N'Gai Croal redesigns the Wiimote for Metroid Prime 3

50 Comments by Ludwig Kietzmann Oct 3rd 2007 3:15AM
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Adventure, First Person Shooters

Of course, you may want to substitute the word "redesigns" for "fixes," depending on how compulsive your scanning was. In his Level Up blog, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal has posted a visual illustration of a special Wii remote he would have liked to find in the Metroid Prime 3 box. Unhappy with the placement of the plus and minus buttons -- both of which are frequently used in the game -- Croal proposes that the above kidney shaped configuration would add up to less limited controls. As he tells MTV's Stephen Totilo following their lengthy dissection of the game, "I know you'll agree with me."

We certainly do. We reckon the design change would also benefit the games that don't involve intergalactic bounty hunters, eliminating the trek our thumbs embark on every time they leave the safety and security of the A-button. We like the idea so much, we're inclined to forgive Mr. Croal for calling his design the "Metroid Pwiime" remote.

Tags: Metroid-Prime-3, MetroidPrime3, N'Gai-Croal, Newsweek, Wiimote

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

reppy: Oct 3rd 2007; 3:23AM

I'd love one of those.

ZapDash (NDF-Janitor): Oct 3rd 2007; 3:26AM

I had to read the article to notice the change on the remote.

aristokrat: Oct 3rd 2007; 3:41AM

Hell, they could even keep the plus minus where they are and add 2 more where he suggests, and then it would only come close to having enough buttons. I remember getting pretty frustrated with the lack of buttons (to the point of giving up on PoP and barely making it through LoZ).

That's been my complaint all along...developers had to tack on waggle to make up for the paucity of buttons. Xbox and Playstation added more and more buttons to increase your control options (and thus increase realism), and Nintendo decided that they were too cool for that.

Rubang B (NDF - Heart): Oct 3rd 2007; 3:48AM

That's a slippery slope that leads to games like Steel Battallion! Pac-Man had no buttons, and if you dis Pac-Man you'll get shot.

aristokrat: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:06AM

Ha, had to look that one up. Seems like Steel Battalion was less of a game and more of an exact simulator, cause that's one hell of a controller (talk about hardware peripheral profits). I wonder how they got the system to differentiate all of the controls? Plug it into both ports? I'm almost curious to try to play that deal, but I bet the setup cost more than my current consoles put together.

And I agree, Pac-Man was sweet, but it would have been less fun if the joystiq had been inconsistenly context sensitive.

aristokrat: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:10AM

Wow, just had to add that Steel Battalion comes with its own allen wrench (I assume for assembling the 42 button controller). This has got to be the only video game ever to do so.

Rubang B (NDF - Heart): Oct 3rd 2007; 4:57AM

An allen wrench? Hahaha. I didn't even know that. The plot thickens. Some day I'll have to try it out, after I find the giant chunk of junk for under $10.

bm: Oct 3rd 2007; 8:09AM

"developers had to tack on waggle to make up for the paucity of buttons."

Wow, you really think that's how it's supposed to work? Wow. ...Well, I guess there are indeed some developers who are stupid enough to approach it like that.

sheppy2.0: Oct 3rd 2007; 8:33AM

Interesting fact. Tekka (Steel Battalion) is the ONLY game I know of which had a class in Tokyo University based on it's gameplay. I have it and it's a tad frustrating because controls are VERY specific and in the heat of battle, sometimes you forget where the extinguisher button is to put out the fires in the cockpit.....

Slaziman: Oct 3rd 2007; 8:58AM

This is a much better design but Nintendo didn't want to confuse their new market with too many buttons.

Another instance where Nintendo is catering to the casuals while screwing the traditionals.

mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring): Oct 3rd 2007; 10:33AM

"Xbox and Playstation added more and more buttons to increase your control options (and thus increase realism)"

This line cracks me up! Because nothing says realism like pressing a button to make something happen... Take elevators, for example.

upz: Oct 3rd 2007; 11:28AM

"Xbox and Playstation added more and more buttons to increase your control options (and thus increase realism)..."

You set yourself up to be picked apart by the hip Wii crowd with the bit in parentheses. Why would they need a proven control mechanism like that? They're too cool for school, let alone buttons. Just wait until next generation where they control their games with a laser pointer and laugh in the face of your analog sticks.

aristokrat: Oct 3rd 2007; 11:54AM

It increased realism by increasing the amount of interaction that was possible with the environment. I'd say that more buttons to press is a better solution than random flails with my arms (see wii boxing, swordplay in PoP, etc.). I love wii bowling, because it is an actual (and precise) recreation of the actual thing. PoP was infuriating because there was next to no precise control over your character's actions. To use your elevator example, that'd be like marching in place, but a third of the time you undershot your desired floor because the elevator didn't register all of your steps because they were too fast (ie wii boxing and its 3 actual punches per 1 on screen punch, if you try to act like a real boxer), and a third of the time you overshot because it registered every waver in your stride (like PoP, where the prince seems to love accepting whatever intentional input is going to get him killed).

