Wiiboy portable -- sooner than you think?
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Nov 19th 2006 at 8:12AM }
Pure conjecture, but bear with us:
- The Wii is inexpensive to manufacture. Super inexpensive, even.
- The Wii is architected for very low power consumption (great for portability)
- The Wii is tiny. It's the smallest of the consoles, and box space is taken up by the optical disc drive, connectors for controllers, memory, video cables, and other stuff that'd be completely uneccessary in a mobile device
- Motion-sensing capabilities can be embedded in the device housing itself
Of all three new consoles, the Wii is certainly closest to portability. Home modders like Ben Heckendorn will likely create a portable (but chunky) Wii without too much difficulty. Could a portable version of the device be far away?
We're not suggesting the hypothetical Wiiboy will be released in time for this Consumermas, but 2008-2009 doesn't seem like a stretch, does it?
Call to action: let's got a hot mockup up in here. The Wii may be a GameCube at heart, but it certainly doesn't look like one; it's time for Photoshop pros to whip up some Wiiboy mockups.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt @ Nov 19th 2006 8:17AM
No, YOU'RE A GAMECUBE AT HEART!
CakeOrrDeath @ Nov 19th 2006 8:26AM
How the hell would you controll a portable Wii and why on earth would Nintendo want to release anything new with the way the DS is selling?
Pure Conjecture? More like poor logic. Just because it might be technichally feesable in no way suggests they will do so.
Inspector71 @ Nov 19th 2006 8:29AM
I was about to talk about the redundancy of the idea, cos you'd need a Wiimote, but it might actually work. It would be like a Wiimote with a screen, yes? If you were playing Excite Truck you would tilt the handheld to steer. Maybe you could have the screen in some kind of gyroscope fitting, so it always remains upright.
CakeOrrDeath @ Nov 19th 2006 8:29AM
And another thing! The Wii takes DVDs. Any portable big enough to fit DVD discs in it isn't very portable.
Eaode @ Nov 19th 2006 8:30AM
I'd prefer a portable gamecube. The mockup above actually looks pretty good. A portable Wii would have Fucked up controls.
Blackrose @ Nov 19th 2006 8:36AM
Well why not. I guess that could be a next step for portables. But noway it would be in as early as 2008.
tacticality @ Nov 19th 2006 8:36AM
http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/1476/smallwiiux9.jpg
Viola. Wii Portable.
Riemann Lebesgue @ Nov 19th 2006 8:41AM
Um, no, saying it's super cheap to manufacture and then linking to the Miyamoto article is just wrong. That was Miyamoto's original plan. It's not AT ALL how things turned out. Once again, Vlad, you tell falsehoods.
rudimentalist @ Nov 19th 2006 8:41AM
Uh could you explain? You want a Wii with a television on it? That's not portable as far as i'm concerned... especially with this system the controllers need to be seperate from the unit. Forget even using the nunchuk control, if it was just a box with the remote sensors inside of it, I'm sure I really want to shake the entire system when I want to get back up in Tony Hawk.
I don't think just attaching a TV to a Wii is any big deal, and if you're suggesting something other than that, you're a bit thickheaded.
Optimus Prime @ Nov 19th 2006 8:45AM
LOL ..someone's long rant got deleted..
Anyways, this is very much like the PS2 --> PStwo --> PSP evolution.. first miniaturize the chipset and make it consume less power, then its now ready for portable use.
But, it wont happen anytime soon. There's no reason for nintendo to do this with their DS and GBA still going strong. The PSP has proven that in the portable scene, graphics dont matter and that disc based media are power hungry and arent necessary.
BB @ Nov 19th 2006 8:45AM
Guys...isn't a Wii-Boy portable a Nintendo DS? I mean, I could be wrong...actually, I'm not. Nintendo DS is a Wii-Boy portable.
Eaode @ Nov 19th 2006 9:07AM
Think about it though, the next game boy (It's bound to happen) will just essentially be a portable gamecube
I'm still lovin' that mockup.
strider_mt2k @ Nov 19th 2006 9:18AM
BEN BEN BEN BEN BEN!
(Sounds like a gong going off, but the guy's work IS phenomenal!)
dannyboy112591 @ Nov 19th 2006 9:26AM
imma worry about getting my wii console before a protable is released...
Skwurl @ Nov 19th 2006 9:25AM
"Though the Wii is a GameCube at heart"
Just like the PS3 is a PS2...or PS1 at heart?
Old Gamer Dude @ Nov 19th 2006 9:38AM
People, this is a blog, and Mr. Cole is allowed his opinion, no matter how stupid, childish, and SDFish it sounds.
maduin @ Nov 19th 2006 9:40AM
The Wii will become a strap on head visor if it ever becomes portable. Like this mockup of the Wii-D
http://kotaku.com/gaming/wii/rumor-wiid-coming-next-year-203283.php
Strap a Wii-D to your head, and there's a 3D display in there, slap a game in there and you're ready to go.
