Topic: Nintendo Evaluating New Wii Remote Motion Chip Manufacturers

[Kairon]

UPDATE: Nintendo denies reports of internal Wii Remote upgrade.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=17300

 Sales of the Wii, and the Wii Remote controller, are through the roof. That means good times for the companies that manufacture the microchip accelerometers that allow them to detect motion. However, Nikkei Microdevices reports that Nintendo has been measuring their options by considering other companies that can supply motion sensing chips.    

Currently, the accelerometers that are integral to the Wii Remote and Nunchuk are supplied by the US company Analog Devices and French-Italian STMicroelectronics. However, Nintendo is reported to be evaluating samples from other companies that produce accelerometers. The Nikkei Microdevices report singles out US-based Kionix Inc. as having made a big splash due to its reputation of reliability and a MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) motion sensor that is thicker and potentially more sensitive than the current sensors from Analog Devices.    

The report states that Nintendo has not yet made any decisions to change suppliers. But however difficult it will be to secure a contract, the high-stakes battle to supply Nintendo and be a part of the Wii success story is sure to go on.    

UPDATE:    

Responding to an inquiry by Edge, Nintendo has denied that the Wii Remote would see internal upgrades via new motion sensing chips. A spokesperson told Edge that reports such as those published by Nikkei Microdevices via Tech-On! were "purely rumor and speculation."

[Tansunn]

More sensitive?  The current one isn't sensitive enough?  I have fond memories of putting down the Wii Remote so I could type a message to a friend, and upon picking the remote back up (not in a particularly forceful manner, I don't think) I ended up stabbing the merchant in RE4.

Unless they mean to say "more accurate," which I'm all for, although it seems that would not only lower the value of the current Wii Remotes, but possibly render the MotionPlus unnecessary.  (At least as far as functionality goes.  I don't doubt some games would come up with a message saying you need to attach one to play the game.)

[UltimatePartyBear]

Motion Plus will still be a big improvement.  It uses a completely different type of sensor.  I am concerned that a change in the sensitivity of the Wii remote could mean that games would play slightly differently with different remotes, though.  Most of the time it probably wouldn't matter, but I can imagine it allowing more finesse in Mario Kart, for example, or moving the threshold between a hard tap and a light one in Let's Tap.  I can also imagine greater sensitivity screwing up the analysis of motions in some games depending on how badly they were programmed.  However, I don't think the improvements will be all that large, and I trust that Nintendo will take all of that into consideration.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Nintendo sells fun and quality, not Red Rings of Death.

[vudu]

Why would we want new remotes with different sensitivity floating around?  Isn't it going to affect the game existing games control?

I have fond memories of putting down the Wii Remote so I could type a message to a friend, and upon picking the remote back up (not in a particularly forceful manner, I don't think) I ended up stabbing the merchant in RE4.

This makes me laugh. 

[EasyCure]

Why would we want new remotes with different sensitivity floating around?  Isn't it going to affect the game existing games control?

I have fond memories of putting down the Wii Remote so I could type a message to a friend, and upon picking the remote back up (not in a particularly forceful manner, I don't think) I ended up stabbing the merchant in RE4.

This makes me laugh. 

Happened to me every time i had to scratch my nose.

[Kairon]

Well, while the original report talked about the current Wiimote chips, it's easy to speculate that this involves future technologies as well.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Improved murder simulators and animal killing, bring it.

[ST PR Guy]

STMicroelectronics has been a reliable supplier to Nintendo from its first shipment of the revolutionary Wii gaming system. We continue to have a strong relationship with Nintendo and have been achieving all appropriate milestones. That other suppliers are trying to take this business shouldn't be news to anyone and we're disappointed that anyone should take at face value comments and innuendo by these other suppliers that a major customer is considering changing suppliers without identifying the source or confirming the information with the customer. With regard to future developments, ST is moving forward aggressively in our own accelerometer developments, as we've always done. Since delivering the first accelerometers for the Wii, we've continued to improve the sensitivity and performance of our accelerometers while increasing our manufacturing efficiency. All this is aimed at maintaining and reinforcing our existing business relationships and at building strong new ones by helping our customers deliver cooler gaming systems, hotter phones, and better products

[Plugabugz]

I think this is just Nintendo trying to squeeze every penny out of their existing production costs and little else.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Business as usual, then.

