Thanks to the journalizing of one Dean Takahashi, we may finally have an answer to one of our favorite questions: Why wasn't the Wii MotionPlus, the thing that makes the Wiimote work the way you thought it would before you bought it, included when the system launched? According to Reggie Fils-Amie (and this should come as no surprise) Nintendo was aware of the tech when it was putting the Wii together, but deemed the price "too high" at the time. Now that it's cheaper, it's bringing it to the masses.
What Reggie won't discuss is when the next Wii will go public, calling
rumors of a 2011 release "pure rumor and speculation." Meaning: The release of Nintendo's new console is
completely dependent on Shigeru Miyamoto lowering his crystalline hovercastle from Planet Flowerkiss and dropping it off ... and it's not like he ever
calls first.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Red Leader @ Oct 7th 2008 2:06PM
Oh, it makes so much sense now! Nintendo didn't rip me off with a next to useless remote, they just wanted to save me money.
*snaps out of it*
Hey wait a second, something smells like bull here.
Jakka @ Oct 7th 2008 2:09PM
They didn't rip you off, because they don't care about you.And casualls don't care about being ripped-off.
A simply paradox that prints money.
Anni @ Oct 7th 2008 2:25PM
"next to useless"
Nothing that phallic is ever useless, my friend.
Killjebus @ Oct 7th 2008 3:09PM
Not only did Nintendo want to save money, they want to charge you MORE for what you should have got in the 1st place.
And so many people busted Sony's balls for "FORCING" Blu-ray and the Cell on us.
In 2009 the WSM will become as irrelevant to gamers (soccermoms will still love it) as the Rupubs to Americans.
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 4:17PM
Really? 2009 is going to be a kickass year for Wii owners however you look at it.
If it's not for you, fine, but don't try to diminish our joy.
Your trolling certainly won't wipe the smile off my face as i learn newer and never-before-seen means of evisceration this January, or make a dude bleed croissants sometime in Q1.
samfish @ Oct 7th 2008 5:17PM
Sorry, KillJebus, but 2009 really is going to be a good year for the Wii. Even a troll like you can't deny that they're finally bringing the goods en masse, at least for the first quarter or so.
Also, if anything is going to be irrelevant and compared to Repuglicans in 2009, it'll be the PS3, with it's Darth Vader-esque appearance. And we all know that, like Republicans, Vader was a fascist.
Thief @ Oct 7th 2008 2:11PM
God I can't stand that guys face.
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 2:20PM
He would've been the perfect foe for FaceBreaker, right?
I hope, though there's no chance of it, that they put him in Punch Out!!
samfish @ Oct 7th 2008 5:23PM
I would adore the chance to beat the crap out of that douche in Punch-Out.
THIS IS FOR NOT RELEASING A.S.H.! *WHAM!*
This one's for Soma Bringer! *POW!*
Rhythm Tengoku! *PUNCH!*
Ouendan! *SOCK!*
Captain Rainbow! *ZOP!*
Disaster! *BIF!*
Fatal Frame 4! *BATMAN!*
MOTHER 3! *wiff!*
TINGLES ROSY FUCKING RUPEE LAND! *THUNCH!*
Marty @ Oct 7th 2008 2:12PM
Dude... gelato is pretty damn tasty.
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 2:18PM
Makes sense, i'd put the Wii Remote/Nunchuk combo in a category of "just this side of inexcusable" in terms of price, hard to imagine how obstructing it would have been back around launch if the thing was more expensive and harder to produce
Of course, everyone's charging next-to-inexcusable prices for their controllers this gen, so you're in the lurch wherever you go.
