Today's (next) hottest game video: Wii remote range

by Kevin Kelly { Nov 29th 2006 at 2:45AM }

Today's we're on the second hottest game video, because #1 is Stephen Colbert, FTWii! The next one down is a video showing off the range of the Wii-mote while bowling, and it's pretty darned impressive. Although the only reason you'd ever be gaming this far away from the Wii is a) because you own a massive television, b) you're gaming at your local multiplex, or c) you're just too extreme to game in the room as the console. Or maybe you're an uber-rich gamer (Bill Gates, you got yourself a Wii?) and you've got all three going on.

Fake or not? You make the call. Check it out after the jump and chime in. Better yet, send us your own results.

Tags: bowling, Nintendo, range, remote, video, Wii Sports, WiiSports, YouTube

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mountain_rage @ Nov 29th 2006 3:00AM

Thats because you need alot of free space to play the wii, like football field sized space.

Final-Fan @ Nov 29th 2006 3:24AM

I think it's probably fake; when they showed the guy swinging, and then turned around and filmed the bowling ball just leaving the character's hand, shouldn't it have been well on its way down the lane already?

On the other hand, I believe that Wavebird ranges of 100 feet or more are well documented, and I would expect the same performance from the Wii Remote. Just not 100 YARDS.

lowallyn @ Nov 29th 2006 3:51AM

awesome

007craft @ Nov 29th 2006 3:53AM

hmm.. considering most infared signals only beam 20 feet or less, I find this extremely hard to believe. The wavebird used RF, so 100 feet is understandable. But 400 feet from an infared remote? Unlikely without any repeaters.

mkoracer @ Nov 29th 2006 4:10AM

As far as I know the data from the motion sensors is sent via radio waves, since bowling doesn't need the IR signal for chucking this seems resonable. I bet he couldn't use the pointer from that far away though... unless maybe he found two streetlights that were perfectly spaced in front of him, or lit a couple candles over by his spot there.

quangdiggity @ Nov 29th 2006 4:13AM

007craft:

The Wii controller uses Bluetooth (RF) to communicate with the console. The IR sensor in the controller is only necessary when the controller is used in conjunction with the sensor bar as a pointer. The sensor bar doesn't actually have any sensors. It just provides two IR beacons to indicate the top (or bottom) of the TV screen.

imbusion @ Nov 29th 2006 4:27AM

This is legit. The sports games only require Bluetooth to function... they do not use the sensor bar at all. I have hooked up my Wii in a movie theater, gone out to concessions for a drink, and had my controller beep at me to let me know it was my turn halfway back... and I took my turn from there. In the hall on my way back to the theater...

mindg4m3 @ Nov 29th 2006 4:34AM

Golf works the same way, and probably tennis too. I was playing wii golf through a couple walls and about 100 feet away from the wii no problem.

I could not even tell the difference in my golf score either! But that is because i can barely even make par most holes.

imbusion @ Nov 29th 2006 4:37AM

mindg4m3 is absolutely right. The "aim" is not affected either... it reads the accelerometers exactly the same. So if you just do your normal bowling swing for example... you'll be fine. Your orientation to the screen/sensor-bar is irrelevant.

Pat @ Nov 29th 2006 4:51AM

does this mean i can fuck around with my neighbours wii :D while he's playing zelda...

Adam_Kadmon @ Nov 29th 2006 4:55AM

Yeah, this is pretty accurate. I've played Excite Truck from the back of the Gamestop I work at, which is over 150ft from the demo unit at the front of the store. And then from inside the back office. And then from the service hallway leading outside. And then from the recycling bins outside. I had the vibration and power-up noises to tell me that the race was still going, and co-workers to confirm.

Adam_Kadmon @ Nov 29th 2006 4:56AM

Also, imbusion, that is way cool. I want to play Wii in a theater.

Me @ Nov 29th 2006 5:18AM

Well you know this is not true seeing as how the PS3 controller works about 65 feet away which is about 25-30 longer than the 360 controller, but the PS3 is capable of supporting up to 7 wireless controllers. There is not a chance in hell that the damn Wiimote could possibly work from all the way down at the end of the street. Probably closer to the 30-60 feet range.

imbusion @ Nov 29th 2006 5:34AM

In response to post 10 by Pat... nope.

You have to sync your remote to the specific Wii before it will communicate with it.

sploy @ Nov 29th 2006 6:11AM

13. Well you know this is not true seeing as how the PS3 controller works about 65 feet away which is about 25-30 longer than the 360 controller, but the PS3 is capable of supporting up to 7 wireless controllers. There is not a chance in hell that the damn Wiimote could possibly work from all the way down at the end of the street. Probably closer to the 30-60 feet range.

