Nintendo doesn't have exclusive rights to MotionPlus

by Justin McElroy on Aug 8th 2008 1:15PM

We're criminally forgetful around these parts, so usually refer to the Wiimote MotionPlus accessory as "that thing that makes the Wiimote work the way it should have in the first place." But as it turns out it may also someday be "that thing that makes the 360 controller or DualShock 3 work the way the Wiimote should have in the first place." InvenSense, the company behind the tech, says that Nintendo doesn't have the exclusive rights to it, and that other companies have expressed an interest. To be fair though, they don't name anyone specifically.

So, Nintendo, out of curiosity: You invest in an addition to your console's primary feature and you don't even lock up the rights? How about you dig through Miyamoto's office cushions and buy the exclusivity, the company and a gold-plated hover-castle for them to work in? What are you saving for?

Source

Tags: invensense, motionplus, nintendo, Wii, wiimote, wiimotionplus

Reader Comments (54)

Actually the RAM expansion pack wasn't exclusive. I remember seeing 3rd party ones myself.

I may be wrong but I think they mean exclusive as in; only Nintendo will use it. Which, if I can remember correctly, only Nintendo used that RAM expansion pack (1st or 3rd party), so therefore it was exclusive.

One a side note; put me down for 78 comments.

I own one of the third party ram extension pak, it came with my N64 when I bough it used.
I remember Star Wars episode one racer was one game that used it not developed by Nintendo, wiki lists more.

Rofl I stil remember having that, Actually I still do have it...right behind me... I really should wipe the dust on my N64 and play me some original Mario Party :P... or finish DK 64....

But if WiiMotion is only a "plus" on top of the standard remote function, then does that mean MS and Sony would have to come up with their own version of WiiMotion-standard?

Thats a good question.
IDK the answer lol.

But regardless of how usefull the motion pluss can be alone and if it sony or microsoft can really use it to make their own motion ,why would Nintendo leave these happen?

I know nintendo is cheap but they are flooded with money,these is a potential threat to the wii that could be fixed if they invest and buy the rights.

yeah, I was kinda thinking myself "you mean, wii motion plus comes with it's own ir camera and automatically shaves off half of any standard controller that it gets connected to?"

The end is Nigh!

Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon. never compromise.

Well theres your 360 motion controller, this thing could prob just plug into the top of the controller.

This made me Laugh Out Loud.

LoL I like the the initial slant of the article... it's as if Nintendo made the product then, "whoops, We forgot it's someone else's tech" was uttered from their R&D collectively.

And yeah, given the crazy profits from the Wii, you'd think they would just try to buy out the company...

Actually, the first conclusion I jumped to was the iPhone.

The reason Nintendo couldn't give them a gold hover castle is because Mario wrecked the last one after Bowser stole it, before they could deliver it. Nintendo can't get them anywhere without Bowser hijacking it.

Actually it almost seems to make sense NOT to lock down the motion control patent.

Nintendo has banked on (and made bank from) a slew of games that integrate motion controls into their game play. If they allow the other major consoles to integrate this feature as well, it means more developers on board developing games that will work on the Wii which normally would have only been developed for the 360 or PS3.

Sad. I actually remember buying one of those for Perfect Dark.

This can only benefit the gaming world come next generation, so I'm all for it. I really do think motion control is the way to go in a lot of cases, and even though many companies are doin' it way wrong, there's lots of potential.

Sadly? I loved my memory expansion. It made Rogue Squadron even more impressive.

Yeah remember how you couldn't do ANYTHING in the game without it? Just campaign, no multiplayer and there was no shooting range or ANYTHING. The main menu was just that, a menu, no slick "walking through the facility" pre-game lounge. Donkey Kong Country was the same way, but at least it CAME with it.

Woah, whoops, that wasn't meant as a reply.

It looks like the competition in next generation of consoles will be very interesting indeed.

I hope they don't botch together some Frankenstein Dual Shock or 360 controller with this. I'd rather not see a ton of gimmicky motion based games on the other systems.

Well, if they all have motion controls, maybe... just maybe, someone will do it right and then spread to the rest of them.

I wouldn't hold my breath though...

To be honest, motion control isn't gimmicky if it's implemented properly and isn't over-done.

"I hope they don't botch together some Frankenstein Dual Shock or 360 controller with this."