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 2:21PM
I could also imagine them being kinda cagey on revealing Wii2 details
Especially considering that they have NEVER confirmed the Wii's specs. 729 Mhz Processor is taking as canon, but they themselves never released that number.
gameplayFanBoy @ Oct 7th 2008 2:18PM
Translation: Nintendo waited to release this to keep costs down to appeal to the sizable and largely untapped casual market, and then later capitalize on additional higher-margin accessory profits from the smaller "hardcore" audience that this technology appeals to. Nintendo is so damn good at making money...
xFenixKnightx @ Oct 7th 2008 2:30PM
Is it just me or does Reggie not exude the Nintendo vibe? The guy is scary as fuck! I bet he doesn't even get trick-or-treaters at his house.
DangerMouse @ Oct 7th 2008 2:34PM
He doesn't get kids at his house because he hands out shovelware DS games instead of candy.
xFenixKnightx @ Oct 7th 2008 3:02PM
I see, and I here I thought all he handed out was false hope.
:P
Cheesecake Jones @ Oct 7th 2008 3:39PM
He probably dresses up like Tingle, too.
*Shudder* I just creeped myself out...
samfish @ Oct 7th 2008 5:26PM
And you just gave ME a boner!
CJLopez @ Oct 7th 2008 6:17PM
Oh man, made my day, xDDDDDDDD
I did imagine Reggie, cosplaying tingle, handing ds shovelware to kids instead of candy, maaaaan, i wanna lol so hard!!!!
Shagittarius @ Oct 7th 2008 2:31PM
Nintendo isn't going to fix their problems with the hardcore crowd simply by affixing 'HD' next to the same Wii gameplan.
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 2:46PM
Nintendo will never fix their hardcore problems because they'll never put a gaming PC in a smaller box and call it a console
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 7th 2008 2:58PM
You say that like it's a bad thing mr khan, when both systems are much superior to the wii. That wasn't a very good burn.
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 3:01PM
I find disdain for it personally, but it seems to work with the majority of the hardcore gamers about here
I mean, we all grew up with a time where console and PC gaming were totally different things, and i'm just one of the few that does see it as a bad thing when those lines blur.
Shagittarius @ Oct 7th 2008 3:19PM
Sorta like how Nintendo release a technology (waggle) that was originally a PC technology?
WiiFTW @ Oct 7th 2008 3:51PM
Not really. Motion controls weren't really implemented enough to be as popular as the 360 or PS3 today before the Wii. Now graphics, that's somewhere where the PC was known for and came out only in a slight margin over consoles. No, I don't care for my Wii much anymore, I'm just getting the facts straight.
Kye - Me_DF @ Oct 7th 2008 2:43PM
At the thought of Nintendo's next console's release being dependant on Miyamoto, a small part of me rejoiced and a small part of me died.
Killjebus @ Oct 7th 2008 3:13PM
So, Nintendo could have included this tech at launch? They decided not to because it costed to much money? So they might have had to sell the Wii at launch at a loss and NOT a profit? (an industry FIRST by the way)
Stupid Sony and their cutting edge tech that costed them $200 a system LOSS at launch.
Smart Nintendo and their $50 PROFIT at launch.
Which company do you think wanted to give you MORE for LESS?
hint, it's NOT Nintendo
WorMzy @ Oct 7th 2008 3:18PM
Which company is coming out on top of this console war?
hint, it's NOT Sony
=P
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 3:25PM
Old Vlad Cole is smiling somewhere right now
Killjebus @ Oct 7th 2008 3:27PM
So you are HAPPY that you now have to buy something that Nintendo should have put in at launch. The WHOLE concept of the Wii is the control, yet they gimped that to make more money off of you.
And you support this?
You're logic confounds me.
Vcize @ Oct 7th 2008 3:53PM
I hate to do it, but I'm gonna have to agree with Killjebus bigtime on this one.
It seems really, really, really dirty to use the "it was too expensive" excuse on a console that was sold for a profit (which is never done) on launch day.
Wow. Just....wow.
harusame @ Oct 7th 2008 4:54PM
You are forgetting that the MotionPlus technology would have made the wiimote, not the console itself, more expensive to manufacture. The wiimote & nunchuk combo is expensive enough as it is so the higher prize would definitely have hurt sales. No console manufacturer, not even Sony, would sell extra controllers at loss.
