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[Dash Kappei]

-General Info:

US release date: June 8
EU release date: June 12
JPN release date: ?

Motion+ with new jacket: Msrp $19.99
(EU/JPN not confirmed yet)

The shell is not mandatory to use the M+, which can be detached from it like the regular remote.

Supported titles available at launch:
Virtua Tennis 2009, EA Grand Slam Tennis, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10.

Wii Sports: Resort bundled with M+ $49.99/€49.99.
Launches July 26 in the US and July 24 for EU; June for Japan.


Not Officially Confirmed (but it seems 100% legit -at least for Germany and UK):
EA to be bundling Grand Slam Tennis with M+

Just received the confirmation:

Grand Slam Tennis - 2.07.2009 - 49,99 Euro

Grand Slam Tennis Bundle with Wii Motion Plus - 2.07.2009 - 59,99 Euro

Still waiting confirmation, but retailers' lists seem to point out that it's indeed true.
Amazon.de also had a page for the bundle that has been promptly deleted afterwards.

***************


-Announcements and PRs:

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo is setting the stage for a blockbuster summer with the announcement of two hotly anticipated product releases. The new Wii MotionPlus™ accessory will hit U.S. retailers on June 8, taking the motion-sensing controls of the popular Wii™ system to new levels of precision and performance. What’s more, these control enhancements will be on vibrant display when the Wii Sports Resort™ game launches on July 26, offering a beach-themed follow-up to the groundbreaking Wii Sports™ game. Wii Sports comes packed with the Wii console. It grew into a worldwide phenomenon and continues to attract millions of new players to the world of video games. Each Wii Sports Resort game comes packed with a single Wii MotionPlus accessory.

When used with specially designed games, Wii MotionPlus tracks players’ movements in finer detail and with greater accuracy than ever before, building upon the innovative wireless function of the motion-sensing Wii Remote™ controller. Even the slightest twist of the wrist or turn of the body is replicated exactly on the TV screen, allowing users to become even more immersed in Wii game play. Designed for easy attachment to the Wii Remote controller,
the Wii MotionPlus accessory will be offered at an MSRP of $19.99.

Wii Sports Resort takes the inclusive, fun and intuitive controls of the original Wii Sports to the next level, introducing a whole new set of entertaining and physically immersive activities. With the deep control enhancements of Wii MotionPlus, veteran Wii users and newcomers alike can enjoy unprecedented gaming precision as they cruise on a water scooter, duel with swords, throw a Frisbee® and much more.
Wii Sports Resort and Wii MotionPlus will be offered together at an MSRP of $49.99.

“Wii MotionPlus represents a new evolution in video game control. The variety of fun games in Wii Sports Resort show off its incredible precision,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Developers around the world are busy working on new ways to incorporate Wii MotionPlus controls into inventive experiences for consumers.”

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com. For more information about Nintendo, visit www.Nintendo.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 2.8 billion video games and more than 485 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii and Nintendo DS, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.nintendo.com.

"Nintendo to Eurogamer: No plans to retrofit Motion Plus"

Nintendo has told Eurogamer there are "no plans" to retro-actively fit Wii MotionPlus capabilities to existing games, keeping the new and optional features instead for specifically designed games.

"Wii MotionPlus accessory is only for games that are designed to make use of its abilities. Wii MotionPlus is an optional accessory for developers and players who want to further refine their game experience," a spokesperson for Nintendo told us. "There are currently no plans to make it compatible with existing non-Wii Motion Plus enabled titles."

The Nintendo spokesperson added that Wii will continue to support games which work with the original Wiimote powers. These will behave no differently when played using the clip-on MotionPlus accessory.

"The Wii Remote pioneered a revolution in video games and made this pastime accessible to millions of new gamers. This technology is still relevant and compelling," said the spokesperson.

CONDOM NOT MANDATORY has been confirmed.

There has been some paranoid speculation on the internet that this new rubber sleeve must be permanently held in place with glue. These reports are false; it works just the same as the old sleeve. No need to panic!

There's also a chunky locking mechanism on the under-side of the device, cunningly hidden by all the glossy publicity photos. Unlocked, a squeeze on the two buttons on the unit's sides will allow its insertion or removal. Locked, this becomes impossible. So the MotionPlus itself, properly used, won't become a deadly projectile with the potential of concussing the cat.

http://www.amazon.com/Wii-MotionPlus...9714230&sr=8-1




from Stephen Totilo's interview with Reggie Fiels-Aime at GDC09:

MTV Multiplayer: What would you say the status of MotionPlus is?

Fils-Aime: The status of Motion Plus is consistent with what we talked about at E3. “Wii Sports Resort” looks great. I’ve played it.

MTV Multiplayer: Recently?

Fils-Aime: I played it two weeks ago. It looks phenomenal.

MTV Multiplayer:Better than it was at E3?

Fils-Aime: Yes.

MTV Multiplayer: Is the level of control nuance that I last experienced [at E3 in July 2008] equivalent to what you’re experiencing? Or are you experiencing better?

Fils-Aime: The level of full motion capability is far in excess of what we showed at E3.