Always interested in seeing compact, efficient tech that helps make room to cram more tech in an already-amazing device.

[Ian Sane]

Unless Nintendo is REALLY dumb they're not going to change the accuracy of the remote.  They surely would know that would mess up the controls of existing games or make future games work goofy with old remotes.  No, that would be stupid.

Besides this looks to me like their goal is to increase remote production.  Would they normally have to have an exclusive agreement with one company or to increase production would they be getting accelerometers from multiple companies and thus need them all virtually identical for compatibility purposes?  I don't know enough about this kind of business practices so guess what they would do.

[Peachylala]

Unless Nintendo is REALLY dumb they're not going to change the accuracy of the remote.  They surely would know that would mess up the controls of existing games or make future games work goofy with old remotes.  No, that would be stupid.

We've been proven over and over again that a majority of developers excluding Nintendo's can't really work around the inaccuracy of the Wiimote. In fact, having a better chip could make some games play better without having the remake them with the Wii Motion Plus.

I also bolded that sentence to just say that I highly doubt that will happen. Then again, this is Nintendo, anything is possible.

[KDR_11k]

How would fewer errors in the reported values hurt games?

[Galahad]

Point of reference: the accelerometer is the more accurate and sensitive chip contained in the Wii Remote Controller and it's technology enabled the Wii to be possible in the first place.  The nunchuck chip is less sophisticated.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

STMicro Nunchucks are ruining mah games.

[KDR_11k]

Blogosphere, lol.

[Galahad]

Sorry, what's a MAH game? And why does the Nunchuck controller ruin it?  Can you explain?

Apologies for passe diction: blogsphere.  What's the appropriate term?

[Kairon]

mah = my

and you can call the blogging world whatever you want really. This is the internet. KDR's term, blogosphere, is what I see a lot, though I remember a humorous magazine article that suggested the combination "blogoblog." Heh.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

MAH = immature internet pronunciation for "my," to add emphasis

The Nunchuck's disappointing, limited accuracy is fully apparent in games like Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (the music mini-game).  It feels slower to respond compared to the Wii Remote, and it doesn't capture rapid changes in direction as well as the Remote.  For example:  whipping the controller in a circle, similar to a lasso.  I would have to physically swing the Nunchuck faster to get results similar to using the Remote.  Despite doing more work, the Nunchuck results still aren't satisfactory.

Based on the in-game indicators in Rabbids, whipping the Remote appears to send a constant stream of successful feedback, while the Nunchuck produces discontinuous, sporadic feedback.  That disconnect does not provide a good feel for the activity, and adversely affects the scores of my friends who aren't as aware of the control's technical nature as I am.  The result:  I seem to have an unfair advantage at the game while they quit in dissatisfaction.

It's no wonder why many games avoid mapping detailed actions to the Nunchuck.  In Metroid Prime 3, turning handles were mapped to the Remote (typically in a player's right hand), despite the in-game character using her left hand to perform the action (I expected the left-hand Nunchuck to be used in the first place).  Simply awkward.

[Galahad]

Just realized "Muh" was slang for "MY," Sounds like southern accent...

Wow, thanks very much for your patience with a silly newbie, I'm not worthy! 

Per the Wii Controller and the NunChuck, I'd guess Nintendo would want to improve the action of both to simulate real-life as closely as possible.  LOL on your comment about having an advantage over your friends because you understand how it works.

[KDR_11k]

Apologies for passe diction: blogsphere.  What's the appropriate term?

A million monkeys on typewriters.