnt working i mean seriously worst blog post ever!

bogsnogger @ Nov 11th 2006 8:30PM

What's with the picture of the dog?

nosdivad @ Nov 11th 2006 8:38PM

The remote probably should give some indication as to whether the pointer has left the screen, though as the post said it should be easy enough to find it again.

Have to argue that it's probably a good thing the pointer does leave the screen rather than just hang on the side given the nature of the Wiimote (hear me out). On a PC, when the mouse leaves the screen, you can deactivate the mouse and return it to a central position to ensure it doesn't fall of the desk. You couldn't do this with a Wiimote easily, and if the pointer was stuck on the side the coordination between the pointer and the Wiimote would be changed, so you'd end up having to keep changing your physical direction in order to stay in control.

(I've probably copied someone else's comment - oh well)

retro @ Nov 11th 2006 8:55PM

Not this shitty annoyance/delight column again. Seriously, can't you just put them into one post, or at least change the title! Just the title even! GOD DAMN IT! ANNOYANCE, LOL, DELIGHT, ROFL!

Burnt Meatloaf @ Nov 11th 2006 9:14PM

If this is true, then Nintendo knows very little about interface design. Shocking, as game companies tend to know more about that stuff than PC software developers.

I wonder how gamers without wireless networking will get firmware updates. Oh, right... just buy more accessories, or pay for mail-order CDs.

Jelster @ Nov 11th 2006 9:44PM

As I understood it the pointing works similar to a mouse and not like a lightgun/pointing device. So much like a mouse and its position on the mouse pad, the pointer and its pointed position won't necessarily be the same.

How this works I don't know, Nintendo didn't send me a Wii to play with a week before launch so I'm stuck here reading blog posts that only give half the story.

Jelster @ Nov 11th 2006 9:51PM

Oh I forgot to add on the bottom but for the slow witted. Dog Breed = Pointer

some person @ Nov 11th 2006 9:56PM

now if nintendo was reading this, they could fix this "glitch"

skaman @ Nov 11th 2006 10:22PM

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I have a retail Wii kiosk at my GS, and this happens to us a lot. I called Nintendo retail support and he said that it was light that was glaring off the Wiimote sensor. If you have light shine on the black part of the Wiimote, the sensor bar will have trouble reading the inferred signal. Since we had our Wii's back facing the window, light was all over the Wiimote. After angling the remote away from the window the problem disappeared!
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Jelster @ Nov 11th 2006 10:49PM

@32

I thought the post was talking about the pointer going off the screen as part of a normal movement, not because of any light issue glitching it as a misread.

EihBeir @ Nov 12th 2006 12:33AM

Dogs are cool.

Ben Serwa @ Nov 12th 2006 12:34AM

Thanks to WiiConnect24, this'll probably be fixed before too long, at least in the main firmware.

Tom @ Nov 12th 2006 5:31AM

Wii Annoyance #2
I'm on dialup and for some reason the Virtual Console isn't working.

Wii Annoyance #3
Ok, I switched over to Broadband, but now the Wii is asking me for an SSID password? WTF is that?!

Wii Annoyance #4
The 9th dungeon in Zelda is TOO HARD! wah wah wah!

Wii Annoyance #5
I keep having to pause the game in order to take another bite of this pizza... but the friggin' nunchuck cord, man! The cord is getting all tangled up! There's pizza sauce on my Wii-mote! Unacceptable!

Wii Annoyance #6
I see an "A" button, but... wait, what the hell... it's on the back?! Why?!

Wii Annoyance #7
I could easily bowl a 300 in REAL life... I don't think this Wii-mote thing is accurate...

Wii Annoyance #8
My Wii keeps giving me this funky message "Viewing of this website requires Internet Explorer 6.0 or later." All I was trying to do was play Red Steel, so naturally I clicked on the Wii Channel that looks like a giant letter "O". I mean it's RED, so...

Wii Annoyance #9
What, no DVD playback?!

Moogle @ Nov 12th 2006 9:58AM

I know it won't stop anyone, but I'd suggest waiting to try it yourself before you start calling Kyle names. He might be doing it wrong, or it might actually be an issue worth noting to a lot of people. Also, it's an 'annoyance' not 'OMFG WII SO AWFUL KIWF!!1'.

Personally I don't want it to put strange ui elements on screen for when I stop pointing for a moment. If it's done at all, it would have to be very subtle. I suppose it could vaguely follow the wiimote using accelerometers, perhaps fading out slowly, since it wouldn't be accurate for long. But really, where the cursor left the screen doesn't have much to do with where it will reenter.

Most important - try it yourself before you scream for ugly annoying UI patches from the devs.

chudgoo @ Nov 12th 2006 11:24AM

I've asked before but....

Can someone please post a picture of the sensor bar (powered on) taken with a DV cam?
I want to see what the IR field spread is like (and if it will work with my chosen setup)

Andru @ Nov 12th 2006 6:29PM

Lost your pointer? I think I may have the solution... Wait for it..

Point the Wiimote at the screen! Voila!

sockatume @ Nov 12th 2006 7:15PM

This is a joke, right? You can't figure out which off-screen direction the pointer has gone to? I mean, wouldn't the direction your pointer is pointing be a dead giveaway?

Chris m @ Nov 15th 2006 12:35PM

LOL why is everyone getting so worked up? it's like a console is not allowed to have flaws(not that i'm counting this as a flaw) These are just stupid silly things that are not actually annoying enough to warrant NOT buyin the console.
The 360 has loads but i still bought it
The Wii will have a lot but i'm still buying it
The PS3 will have a lot and yes i'm buying one as well

Nothing is perfect, if it was there would be no need to upgrade

JJ @ Nov 15th 2006 1:20PM

Funny, I used the Wii remote at Gamestop yesterday and didn't have this problem. I had to constantly switch back and forth from the Wii menu and Excite Truck and never had any trouble finding the cursor. I just pointed the Wii remote at the TV.

Kevin @ Nov 16th 2006 7:23PM

I've played the Wii at Gamestop and this is not a problem. I spent a good ten minutes in the menus and it is in fact as simple as some others have been saying. If you lose the cursor, just point the remote at the screen. This does not work like a mouse/mousepad configuration. It is 1:1. You don't have to "track" or anything like that. To me, this isn't even an issue.

some person @ Nov 18th 2006 6:33PM

@31, yet again, the same thing is on the PC, sorta

Andy Bates @ Nov 25th 2006 5:28PM

Yes, the analogy to a mouse pointer is completely incorrect. With a mouse, you need to know where the mouse pointer left, or which edge of the screen it stopped at, so you know which direction to move the mouse to get it back. That’s because a mouse pointer is based on relative position, not absolute position. When you move the mouse, the new position of the cursor is relative to the current position.

However, the Wii pointer is based on absolute position. It doesn’t matter which edge the cursor left the screen from; just point the remote at the screen, and voila! The cursor is back. You never need to “find” the cursor it order to figure out where to move, because it always moves to where you’re pointing.

In short, this is a ludicrous, foolish complaint that reveals a deep lack of understanding of how pointing systems work. Oh, and before you ask, yes, I’ve used the Wii.