http://gizmodo.com/5031272/wii-motionplus-demonstrated-in-3d-jedi-drone-training-is-go

Looks pretty neat! Id like to see what game developers could do with it.

You know, that's the exact same thought when I heard of the Wii 2 years ago.

you know, they could do nothing with it because it's an optional addon and those don't sell.

I was under the impression that the Wii Balance Board peripheral is selling decently.

Memory cards are an "optional addon" and they certainly sold well. Yay for blanket statements!

..but essentially all games used memory cards. You can't progress to the end of games without them. Memory cards aren't an optional peripheral as much as a necessary tool.

It actually looks pretty cool. I'm looking forward to messing around with it, even if there aren't any great games that use it.

And the Gamecube Bongos really came into their own when Factor 5 released Rogue Squadron IV: Bongos of the Force. And I'm really excited about the guitar hero minigame Bethesda's putting in Fallout 3. Why, the Playstation Eye and 360 Webcam sold so well that I hear next year you'll require them to play all new games! It's like ROB, the Power Glove, the NES Exercise Mat and the Super Scope have come back to life!

Oh wait, no. They're all one-shot gimmick peripherals bundled with one-shot games that no companies other than the original manufacturer ever supported because doing so would automatically eliminate 90% of their potential market. But at least the games that do use it (optionally) will have really smooth motions between their canned animations!

And what makes you think this won't be the same for the Wii?

I equate it to more like the rumble pak. Not required, but useful in nearly every game.

All that needs to happen is have a few games that support it, bundled with it... like star fox 64 and the rumble pack... the rest would fall into place.

Except no games that used the rumble pack required them. By design. The closest was Ocarina of Time and the Stone of Agony.


And the rumble pak was not an input method with no existing analogue. I don't think you've really noticed just how horrendously useless the Wii Remote's accelerometers are... if you released a game that made use of the motionplus in a meaningful way (i.e. for gameplay) this is functionality you literally cannot provide to players with the Wii Remote they already own. So I guess we agree then, in that games will only ever use it to make the graphics a little prettier?

I don't care Jon`C, I want a lightsaber game that uses it!

I think you're taking wild guesses and since in reality the success of add-ons is random, dooming this before it even comes out is pretty ridiculous.

There were however games that required the expansion pak for the N64, they bundled that with the games and never had a problem with it.

What.

So for the Wii Balance Board to "sell well", it needs to have support from numerous games? What about the Guitar Hero plastic guitar peripheral then? It only receives support from essentially one series of games made by the same developers. Not to mention you actually don't actually need the thing to play those games. The Wii Balance Board may be a cheap pile of plastic and fairly unsuccessful at the very thing it was suppose to do, but money is money; 3.5 million copies of Wii Fit sold and people lined up for the damn thing on release day.

I guess it boils down to what defines "well". The useless abomination of the Wii Zapper probably turned a modest profit but far from the popularity of the board.

The wii zapper was just a handle. It's hardly comparable.

Then how about the Nintendo eReader or whatever.

No, because what I was actually saying (instead of whatever your imagination created) is that, even if a peripheral is collecting dust on every nerd-shelf in the nerd-world, game companies won't use it. The industry has been deluged by hundreds of examples of peripherals that nobody used because they did not have near-100% market saturation. I mean, why did you think game developers were unhappy about Microsoft's decision not to include the 360's hard drive with core systems? Do you seriously think it's because they wanted 17 MB save files?

The N64 Expansion Pak is probably the absolute worst example you could give in this situation. There were only 2 games that would not work without the Expansion Pak - Majora's Mask and DK64 - and both were bundled with the thing. ALL other Expansion Pak games worked without the Expansion Pak!

The Expansion Pak is the perfect example of an optional add-on. So is the Rumble Pak. So is a memory card/memory pak, actually, since you are never required to save your game in order to play - and since Final Fantasy 7 came out they weren't really seen as optional anymore, with many system bundles including them. No. What you're looking at here is the zapper and the super scope and the gamecube bongos and all of those other new, improved, or innovative forms of input that (again) NEVER took off. What you're looking at is the mystical 6-button Genesis controller that no games required because the systems never came with them. I'm sorry if I'm repeating myself but this is really really self-evident to me and it should be to anybody else who has actually ever owned a console before nintendo's current crop of crap.

The success of add-ons is not random and I'm not taking wild guesses. I'm sorry you really really really like nintendo (to a degree that probably isn't very healthy) but we've seen this before. Except it's even worse now because Nintendo is no longer interested in the segment of the population that is:

1.) willing to upgrade their console,
2.) interested in playing games with true 1:1 motion capture, and
3.) cognitively aware of the "REQUIRES WII MOTION PLUS" sticker on the front of the box

...so I pretty much expect Nintendo to walk into this thing with the attitude that it's meant for one crappy game, too.

I stopped caring here when it became evident you no longer cared about the argument and instead were willing to just insult other's opinions.

If you think for a second that this is about fanboyism then you are sorely mistaken.

