Dude, did my controller just talk? (Wii delight #1)
In all the excitement and brouhaha over the Wii controller's motion sensing technology, another unique feature of the controller has been severely overlooked. The little speaker in each and every Wii remote is a tiny addition that goes a long way to making games more fun and engaging.Sure, the sound quality is horribly low-fidelity and the tinny effects occasionally crackle and pop with the effort of playing, but it's hard to describe the feeling of pure joy the first time you hit a virtual tennis ball and hear a satisfying *thwack* come from right where your racquet should be. Even non-integral sounds -- like Zelda's "you found a secret" chime or Excite Truck's five-star bonus noise -- feel a little more special when they come from your hand instead of the TV speakers. What's more, Nintendo has made it ridiculously easy to adjust the speaker volume by hitting the home button in the middle of any game, showing design savvy that has been lacking in some other areas.
While it doesn't quite compare to a 7.1 Dolby surround sound setup, the extra aural dimension created by the Wii remote's speaker is a welcome addition that helps the Wii stand out against the crowd.
Wii delights
PS3 delights
Xbox 360 delights
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JodyAnthony @ Nov 15th 2006 4:32PM
"Posts with tag ps3delight
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Neil @ Nov 15th 2006 4:32PM
I want a Wii game about a pii wii and after I am done playing with it, the wii controller reveals to my mom (via controller speaker) about my darkest, wet-wii, secret experiences with other gamers.
Kai Cherry @ Nov 15th 2006 4:34PM
Yeah, it does add a bit of "whoa...hey wait..." coolness to the thing. I have to admit myself that I didn't think it would add, for want of a better word, "dimension" the way it does in practice.
-K
Todd @ Nov 15th 2006 4:39PM
Sure, and the moment GTA comes out for the Wii with Hot Coffee included everyone's hands will come alive!
Leto @ Nov 15th 2006 4:41PM
Where's the X360delight link?
Jedimonkey27 @ Nov 15th 2006 4:47PM
I never noticed that the notes on the staff form the opening to the SMB theme. Cool!
Spence @ Nov 15th 2006 5:03PM
Joystiq annoyance #1
Drawn out features that could easily go on the fanboy blogs and be consolidated on Joystiq at a later date.
Unless Nintendo is lining your pockets for doing these features stop wasting our time and just do a weekly/daily consolidation of annoyances when the Wii launches on Sunday.
Addison @ Nov 15th 2006 5:05PM
Nice word, brouhaha.
Bennyishere @ Nov 15th 2006 5:08PM
Hey, I want my 360 to do that... :(
chase( better known as starwarsguru89, or shoopershick in runescape @ Nov 15th 2006 5:11PM
Well this is a cool feature i didn't realize until now. So thanks for pointing that out. I'll be sure to look for it when i get mine! (also... runescape rocks)
chase( better known as starwarsguru89, or shoopershick in runescape @ Nov 15th 2006 5:12PM
What is up with the star thing?
jear-ed @ Nov 15th 2006 5:12PM
@7 calm down buddy, it's not a crime to say something positive about something once in a while
Max Fischer @ Nov 15th 2006 5:14PM
Goddamn you, Jody. I wanted that joke. :(
Brody Brooks @ Nov 15th 2006 5:48PM
One thing that makes me smile is thinking of a little horror effect that would benefit from the Wiimote's speaker: "I'm over here!" "Over here!" "Come quickly" "Over here!"
You have a Dolby Pro Logic II setup going, with creepy whispers coming from different directions, AND from where your hand is, giving you the sensation that one of the voices is coming from very, very close to you.
Would that be cool or what?
number40one @ Nov 15th 2006 5:48PM
Yo Spence - Some of us like having stuff to read every day.
chase( better known as starwarsguru89, or shoopershick in runescape @ Nov 15th 2006 5:58PM
will sum1 plese explain the star thing!
Brandi @ Nov 15th 2006 5:58PM
I heard Gamestop is going to do more Wii Pre-Orders. Check out their Wii Sign Up Page on gamestop.com. Here's the link for those that still need a pre-order. http://www.gamestop.com/gs/wii/wii_signup.asp
Neeks @ Nov 15th 2006 6:02PM
"weekly/daily consolidation of annoyances when the Wii launches on Sunday."
