IGN: So tell us a little about what you did with the Wii Motion Plus.

Joe Virginia, VP of Wireless Business and Corporate Communications for InvenSense: What we're doing is, in combination with the sensor bar and the three axis accelerometer that is available within the current Wii Remote, we're now introducing MEMS gyroscope capability. And what that allows you is, rather than just having up/down, left/right, back/forth motion, you now have the ability to do rotational movements within each of those X, Y, and Z axis. So if you imagine you had extended straight out and twisted your hand, now you have the ability to measure rotational force. Did you have an opportunity to use the Wii Motion Plus attachment?

IGN: Yes, I got to play the sword fighting game in Wii Sports Resort.

Virginia: Great, so you had the opportunity to swing the sword above your head, behind your head, thrust right, thrust forward. All of those types of motions in the past weren't possible, but this is the gyroscope capability, combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar within the Wii remote system that bring a new level of gameplay. There were several other things. Maybe not as cool of a game, but I'm looking at it from a motions sensing perspective, do you remember the jet ski demonstration? If you notice how [Reggie Fils-Aime] was using the throttle in the jet ski application where you had to move left and right and move through the course. The throttling really showed rotational movement that has never been able to be tracked before by the Wii Remote controller. So that was another area where rotational force was used.

So the multi axis gyroscope provides new capabilities to game developers. Now there's where the line is drawn. We provide the capability as a motions sensing provider and the game developer takes that and says "Okay what can we do with this new capability?" If you can measure six degrees of freedom in free space, a game developer has enormous opportunities. As you saw in Wii Sports Resort, the ability to control the angle of a disc flying through space, sword fighting. We can envision things in the future like golf swings. There's a very, very fast rotational time. The kind of specification we're looking at in response is between 500 and 2,000 degrees per second. So a very, very fast response, such as for golf swings or sword motions. So all we do is provide the capabilities and enable that, but that's where we stop and the game developers take over.


IGN: So what's the story behind your partnership with Nintendo? Who approached whom?

Virginia: Well, I can't get into the details of how all that began. All I'm permitted to say is that both companies were leaders in their respective fields, and the partnership just made sense. You've got the motion sensing leader in gaming understanding that a company called InvenSense makes a low cost, high performance gyroscope product with the ability to mass produce.IGN: Is this InvenSense's first partnership with a gaming company?

Virginia: I can't say yes or no to that question. As you might imagine there are other gaming companies that InvenSense is working with. What we're proud about the Nintendo relationship is this will be, I do believe the first to market with our product, the IDG 600. But that is not to say this is an exclusive relationship. The IDG 600 is not a custom product, but it is a product that has been designed with Nintendo's specification in mind.

IGN: The IDG 600 reportedly has a 10,000G shock rating. What does that mean for gamers?

Virginia: Imagine holding your cellphone over a concrete floor, you're one meter high from that. Let go of your cell phone, let it smash on the floor, and pick up your phone and use it. That gives you an idea of a 10,000 G chock rating. What you can imagine from this is that hands are swinging wildly. These devices are known to be used vigorously. The type of rating that we're looking at, because it's a semi-conductor packaged, hermetically sealed device, would mean it is incredibly robust and would be able to survive an incredibly harsh environment where those hands are swinging wildly. We were able to increase the precision and response time, without making it more delicate.

IGN: Does the Wii Motion Plus provide absolutely true 1:1 movement, or is that even possible with today's technology?

Virginia: Well it's certainly possible with the technology we're offering them, in combination with other sensors. We're not the exclusive sensor provider. There is the accelerometer and the sensor bar. The combination of everything together will provide true 1:1 gaming. Nintendo is able to offer six degrees of freedom. If you imagine an X, Y, Z frame. Now imagine it's not just up down left right, back forth, but also rotation. That's the maximum amount of motion that can ever be tracked.


IGN: Will the Wii Motion Plus drain the batteries faster?

Virginia: That's really a system issue and that's something we have no knowledge of from the design perspective. There is some power consumption, sure.


IGN: How many accelerometers are in the Wii Motion Plus?

Virginia: It's one multi-axis accelerometer.


IGN: And how subtle can you get with your movement?

Virginia: It's incredibly high precision, so that's difficult to say. All I can say is the combination of the sensor bar, the gyroscopes, and the accelerometer it's more than enough for any gaming purposes.


IGN: We've seen a few applications for how the device can be used: jet skiing, sword fighting. What other games do you see this being used for?

Virginia: Anything that has to do with moving your hand rapidly. So tennis motions, or golf swings. My mind isn't nearly as good a game developer's. From a personal perspective I'd like to fight monsters with my own movements. Using those forward thrusts and twist, sword fighting is something that instantly comes to mind, but also it'd work for golf swings. Or bowling where you could put a twist on the ball and actually bowl. I can hardly wait to see what developer's come up with. Putting this kind of capability is the hand of developers is going to make this a must have.