Despite the fact that even the balance board has shown up in trailers of other games coming out, I don't see how you can possibly make this claim. I think you are flagrantly raging on Nintendo needlessly, a prime example of an "anti-fanboy". You can disagree and argue that all you like but it proves a point (being that stating this despite bountiful evidence to the contrary is stupid).

I didn't know anybody was using the Balance Board in other games. Are any of them not made by Nintendo?

Besides, this didn't invalidate my argument, and none of the examples anybody posted is remotely comparable to what the wii motion plus does. Now that we're down to me calling you a Nintendo fanboy and you calling me an anti-fanboy there's really no point in continuing. I guess we'll wait and find out?

By which I mean you'll wait and find out, because I've owned every major console since the NES and I've already seen it. v v

The new Raving Rabbids game is an example of one of the games to use the balance board. It's shown in one of the E3 trailers. And no, it's not made by Nintendo.

Also, I find the memory card analogy to be perfectly fine here. It's required for many games, and those that don't you might as well not play them. Just like this could easily be.

Finally, we are not down to calling eachother names, you are. I simply threw it out there to make a point; I was being facetious. I was hoping you'd figure that out, but obviously not.

As have I (even the Virtual Boy, yay for getting it for $30 + 3 games). Doesn't mean you're right.

I don't jump to the conclusion that it will be an instant success, I just refuse to jump on the "NINTENDO FAILWAGON" and instantly mark it a failure. I will certainly wait and see, and hope it does revitalize the motion controls for the system.

So does everyone else, Jon is just being realistic.

Actually, the next version of EA's Skate will make use of the balance board if you have it. As will the next Tony Hawk game if I remember correctly.

Fixed.

Wait.

Are you inferring from my comment that, because Wii Fit and its counter-peripheral sold well, I believed that suddenly developers are going to start incorporating the hunk of plastics in their games? And additionally, the idea that because 3.5 million and counting people own the thing, it would be a must-have peripheral that revolutionize, or atleast stir up, the gaming industry? No, I stated that the Wii Balance Board, due to being hardware to the much sensationalized Wii Fit software, "sold well". Alot of people bought it, and, as a peripheral accessory, it didn't turn customers away but instead played as a catalyst for the sales.

I never disagreed it was a one-shot gimmick. And perhaps I will say, because it IS pretty much a one-trick pony, it was successful in the public eye. I don't think Nintendo originally ever marketed the Wii Balance Board as something that would be later significantly used for new games. Ever since people noted how the Wii and its motion controls could be used to get their fat a**es up and exercise, a lightbulb went off in the diseased, dry well known as Nintendo's Creativity Department and, voila, Wii Fit! In other words, I wasn't under the impression that the guys at Nintendo said the Balance Board could bring a brand new experience to gaming in general but, instead, more of a "hey, new EXERCISE game for the Wii, comes with this neat little white board, now BUY IT."

Because a lot of people bought Guitar Hero, I wasn't implying developers were going to intentionally add in guitar-peripheral focused gameplay. And even if almost every household has a plastic Guitar Hero guitar sitting in the closet, I never stated that it would force most developers out there to manifest some sort of use of the thing into games. People bought the peripheral, even though they could have just used a normal game controller, to play Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero became popular and sold well. So popular, in fact, more Guitar Hero games are coming out. I know I'm stating the damn obvious, but its an instance of a peripheral-based game, and its respective plastic peripheral, bringing in the cash.

Yes, the Nintendo Super Scope bombed. Yes, the Expansion Pak was stupid and waste of $30. Hell, most of the crap out there failed and were complete sh*t. I personally believe WiiMotion Plus isn't going to win over mainstream customers and developers alike. I was making an observation that, in some cases, peripherals can bring in the cash. Nintendo tried to pass off the Super Scope as an edgy device that would bring a new level of future gameplay; we all know it didn't. But when, ignoring the idea of trying to spark an innovation in gaming history, looking to simply provide something people, at the time being, were hoping for, it works. People thought it was cool to pretend to be a rock star or needed something colorful to do drunk at parties, Guitar Hero capitalized that. I don't understand where the debate lies; it wasn't suppose to be a counter to any of your real points.

Whatever.

Jon could argue the sky is red and people would believe him.

Sometimes, I think he just makes **** up because he sounds so smart people won't question it.

My imagination just went wild from picturing Chewie and Vader playing with the bongos.

Whatever makes you feel better for being wrong so much.

That's pretty much it. The lack of a guaranteed hardware environment is the reason the PC game industry is dying. If Nintendo markets this peripheral well, and it's supported by a large number of developers, I will eat my words. Literally. Hell, I'll write my words on a crow so I can eat both at the same time. I'd probably enjoy the result more than anybody else here.

By the way, the correct answer was 'Dual Shock'. Sony has the best track record of the industry for pushing peripherals to the market because they strong-arm licensees into supporting these things.

I'm sorry, the Wii fit is selling out like MAD. We get them in and they're gone within the same week, if not day, if not hour. Honestly it's kinda weird--most addons DON'T sell, but that particular one is making quite the waves.

*Can* you actually play Guitar Hero with the regular 360 controller? Because that would be sweet.

Yes.

Good luck beating Expert with it though.

The thing is he's almost always right though.

And when he's not Mort-hog is.