And that isn't fanboyism, how? Not too sure if you noticed, but theres also a PS3 delight. And back when, there was also a Xbox360 delight. Also annoyances for all 3. So stick a 2x4 in it, and shadup.
number40one @ Nov 15th 2006 6:02PM
I was playing ExciteTruck at Gamestop last week. The first time the controller made a chiming noise, it shocked the heck out of me... I had completely forgotten about the speaker, even though the clerk and I had just been discussing it minutes earlier.
In gaming, there are so few "tangible" rewards for all the effort you put in. Most commonly, we are "rewarded" with a zen-inducing happy/powerup/levelup sound for doing something correctly. The synth noise in Tony Hawk games that comes when you execute an advanced trick is one of my personal addictions, as is the "thud" at the end of each episode of LOST. (Okay, sound isn't tangible, but it exists outside of the game itself, unlike points.)
I never imagined that moving those types of audio-rewards into the third dimension would bring me so much glee. Makes me wonder if it causes some sort of untapped serotonin release in my brain. It's not hard to imagine... just think of the difference/engrossment you experience when listening to surround versus stereo versus mono.
The controller sounds were honestly my favorite part of the otherwise drab and pedestrian ExciteTruck.
Okane @ Nov 15th 2006 6:16PM
Thats really cool.
btw @starwarsguru runescape sucks balls. If your going to be playing an rpg at least play a decent game.
lets just put the gun down and we go get me those fries @ Nov 15th 2006 6:47PM
u put #1 there as if there were more, u guys are out of your godamn minds.
shivr @ Nov 15th 2006 8:08PM
Are games other than first party games using this speaker now? Last I heard they were not... and it seems pretty nifty, especially for those without surround sound...
Andrex @ Nov 15th 2006 9:14PM
Why don't we have Vladimir Cole write these? He wrote most of the Xbox Delights.
But I'm sure he's too busy writing the annoyances and about why Zelda sucks to be bothered.
FuzzyPickles @ Nov 15th 2006 9:39PM
"Why don't we have Vladimir Cole write these?"
Because he only plays free hardware that costs 600 bucks.
Adam Zey @ Nov 16th 2006 3:47AM
The wiimote's speaker can have serious gameplay impacts too.
Red Steel's multiplayer uses it like a cellphone to give missions to each player in private, where other players can't hear. I'd like to see you figure out how to tell information to only one player on a splitscreen game without a speaker like the wiimote has ;)
Is it a huge thing? No. But it does present some interesting gameplay opportunities for multiplayer, at least. And I can think of a few gameplay features for single player too. I mean, it occurs to me that the wiimote would make a rather good giger counter, no?
mesocool @ Nov 16th 2006 4:02AM
okay the motion control was a copy from one of Microsofts PC controler from eight years ago.. But this one seems to be unique! Awesome! I can't wait makes me more excited when I think about the feedback possiblilties!. Vibration? Controller sound (sounds like my fist punching your face). and motion sensing YEAH baby...Yeah!
James @ Nov 16th 2006 1:15PM
OK, stop me if you've thought of this already, but... since the Wii doesn't support 5.1 output (I understand that this is a limitation of their output connector, right...?), how about this: put 2 Wiimotes behind you, one on each side, and have the internal speakers reproduce the rear channels? Possible? No? It wouldn't have to be the highest of hi-fi, I think, and if you're going to have at least two controllers anyway, you might as well use them, especially if they're not doing anything e.g. during DVD playback (next year once we get it, that is). Eh? Ehhhh?
VGaudiodesigner @ Nov 16th 2006 9:03PM
James - I believe the lack of 5.1 audio support is less a limitation of the connector than one of the internal hardware. According to what's been said so far, the console isn't currently up to generating/playing back a discrete 5.1-channel mix (Gamecube certainly wasn't) in-game, so there's no point in their providing an output that supports it.
I have to assume that the (future) DVD-supporting Wiis will include some form of digital output, whether it be optical or digital coax.