***************


-Developers talking Motion Plus:

Thomas Singleton – producer of EA's Grand Slam Tennis on the Wii

"It truly is giving you that one-to-one control movement of your arm motion and then mapping it directly to that one-to-one movement of your character on screen,"

"At times it's overly responsive. It had so much fidelity that at times we have limited that fidelity to make it a compelling experience and giving you full total control."


TechRadar has already had a play with the Wii MotionPlus tech, stating "Playing a tennis game with Wii MotionPlus after playing the same game without the new, improved controller is the equivalent of taking the stabilisers off of your first bike.

"It is taking your first baby steps into a world in which gaming is going to be a whole lot more fun than ever before. It's like going from VHS straight to Blu-ray."

David Braben and Oxygen Interactive's Kevin Hassell discuss Motion Plus

David Braben, founder of Frontier Developments, whose Lost Winds game (a platform-style effort which lets you move things around by controlling the wind with your Wiimote) has been taking WiiWare, the Wii's newly launched downloadable games service, by storm:

"Lost Winds, in my view, works fine with the original Wiimote. I would like to applaud the fact that Nintendo is improving something which I already thought was very good. But it's not just about more accurate motion-sensing: it's about being able to detect different types of motion that it can't currently detect."

Hassell backs that up: "Take, for example, Pro Stroke Golf, which we made for the PlayStation 2, and allowed you to control the twisting of the club and the movement of the player's hips. That would be difficult with the Wiimote as it stands, but easy with the Wii Motion Plus."

***************


-Hands on with Motion Plus and M+ enabled games:


SEGA thinks M+ could give unfair advantage for players playing against someone using the remote sans the Motion Plus and how it affects online.

The MotionPlus is still incredibly rare — the unit we played with was one of only two in the entire SEGA organisation.
The MotionPlus itself is small — very small. It's a tiny thing. You can barely feel its weight in your hand, and once it innocuously clips in to the bottom of the Wii Remote, you're hardly aware that it's there.

The MotionPlus makes a difference.The MotionPlus makes the Wii Remote whole.
For the Wii controller, as originally implemented, was incomplete. It needed a little something extra to bring it to life.

That something extra is there. It's hard to describe, but it is real. You know it's real, because it immediately demands that you start playing Virtua Tennis 2009 differently to any other Wii game.

MotionPlus makes for a steeper learning curve. You have to follow through flawlessly to get those slices and lobs just right. The payoff is a level of court dominance that just wasn’t possible when the Wii Remote could only broadly detect movement.

SEGA is sufficiently concerned that MotionPlus gamers might have an unfair advantage in online matches, so they’ve added an optional little graphical bar that can appear above each tennis star’s head. Like the swing meter in most golf games, this Visual Assist display will allow low-fi Wii owners to better time their shots and perhaps stave off total pwnage.

So yes, there is one-to-one movement. This subtlety is now captured. The problem is: now that you have it, what do you do with it? Virtua Tennis 2009 offers a deeper, more subtle mode of play, but not a true game of tennis. That would be intimidating; unfair.
Wii gamers just want a fun game of tennis.
Ergo, there must by definition be a compromise between the two extremes of accessibility and perfection.

***************
-FAQs:

FAQ written using also parts of this article where InvenSense founders, Motion Plus technology creators, get interviewed by IGN

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

Well it's certainly possible with the technology, in combination with the other sensors, There is also 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 motions that can ever be tracked.


How many accelerometers are in the Wii Motion Plus?

It's one multi-axis accelerometer.


How does the remote's capabilities change with Motion Plus attached?

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


How does that apply to a gameplay perspective?

Think Wii Sports Resort's Jet Ski game: 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.
There's a very, very fast rotational time made possibile by M+. 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/tennis racket motions where you it can precisely determine how fast your swinging, the rotation your giving to the club and its position in a 3D space.


Can you use the Motion Plus with the Nunchuck's attached to the remote?

Yes. In fact that is how you play the jet ski game in WSR.


Will the Wii Motion Plus drain the batteries faster?

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.


-Media:

AiLive's LiveMove 2 Motion+ TECH DEMO (youtube)

InvenSense's informational video comparing accelerometers and gyroscopes

 

[Cipherr]

Itsa old. But yeah nice.

 

[Wii Will Rock U]

Wait so they are bundling it with MotionPlus. GOOD MOVE NINTENDO.

Letting third parties bundle with first part accessories is a brilliant move.

 

[iceatcs]

I hope there will be enough single motion+ pack for my 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Maybe that's why they want to use on 3rd party titles, so I can buy 4 different Motion+ titles. Clever move.

God it was quite hard time to find Nunchuks at the begin.

 

[jeremy1456]

I hope there will be enough single motion+ pack for my 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Maybe that's why they want to use on 3rd party titles, so I can buy 4 different Motion+ titles. Clever move.

God it was quite hard time to find Nunchuks at the begin.

True dat, although I found it even harder to find additional Wii remotes and Classic controllers.

 

[markot]

Whats SKU stand for anyway >.>?

