Nintendo unveils Wii MotionPlus accessory for 'unmatched precision'

by Ross Miller on Jul 14th 2008 12:00PM

Nintendo has announced via press release Wii MotionPlus, an accessory for the Wii remote that works with both the sensor bar and accelerometer to "allow for more comprehensive tracking of a player's arm position and orientation." No other details are provided at the moment, but more information is promised for Nintendo's press conferece tomorrow.

Fun fact: Here's the mass text message Nintendo sent out 2 the press:

Source

Tags: breakingnews, Wii, wii-mote, wii-motionplus, wii-remote, wiimote

Reader Comments (157)

Hmm, the picture doesn't show the bottom of the peripheral. It could have an ir camera underneath so the pointer and the distance meter could be used while holding it up?

I'm just wondering.

Okay I am trying to make an educated guess here (I played around with Wiimote programming on my PC for a bit)

The Wiimote has a built-in accelerometer that measures g-force in three direction (when the WM is in free-fall all axis have a value of 0 g). Take note: it measures g-force - NOT orientation. Thus an accelerometer by itself has limitations. The accelerometer in the Wiimote is actually accurate - that is not the problem.

For example the Wiimote does not allow for calculating a correct yaw without IR camera/sensor bar support. Even then it ain't that good.

My guess is that the MotionSensePlus has a built-in gyroscope which is actually used for measuring orientation.

If I am correct this would allow for much more natural motion sensing.

As for why they may not have included it before: gyroscopes are more expensive than accelerometers AFAIK.

NEW ZELDA WITH 1:1 SWORD MOVEMENT CONFIRMED

Hmmm...

OK, here's a guess: WiiMusic will come bundled with 2 of these (for precise drumming)

all the motion sensors in controllers only return the amount of movement it detects, it's up to a rocket scientist to come up with a formula to calculate the approximate position based on the acceleration and the time it takes to reach the stop state.

The add-on could be a math processor that cleverly makes use of the accelerometers and the sensor bar to calculate an almost exact position of the controller.
Or a special accelerometers that're locked on to the earth's gravity. With a compass to detect the horizontal direction.

With the MotionPlus it seems like Nintendo is charging for something that feels like it should have been part of the Wii in the first place.

Granted, there were probably cost reasons as to why more precise motion tracking technology wasn't included in the the Wii remote when it first came out but still, it's like the 360 controller having an addon for a new C button.