At least the wiimote had rumble at launch. ;)
harusame @ Oct 7th 2008 4:57PM
You are forgetting that the MotionPlus technology would have made the wiimote, not the console itself, more expensive to manufacture. The wiimote & nunchuk combo is expensive enough as it is so the higher prize would definitely have hurt sales. No console manufacturer, not even Sony, would sell extra controllers at loss.
At least the wiimote had rumble at launch. ;)
samfish @ Oct 7th 2008 5:30PM
"So they might have had to sell the Wii at launch at a loss and NOT a profit? (an industry FIRST by the way)"
What fucking fantasy land are YOU living in?
NES, SNES, Genesis, PS1, N64 and many others (not sure about the SS or DC) came out of the gate priced to make a profit on launch.
It wasn't until the PS2 and Xbox that hardware started being sold at all loss. Nintendo in particular has *ALWAYS* made a profit on their consoles from day 1, you numbskull.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 7th 2008 7:02PM
Yeah Killjebus. Cause Sony would never, ever put something much later in its console that should have been there at launch. Sony would never do something so silly.
OH WAIT...
zkey14 @ Oct 7th 2008 3:19PM
I love it when Nintendo's higher-ups try to explain these things. It always serves for a good laugh.
Blazur @ Oct 7th 2008 3:27PM
Great, now let's talk about the benefit of ebaying your Wii.
squirtforce @ Oct 7th 2008 3:53PM
Amen to that! I sold mine on craigslist and felt bad as I unloaded that thing on some dopey middle aged couple. But hey, their kids are fake bowling right now for all I know. God bless em. Me? I used that money for beer and blow. NOW WHO'S LAUGHING.
Mr Khan @ Oct 7th 2008 4:14PM
We won't miss either of you, bye.
samfish @ Oct 7th 2008 5:32PM
If this means one less troll shitting up every Nintendo topic, I'm all for you selling your Wii.
See, now you don't have it. So please go away.
WRE @ Oct 7th 2008 7:16PM
Wait, I came in late on this. Squirtforce is blowing some old dude's Wii?
el serpiente @ Oct 7th 2008 10:56PM
Bravo, WRE. I actually '+ed' you.
"We won't miss either of you, bye." -Khan
Who is we? The Nintendo Super Squad that meets in your mom's basement every Thursday? You gonna rip off his Yoshi merit badge and confiscate his nunchuku? Get a grip...
WRE @ Oct 8th 2008 12:22AM
Aww, that means a lot el serpiente.
hurmun @ Oct 7th 2008 3:49PM
they're so out of touch and arrogant, i swear
squirtforce @ Oct 7th 2008 5:14PM
Miss me? How could you even see if I even had one with how functionally retarded the online is? The extent of it seemed to be the ability to send hitler mii's, which is okay for the first six months or so but after that I need to see who I'm beating off to...
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 7th 2008 7:04PM
Wow. Seriously. What are you 10? Isn't it pass your bedtime or something? Or are you that hardcore your mom is making you stay up a little later?
Squirtforce @ Oct 7th 2008 7:51PM
That hurts, Ska Oreo.
nofriendo @ Oct 7th 2008 5:31PM
You guys are so full of shit. When the wii motion plus sells with wii sports 2 for just ten dollars more, its still not gonna add up to the wopping $600 fuck you sony gave.
the tally is still $200 stolen from you from sony, $10 (hell i'll even say $30) from nintendo.
Do you guys forget that easy, or are you on the biggest witch hunt of my life and yours
Squirtforce @ Oct 7th 2008 8:24PM
Speak for yourself. The biggest witch hunt of my life involves actual fucking witches. And I mean S E X.
nofriendo @ Oct 7th 2008 5:36PM
As for squirtforce pretending to know what everybody likes and doing the "dis-honor" of selling his wii to that old couple for blow, he knew he made the wrong decision when he had to do line off the old mans bonner.