IGN: Is this InvenSense's first partnership with a gaming company?

Virginia: I can't say yes or no to that question. As you might imagine there are other gaming companies that InvenSense is working with. What we're proud about the Nintendo relationship is this will be, I do believe the first to market with our product, the IDG 600. But that is not to say this is an exclusive relationship. The IDG 600 is not a custom product, but it is a product that has been designed with Nintendo's specification in mind.

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Andrex said:

Zelda now plz.

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Kevin said:

All this technology is useless with all the shovelware that gets released on the Wii. I would love to see a first person lightsaber game or something exclusively designed for Wii but as the years pass, my faith in good solid third party Wii titles dwindles.

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Andrex said:

Zelda now plz.

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Buggy Loop said:

Its been like what, a little over 1 week since its been introduced? Give devs a break ffs

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Kevin said:

Would be a fine example from Nintendo but to be honest? I have a difficult time believing that the next Zelda will support Wii Motion Plus. I would love to see the next Zelda game utilize the Wiimote in innovative ways but Miyamoto hasn't really been embracing Wii controls himself other then subtle swings and what not. Super Mario Galaxy had only a couple of motion functions (same for Zelda but that was a GameCube port so I can understand that). Smash Brothers used no motion controls either.

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Kevin said:

first person lightsaber game

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TuxBobble said:

Yea, I was waiting for this when I saw the Wii for the first time, and then bought one. Finding out that this is not the case, I sold it. I still don't regret it though--who's making good games on the Wii?

Besides Nintendo...

And Capcom's ports...

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Kulock said:

It feels like this is a hard sell. "Remember those things we implied you could do with the Wii controller? Well, now with this extra attachment, you really can!" The Wii Remote can't measure rotational force by itself, according to her? Does that mean it knew it was tilted (because games did use that), but it couldn't tell how fast it was tilting?

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Is this InvenSense's first partnership with a gaming company?

Virginia: I can't say yes or no to that question. As you might imagine there are other gaming companies that InvenSense is working with

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Chris Remo said:

I'm surprised multiple people in here want this in Zelda. To me Zelda has always been about the structure, the exploration, the growth--not about the second-to-second combat gameplay. It's hard to imagine how you'd integrate 1:1 fighting--which surely would be a pretty intensive thing--without having it tip the balance too far in the combat direction.

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Dragona Akehi said:

This is very true, Zelda has never really been about combat. You use your sword and whack-whack-whack. You could even stuff Zelda with Ys style combat, and the core gameplay would remain relatively the same. I suppose Nintendo fanboys just can't imagine another IP relying on such a thing.

Although, I do have to say, for the next Zelda, were they to continue with the idea of "waggle = sword", they should at least have the mind to have the wiimote recognise which way you're swinging. Even if it is as simple as left-to-right, right-to-left or a vertical slash. Oh, and a LH option too.

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Nintendo is able to offer six degrees of freedom. If you imagine an X, Y, Z frame. Now imagine it's not just up down left right, back forth, but also rotation. That's the maximum amount of motion that can ever be tracked.

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Chris Remo said:

It clearly can tell how fast it is being rotated with the standard hardware, because many games have reticules that already rotate 1:1 with your motion.

The bit about rotation was part of an answer about the remote's overall capabilities with MotionPlus, not about what is being added by MotionPlus alone.

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What we're doing is, in combination with the sensor bar and the three axis accelerometer that is available within the current Wii Remote, we're now introducing MEMS gyroscope capability. And what that allows you is, rather than just having up/down, left/right, back/forth motion, you now have the ability to do rotational movements within each of those X, Y, and Z axis. So if you imagine you had extended straight out and twisted your hand, now you have the ability to measure rotational force.

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Kulock said:

It feels like this is a hard sell. "Remember those things we implied you could do with the Wii controller? Well, now with this extra attachment, you really can!" The Wii Remote can't measure rotational force by itself, according to her? Does that mean it knew it was tilted (because games did use that), but it couldn't tell how fast it was tilting?

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Buggy Loop said:

Wasnt this clear from the beginning of motionplus?

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Gabyskra said:

Why just think of the sword? Link has plenty to do. I'd love the accessory to be used.

BTW, I'd argue that Zelda is action before puzzle. There is a balance of course, but when you think of the boss fights, it's pretty much central.

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capslock said:

A Tai Chi game with this would be fantastic...I'm only half kidding.

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Kevin said:

All this technology is useless with all the shovelware that gets released on the Wii. I would love to see a first person lightsaber game or something exclusively designed for Wii but as the years pass, my faith in good solid third party Wii titles dwindles.

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Chris Remo said:

It clearly can tell how fast it is being rotated with the standard hardware, because many games have reticules that already rotate 1:1 with your motion.

The bit about rotation was part of an answer about the remote's overall capabilities with MotionPlus, not about what is being added by MotionPlus alone.