GoldenS1104 @ Nov 19th 2006 9:39AM
moving the controller of a portable makes the screen move too. which means you can't see the screen.
idea = failure
Steinegal @ Nov 19th 2006 9:50AM
There would also be a problem with the control picking up the movment of the Bus or Car. This makes it very har to put a Wii in a car.
the_game_master @ Nov 19th 2006 9:56AM
Waste of time, Joystiq have you forgotten Nintendo already has a portable Wii, look no further than DS.
nick @ Nov 19th 2006 10:03AM
A Wii portable, in my opinion, would be challenging and not conducive to portability. You have to have to sensor bar above or below the screen. Offhand, I'm unsure how large this bar is, because I've never really seen a close-up picture of it, or know the exact dimensions. Then you have a wireless controller that must be moved in open space to control action on the screen. How close can you be to the screen? Would this type of control even be great for a portable? Are you going to have to sit further away? Then, why even have it portable, when the system itself is relatively small and -if- you have to be somewhat away from the screen to make it work?
CakeOrrDeath @ Nov 19th 2006 10:16AM
This idea is becoming sillier and sillier Major flaws people have pointed out
-Motion of walking/ travelling in car/train/boat/plane would muck up controls
- Moving the console to control would also mean moving the screen so you wouldn't actually be able to see what you are doing.
- Nintendo don't need a new hand held the DS is selling like crazy
- DVD sized disks would prevent the handheld being a decent size.
- Impossible to implement, Pointer, secondary motion device (Nun chuck), Rumble.
- Cannot make the same gestures with two hands as with one. (I.e. couldn’t use the sixaxis as a sword)
Jecrell @ Nov 19th 2006 10:16AM
I agree that making the Wii portable will be possible, but I believe it will be an extra component that allows the wii to be taken with you rather than a new system.
Inspector71 @ Nov 19th 2006 10:20AM
You're right, CakeOrrDeath. You win. We'll pack up our happy dreams right away.
Johnny Bloom @ Nov 19th 2006 10:22AM
Guys, we need to calm down. Why are we really angry? Because Mr. Vladimir suggested an impossible, but-in-a-prfect-world-awesome idea? No. We're lashing out at him because of what he's said in the last week to week-in-a-half about the Wii. This is in some way an admitance that the Wii is pretty cool and may win (The PSP was created because the PS2 was winning). So let's accept his ideas and eventual apology and move on.
On another note, I really do like that portable Gamecube mock-up.
CakeOrrDeath @ Nov 19th 2006 10:32AM
@ Inspector71
Yeah sorry for getting carried away. It just seemed a little rediculous to me. I think I have drunk too much caffeine. 8~$
Inspector71 @ Nov 19th 2006 10:52AM
@Cake: No worries. Everything on Joystiq tends to turn in to a fight, that's all, and this is clearly in the name of fun and beautiful wishes.
Anm @ Nov 19th 2006 12:30PM
Is this what they call the WiiWii?
Pretty Obvious @ Nov 19th 2006 1:24PM
Gamecube discs are already small enough to become portable, look at the Wii console itself... its as small as 3 dvd cases next to each other.
So how hard could it be to make the Gamecube into a portable device. Whatever the next Gameboy is, im sure it will be playing Gamecube games and im sure as hell gonna pick one up.
Ben BoB @ Nov 19th 2006 1:57PM
The photo on the article is a photoshop fake!
Take a look at a real one in the link! http://n-central.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1103
some person @ Nov 19th 2006 3:32PM
"Could a portable version of the device be far away?"
no, ben heck said that a portable Wii wouldn't work
farid @ Nov 19th 2006 6:25PM
I'll tell you what, anyone thinking that nintendo will include an optical drive with their next portable system after the problems Sony is having with theirs does not know nintendo very well. Their whole mentality is to bring a great product that people can play as much as they need with little disruption. I see the next gameboy or wiiboy being an extension of the virtual consol, because as both flash drives and mini hardrives are getting cheeper to make making it very feasable to download even gamecube games to play on a handheld.
As for a portable wii, why would you make one? You definately would not get the same experience, especialy with games like wii sports.
Jeb @ Nov 19th 2006 10:42PM
He doesn't imply that this would be made by Nintendo, so the "Nintendo don't need a new hand held the DS is selling like crazy" flaw is irrelevant. As mentioned in the post, this would be a modder creation made by someone like Ben Heckendorn.
Seriously, people, read the article.
The controls would be a bit ridiculous on a portable Wii, though. You would have to seriously rethink the controller to make it possible- maybe make it smaller somehow? Two rings or something you put on your fingers to point at the screen with the rest of the controls on the device?
This would be incredibly difficult to implement as a handheld. It may even be too much of a challenge for good ol' Ben Heck.
O ye of little faith...
Kevin @ Nov 21st 2006 2:53PM
But you can play from too close of range, remember?
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/16/wii-have-no-room-to-play/
Kevin @ Nov 23rd 2006 12:30PM
NVM, I read the article I linked to wrong.
Kevin @ Nov 23rd 2006 1:46PM
I thought that you where a helmet which is where the main console is, and then there's a bar that hangs over, and then there'll be the screen with a built in sensor bar. Diagram here:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o139/kevinpwns2000/Untitled-1.jpg
alexvoda @ Feb 13th 2007 6:01PM
why do yoou think a Portable Wii is stupid?
Just imagine:
Wii+battery pack+22moo I-vision 922 ultra-light Video eyewear( http://www.cnet.com.au/mp3players/accessories/print.htm?TYPE=story&AT=339272918-239029103t-210000016c - they didn't have the portable factor,just the eyewear instead of a screen)+ 1 backpack + a way to make the sensorbar portable + Big free flat space(car park,football pitch)=>non-intrusive virtual reality
Nest thing-Matrix(intrusive virtual reality)