Isn't that what the DualS(IXAXIS)hock3 already is?

This post is utter win simply b/c of the picture.

Bravo boys.

Well Guys this means that you people cant blame sony or M.S. for coping Nintendo now lol boy i love this gen .....and did you know that Motion controls is free that means no one has the rights to it ooooooops i guess you people forgot that ...

and Nintendo cant out buy M.S. i mean M. S. can thow billons on dollars to the people that made MotionPlus accessory and sue nintendo and they will be out for good .

I dunno. Nintendo is the richest company in Japan. Microsoft is not the richest company in the US. Heck, it's not even NEAR it.

Well turkeybaster i think you dont know M.S. that good i mean not even Ninitedo stocks worth 50 up 60 billon dollars .....sure they made money on the Wii but M.S. is much bigger then nintedno is .....look at M.S. is doing to some of sonys games they are buying them out under them ....

and i will best you on my life that M.S. in the future will try to buy out Nintedno or Sony ....i mean Bill gates owns more money then nintendo dose in its 20 plus years in the gaming .

you could also see the other side of the coin. By Nintendo not having the exclusive rights to this motion control, Sony and MS could very well copy and eventually standardize motion as the default controller input. If Nintendo were to own all the motion tech, then it gives more reason for critics to say the wiimote is a fad.

they need to save the money so that they can build 15 million more castles for the Princess not to be in....

geez what's with all the negative articles on nintendo recently joystiq? First it was Sony for a long while, now it's nintendo again. Do you people do rock paper scissors every 3 months or so to see who you pick on next?

Your fanbiy sites are actually now much more enjoyable to read than joystiq itself. Which is ironic as they are the ones with "fanboy" in their titles. How about some non-biased journalism. Take a clue from psp and wii fanboy.

Well all this negativity toward Nintendo is completely justified. They are doing stupid crap just like Sony was doing. I wonder if MS will pull something stupid this gen too (excluding RRoD)...

How does it feel now Nintendo fanboys?!

Would they be non-biased if they instead reported the opposite - lie/misinform? I like what you're getting at.

They're all gaming news. You want them to cherry pick only the positive ones? I don't even see this article as negative, (maybe just against Nintendo). It would be awesome if the current gen powerhouses can have near 1:1 motion controls as well. Imagine the possibilities.

I don't even really see how this is negative. I thought it was weird they didn't lock down the exclusivitiy.

Fin.

yea im with J. Mc (pronounced Jay Mack). i just assumed that Nintendo had bought the exclusive rights to this with all the money they are printing. oh well, my dreams of point and click LBP still live on!

Accelerometers arn't nintendo exclusive why on earth would gyroscopes be... :|

the "motion plus" tech, while impressive, really MUST be paired with the gyroscope based tech found in the Wiimote to do the (really really close to) 1:1 motion seen demoed in wii sports resort.

in other words, simply leasing and adding "motion plus" technology to say, a dual shock or xbox controller, would absolutely NOT offer anything like the control offered when pairing "motion plus" to the Wiimote.

well the Sixaxis/Dualshock 3 does have motion sensing remember. not nearly as accurate the current Wiimote, but it is there.

http://www.sonydefenseforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ps3_wiimote.jpg

http://www.become.com/pocketchange/xbox-wiimote.jpg

CONFIRMED!!!1!11!111!!

Why wasn't anything about this announced at E3? And why do the links have what I believe is the year 2007 in it? Why? And are any developers informed about this, unlike motion plus? Someone knows!

one of life's great mysteries i suppose.

http://www.sonydefenseforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/ps3_wiimote.jpg

http://www.become.com/pocketchange/xbox-wiimote.jpg

CONFIRMED!!!1!11!111!!

dammit. i refreshed the page like 5 times cause i thought my comment didnt post. and there it pops after i repost. fix the comment system Joystiq! k thx bai.

at BestBuy they now have towels and sweatbands for the WiiFit with WiiFit logos....I'm really tempted to buy them and go to the local gym just for laughs....

that would be the pinnacle of hilarity

seriously, people would die from laughter

That photo is the best.....ever

It's kinda ridiculous that Nintendo doesn't have exclusive rights to what should have already been apart of the system in the first place. Yeah yeah, I know all the little details as to why, but it's still ridiculous. That's all I'm saying.

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Nintendo doesn't have exclusive rights to MotionPlus

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