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Chris Remo said:

I'm surprised multiple people in here want this in Zelda. To me Zelda has always been about the structure, the exploration, the growth--not about the second-to-second combat gameplay. It's hard to imagine how you'd integrate 1:1 fighting--which surely would be a pretty intensive thing--without having it tip the balance too far in the combat direction.

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LouieGeetoo said:

I'm eagerly awaiting a MotionPlus-enhanced golf game. Please, Camelot: Mario Golf: Wii Tour with options for both MotionPlus and button controls. Thanks.

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IGN: What other games do you see this being used for?

Virginia: Anything that has to do with moving your hand rapidly.

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Syntek said:

Uhm, 1:1 with respect to what? The Wiimote? Wake me up when it's 1:1 with respect to the human body.

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Syntek said:

Uhm, 1:1 with respect to what? The Wiimote? Wake me up when it's 1:1 with respect to the human body.

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Dragona Akehi said:

This is very true, Zelda has never really been about combat. You use your sword and whack-whack-whack. You could even stuff Zelda with Ys style combat, and the core gameplay would remain relatively the same. I suppose Nintendo fanboys just can't imagine another IP relying on such a thing.

Although, I do have to say, for the next Zelda, were they to continue with the idea of "waggle = sword", they should at least have the mind to have the wiimote recognise which way you're swinging. Even if it is as simple as left-to-right, right-to-left or a vertical slash. Oh, and a LH option too.

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Chris FOM said:

The accelerometer can be calibrated to gravity, which is why games like Excite Truck can make some use of rotations. In addition, any game that uses the sensor bar can also detect rotation since they can watch the IR lights rotate around. However, if you were to put the Wiimote flat on a table and spin it in a horizontal circle, the accelerometers would be unable to detect that motion. Or hold the Wiimote in your hand and turn your wrist side to side (again, so the Wiimote is rotating in a plane perpendicular to gravity's force) and other than the minimal linear motion or such an action most of the motion will be lost. That's why you cant hold the Wiimote or Wii Wheel and rotate it parallel to the floor in Mario Kart or Excite Truck and have it register. The Wiimote can only detect rotations that can be measured against gravity. In addition, since even the rotations that can be detected are inferred due to the effect of gravity, they aren't a true measurement and cannot be distinguished from linear motion along that access. That is to say, if you know exactly where the accelerometer in the Wiimote is located, you could jerk the Wiimote up and down in a way that corresponds to the same rotational motion and fool Excite Truck into thinking you're twisting the Wiimote. THAT'S where the gyroscopes come in.

3D space has 3 axis (which is what makes it 3D): X, Y, and Z. Along any given access, there is both translational (aka linear) and rotational movement. IE if you draw lines through an object that go forwards and backwards, side to side, or up and down, there are two kinds of motions possible along each of them. You can either slide the object along that line or you can rotate around it. Right now the Wiimote's accelerometers can directly measure only translational motion along each axis. In addition it can infer rotational motion by measuring relative to gravity, but it cannot differentiate such rotations from linear motion. Rotational motion cannot be measured directly. The gyroscopes, however, can measure rotational motion precisely with a very high degree of precision. They can't detect linear motion at all, but they don't need to, that's where the accelerometers come in. By combing the two you get a very precise measurement of both kinds of motions in all three dimensions.

Let me break it down this way. You're playing a game on the Wii where an on-screen character attempts to mimic your motions as accurately as possible. You start by holding the Wiimote straight ahead of you and then proceed to move it 6 inches to the right and stopping. You than turn your wrist 45 degrees to the right (so the Wiimote is pointing slightly to the right instead of straight ahead) and move it another 6 inches to its new right, so relative to you it goes slightly further to the right but also gets pulled slightly closer to you. Gives the current tech in the Wiimote, that rotational motion would be lost and your character would merely move the Wiimote 12 inches to the right while never bringing it closer to him. All the accelerometer knows is that it moves 12 inches to the right, but it doesn't realize that "right" changed directions halfway through. In addition, such a set-up would accurately measure either rotation or linear motion along the Z axis, but not both, since the accelerometers can't distinguish rotation relative to gravity from linear motion along that axis.

Motion Plus, by directly measuring rotation in all dimensions fully and independently from linear motion, fixes all of this, and allows the Wiimote to accurately track your every motion.

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aeolist said:

Zelda really needs to change things up at this point. If the next game is basically another OoT rehash with some new mechanics stapled on I probably won't be buying it. Nintendo has said themselves they need to change things up but I'm not sure how far they'll go and if it'll be enough.

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Chris Remo said:

I'm surprised multiple people in here want this in Zelda. To me Zelda has always been about the structure, the exploration, the growth--not about the second-to-second combat gameplay. It's hard to imagine how you'd integrate 1:1 fighting--which surely would be a pretty intensive thing--without having it tip the balance too far in the combat direction.

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Andrex said:

No More Heroes 2 now plz.

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