The Wii remote isn't a PS3 controller, therefore it doesn't have to have exactly the same capabilities... your logic is so flawed that I'm not sure you weren't being sarcastic.

chenry @ Nov 29th 2006 7:31AM

Unless they moved the sensor bar closer to the guy, it's not real. My cursor gets shakey when I set on on couch at the far end of the room. The range on those things isn't very far. For the IR at least. Button presses I can do from other rooms.

JBGUY2K @ Nov 29th 2006 8:14AM

1 football field and a third... dang, that's a lot of range. But like the first commenter, it's almost pointless to have that kind of range for something to be used in a living room. Still awesome to know, though.

gman @ Nov 29th 2006 8:22AM

Me, how does citing the range of other consoles have anything to do with the Wii remote whatsoever? They're actually NOT the same controller! WEIRD I KNOW!

Evan @ Nov 29th 2006 9:08AM

You could build a custom sensor bar if you want the cursor to work at that distance... just get a pair of IR spotlights from a CCTV/security dealer.

vidGuy @ Nov 29th 2006 9:52AM

The only time you need to be anywhere near the console in bowling is when you finish the game and have to click to play again or quit. This is testing Bluetooth range, not sensor bar range. As others have said, the sensor bar is only used to align the pointer. All of the bowling functions are done by the remote itself.

@ Evan,
Or a few candles, spaced about at the length of the sensor bar.

nootau @ Nov 29th 2006 9:59AM

For those who have PS3s (since someone brought up PS3s) did you notice that there are only 4 controller lights on your PS3 controllers (just like the Wii)? Where are the other 3 controller lights?

Oh, and this video is real. As long as you dont need to point at anything, you dont need the sensor bar. If you notice, the nunchuck attachment has no IR receiver...yet it still works! I am shocked at the amount of people who claim to know gaming that have all of these misconceptions about things like the PS3 and the Wii. Crazy. Oh, for future reference, Bluetooth 2.0's official range is 100 meters (around 300 feet), so i dont know why Sony's controller has such a short range (unless they are using the 1.1 or 1.2 spec http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Bluetooth_2.0).

joey @ Nov 29th 2006 10:23AM

There seems to be a common misconception that the wiimote is an infrared remote.

The only thing it uses infrared for is to triangulate its position. No data at all is sent via infrared. The infrared component works essentially like a camera, that picks up the sensor bar.

Evan @ Nov 29th 2006 10:36AM

@20 "spaced about at the length of the sensor bar"

If you want the unit to function exactly the same way, with the same sensitivity, as in your living room but at a further distance, I would adjust the sensor bar's spacing proportionally to your distance from the screen.

Nintendo's sensor bar has a 7.5" separation between its LEDs, and is optimal for, let's say, 6'. So, if you stand 60' away, increasing the separation to 75" would trick the Wii into thinking you are only 6' away.

Scott Rubin @ Nov 29th 2006 12:32PM

I believe it. Bluetooth has a pretty strong signal. Nintendo's wireless products also tend to have pretty powerful stuff too. Also, just yesterday my roommate bowled from two rooms away through two walls. It really is powerful stuff.

Bryan @ Nov 29th 2006 12:37PM

The distance shown in that video seems somewhat long for Bluetooth (v1, that is), but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Although I didn't go as far as that guy did, I've verified that the Wiimote can go beyond the "range" of the sensor bar and transmit signals just fine.

vidGuy @ Nov 29th 2006 12:50PM

@Evan #23

You'd bring the candles (or any other sensor bar replacement) with you. I doubt the remote would be able to pick up the LED-replacements if they were 75" apart and 60' away :)

Because the sensor bar is output only (it doesn't receive anything), you don't need for it to be connected to the Wii. You just need two infrared light sources spaced 7.5" apart, and you must roughly 6' away from that source, for the remote to work optimally.

Doc @ Nov 29th 2006 1:17PM

Yes bluetooth is RF, but its waves are SHORT RANGE! Heck even if you put a wifi router there you would probably have some trouble getting a signal. FAKE!

flyNN @ Nov 29th 2006 2:53PM

I've played Zelda myself from over 30' away with great results. The aiming gets a bit more sensitive from such a distance (Evan, I am totally going to try spacing out the LEDs!), but again totally works and is way accurate.

Why are there so many people saying this is fake? Oh, that's right... you guys don't have a Wii yet! (muahahaha)... "Yo nerds, I gots me one" =P