Maybe it's just something i learn to expect from wii games, in a similar fashion to how the dawn of 3d graphics killed the pixel-precise control of platform games. Somehow these needs to be rectified, because somehow similar-but-imprecise movements does not equal reality to me, unless i want to experience what it is like to have a motor neuron problem.

Phour ZwanZig: Oct 3rd 2007; 3:47AM

My only problem with this would be hittin the Minus button while playin Paper Mario..

but in games where you use the pointing method, I can see this bein a better place..

Rubang B (NDF - Heart): Oct 3rd 2007; 3:49AM

I can get behind the kidney shaped designs if they're right under the A button instead of right above it, and another 2 centimeters away from the A button. Great idea though.

Chyld989: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:05AM

I agree with ya', although I never had a problem in MP3. It's more in games like Super Paper Mario that I get annoyed. Moving my thumb down for MP3 was easy enough, stretching it across the remote for SPM is a pain.

Ihar `Philips` Filipau: Oct 3rd 2007; 3:57AM

Wow.

If it costs < $250 and additionally B button is clicking - I'm sold!!

Poisoned Al: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:04AM

I've got a better design. The Wiimote is mouse shaped and the nunchuk is keyboard shaped.

Chyld989: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:10AM

Yeah, but at that point why not just play on PC?

Woah! I see what you did there! You!

Seriously though, I don't see how a keyboard & mouse is any better than the Wii remote + Nunchuk. With games like MP3 where they refined the controls rather than just not caring whether they suck or not (I'm looking at you Red Steel), the Wii's control method is just as good as a keyboard and mouse. And yes, I play a ton of PC FPS games, so I feel I am qualified to throw out that opinion.

BPM (FDF - Hypno-Toad): Oct 3rd 2007; 4:09AM

I lol'd

Slaziman: Oct 3rd 2007; 9:00AM

You know I think I'd like a mouse with a nunchuck attachment instead, for the sake of analog control.

WiNG: Oct 3rd 2007; 10:15AM

Actually sometimes I play FPS on PC with:

Right hand: Mouse (normal control)
Left hand: Left side of a 360 controller (movement, dpad for wpn switch, etc)

Shagittarius: Oct 3rd 2007; 11:28AM

Truely mouse and nunchuck (with more buttons) would be the ideal control setup.

Jacob: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:06AM

Yeah, right under would be much better for games you play sideways. Nintendo should do this instead of the stupid jackets!

Sidepocket: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:27AM

The buttons are way too small, bad shape, and are too close to the A button. I can see myself constantly hitting them by accident all the time.

Plus, am I the only one not having problems with the Wii Remote. I think its just me, because my friends play Metroid Prime 3 and blame the game. Then they give it to me and their jaw drops as they see me PWND everything without lock on moving very fast.

Is moving your thumb an inch that big of a deal? Clearly gamers are not as hand-eye coordinated like I thought they were.

Ben: Oct 3rd 2007; 4:59AM

I don't really have a problem either when reaching for the plus and minus buttons. I agree with aristokrat in that they could just add two buttons there and leave the others where they are. It does still feel awkward to me in MP3 when reaching for the down button to fire missiles.

beans: Oct 3rd 2007; 6:00AM

move the 1 and 2 buttons up there adn you got something

William: Oct 3rd 2007; 7:04AM

Too right. My biggest complaint about the Wiimote is how it works when you -aren't- using it to point and waggle. The buttons are all over the place and every thing I have to reach for the dpad or 1 button to do something it ticks me off.

Of course, games like Excite Truck now require the 1 and 2 buttons to remain where they are, so you either end up with duplicate buttons, or different 'motes for different games. -sigh-

Burnt Meatloaf: Oct 3rd 2007; 7:12AM

Why can't they just push left on the D-pad for minus, and right for plus? Is the D-pad used extensively in the game, and if so, should it be?

How about letting gamers remap the damn controls ourselves instead of constantly telling us how to play our games?

Unit: Oct 3rd 2007; 7:36AM

with the buttons so close together like that it seems that you'll have to precisely hit the A button. If the remote was made like the pic above you'll have people complaining about always hitting those other buttons by accident when all they wanted to press was the A button. Either way nintendo can never win cuz no matter which way they design the wii remote, gamers will always find something to complain about. That's just the nature of the beast!

zwarrior: Oct 3rd 2007; 7:49AM

The ogres would just have to press the bottom half of the A button

Ludwig Kietzmann: Oct 3rd 2007; 7:51AM

I don't think that would really be a problem, as the Gamecube controller had a very similar button layout focused around the large A-button.

Unit: Oct 3rd 2007; 8:04AM

if you have a gamecube controller, check the actual size of the buttons compared to the wii remote. the spacing and buttons are much bigger than the wii remotes. if they were to set the buttons like that, the wii remote would have to be alot wider.

zwarrior: Oct 3rd 2007; 7:47AM

I agree with that design, I always have to release my firm grasp on the remote if I want to use my scanner, that 1.34 seconds on top of the 4 seconds it takes for the thing to scan my enemy

bm: Oct 3rd 2007; 8:13AM

This "redesign" is rather silly and completely missing the point. Part of the whole attracting non-gamers thing is the clarity of just having the one big button up there.

And, as was mentioned by others, even if we disregard that demographic there's still the problem of it being completely unsuitable for sideways use.

Slaziman: Oct 3rd 2007; 9:06AM

And we people reading Joystiq give two shits about what the non-gamer wants?

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring): Oct 3rd 2007; 11:10AM

See slazi, its that outlook that causes you to totally miss out on Nintendo's mission with wii.

Heads up, its not all about you anymore.

megaStryke: Oct 3rd 2007; 9:23AM

I am wondering if half of you have broken thumbs and require splints to keep 'em stiff. That's the only possible explanation for why you people need to let go of the remote and shift your whole hand just to hit those plus and minus buttons. All I do is swing my thumb down by the joint, never having to move the rest of my hand. It's no worse than reaching all the way over to the start and select buttons on the NES.

Of course, if you guys have arthritis and that's why you are having problems, I totally feel for you. Then again, playing video games is probably what gave you arthritis in the first place.

Vidikron (FU): Oct 3rd 2007; 10:13AM

I guess you're special.

Actually, I can reach the plus/minus buttons but it's NOT comfortable. Often I would just reach over with my other hand to hit the buttons. Even using down on the d-pad to shoot missles isn't exactly convenient. The button layout is quite horrendous on the Wiimote.

megaStryke: Oct 3rd 2007; 10:46AM

http://www.bbspot.com/Images/News_Features/2006/11/wiimote.jpg

Oh yeah. The down button on the D-pad is soooooo far away from the A button. Damn, it's like, what, a quarter of an inch away from the A button? Look at the person's thumb it the linked photo! I bet if the woman sneezed she might accidentally graze the D-pad!

Yourself: Oct 3rd 2007; 9:34AM

I don't get everyone's huge problem with 1 and 2. They're down there for sideways controller use, you can't move them, and if you did, you'd have a controller that was way bigger than it needed to be.

As for plus and minus, though this proposed redesign looks nice, consider alternating between A and down on the d-pad (for instance, when firing missiles interspersed with beam in Metroid). You'd be in big trouble with those buttons there. Put them all the way on the sides of the A button and you might have an idea.

WiNG: Oct 3rd 2007; 10:18AM

agreed.

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!): Oct 3rd 2007; 9:54AM

I would rather it be like that, actually.
Yeah, it's not hard to really get to the + and - buttons, but at the same time, you can't really get there quickly, either.
Although it looks like the buttons are too small to use effectively. If there were a bit bigger, maybe...
On the other hand, you would likely also have a bitch of a time playing games like Sonic or something that require you to hold the Wiimote sideways. Then I can see that button layout becoming a pain; accidentally pausing the game and such.

In all honestly, it's not like Nintendo couldn't implement that design, either. Nothing fundamental is changing about the Wiimote.

Although if it were up to me, the Wiimote would look something more like this:
http://claytonheat.com/images/samfishwiiMote.jpg

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring): Oct 3rd 2007; 11:14AM

You've got something with 4 buttons at the bottom, but the analog stick in the middle would make it unusable unless it was a nub like the PSP has. Then it would be slightly less unusable.

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!): Oct 3rd 2007; 11:57AM

I was thinking that the stick would be the kind where you push it down and it stays down, and if you push down on it again, it clicks back upward.

WiNG: Oct 3rd 2007; 10:26AM

When are they gonna start making games that use 2x Wiimote, like maybe Virtual On 3 or something?

Todd: Oct 3rd 2007; 10:56AM

I'd be happy with a remote design like this.

Gstaff: Oct 3rd 2007; 11:09AM

I would have liked to have seen button on the side of the controller that function somewhat like a Mac mouse (though I suppose that idea is ruined by the new condom that you can get for the remote), but this mock up is certainly better than what's out on the market.

fawazr: Oct 3rd 2007; 12:50PM

The thing about game journalists is that they don't have the time to get fully comfortable with a game's controls, but they have plenty of time to ruminate about just how uninviting a game's controls are (because that's their job).

Just look through Youtube to see all the people who have easily mastered Prime 3's controls over the last month.