And I hope the tennis game rocks.

 

[Fuu]

Whats SKU stand for anyway >.>?

And I hope the tennis game rocks.

Stock Keeping Unit.

 

[LCfiner]

Whats SKU stand for anyway >.>?

And I hope the tennis game rocks.

Stock Keeping Unit, I believe.

 

[MercuryLS]

Sold, Ive always wanted a really good motion enabled Tennis game. I really hope EA nailed it with this.

 

[EatChildren]

I bet Red Steel 2 gets a bundle as well.

 

[Xellos]

Really hope EA/Nintendo do this for Tiger Woods, too. Can't see why they wouldn't. Motion+ and golf = mega sales.

 

[Operations]

This is unprecedented for Nintendo :0

I might actually buy it now.

 

[donny2112]

This is unprecedented for Nintendo :0

It's a good indication that they are really serious about making Motion+ the standard. The more they can get out there, the better.

 

[Wii Will Rock U]

It's a good indication that they are really serious about making Motion+ the standard. The more they can get out there, the better.

Agreed which I why I agree with EatChildren that they should also bundle it in with Red Steel 2, Wii Sports Resort, Tiger Woods and the next Zelda.

 

[StoOgE]

Really hope EA/Nintendo do this for Tiger Woods, too. Can't see why they wouldn't. Motion+ and golf = mega sales.

They better get an actual golf swing motion down in this game. I had to get rid of that first Tiger Woods game that came out. It ruined my real golf swing.

 

[civilstrife]

Throw one in with Zelda and they're set.

Do these bundles all come with new condoms too?

 

[Totobeni]

It's a good indication that they are really serious about making Motion+ the standard. The more they can get out there, the better.

they should made Wiimote with built in Motion+ ( plus the add on ) if they wanted this to be the standard .

 

[TheGrayGhost]

This really is interesting and confirms what we've learned previously from Malstrom, that Nintendo is so serious about supporting this device that they delayed most of their upcoming projects to adjust to WiiMotion+, hence the trickle of first-party console releases.

So...

As for LoZ Wii. Well...

If the game was indeed in development before the end of Twilight Princess, than it may or may not make use of WiiMotion+. If it doesn't, there's a possibility it may be announced this year. If it does, man, we could be waiting for another two years.

 

[Nemesis_]

So, $119.95 for Australia?

Or perhaps, $99.95?

I can dream. :lol :lol

 

[soldat7]

they should made Wiimote with built in Motion+ ( plus the add on ) if they wanted this to be the standard .

That clearly wasn't in the busine$$ plan. I don't doubt that Sony and Microsoft would have done the same thing.

 

[Dash Kappei]

They better get an actual golf swing motion down in this game. I had to get rid of that first Tiger Woods game that came out. It ruined my real golf swing.

You can look at the new swing mechanics and what changes if you use M+ (it is optional) on the last (?) On The Spot for the EA presentation of TW10 Wii [youtubed] (and GSTennis Wii as well, which looks fantastic btw!).

 

[billy.sea]

Good. It's great that they are giving away Motion+ as many ways as possible.
If they just bundling with Wii Sports 2 and force people to buy additional ones at $20 alone that would suck.

 

[ymmv]

Wasn't Wii Sports Resort supposed to be the bundled game for the Motion+ accessory?

 

[Drkirby]

I'll end up with 4 one day, but I am not sure if I will even buy 2 right off the bat. Most likely just going to get one in till something that needs it and is a great multilayer games comes out.

 

[EatChildren]

So, $119.95 for Australia?

Or perhaps, $99.95?

I can dream. :lol :lol

You never know. It entirely depends on how EA see the package in Australia. After all, the Overkill Bang Bang Box was under $100 and came with two shells, the comic, and the game.

Granted, the shells wouldn't cost anywhere near the amount of M+, but if EA want to keep the price as low as possible as to not scare off consumers then I think ~$99 is reasonable.

 

[Puck]

I reckon $119 RRP for AU, stores like JB selling it at $99-110.

 

[Eteric Rice]

they should made Wiimote with built in Motion+ ( plus the add on ) if they wanted this to be the standard .

They probably will eventually.

From what I understand, that was what they were going to do originally. But the tech wasn't small enough to fit on the Wii-mote yet.

Or something.

Wasn't Wii Sports Resort supposed to be the bundled game for the Motion+ accessory?

Originally, yeah. But it looks like it's coming with this too. Seems Nintendo "might" be trying to make M+ a standard.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

Wasn't Wii Sports Resort supposed to be the bundled game for the Motion+ accessory?

Thats what i thought. Guess they know wii sports will sell butt loads without a bundle.

 

[EatChildren]

Thats what i thought. Guess they know wii sports will sell butt loads without a bundle.

Wii Sports Resort will have M+ bundled in. It has to be, considering practically every game within is designed to showcase M+. It would be stupid to bundle it with something like GST and not Resort.

It will be bundled with both and, I suspect, a couple of other games either at or shortly after release. Nintendo will want as many of these in as many homes as possible.

 

[DEO3]

How good is Motion Plus?

 

[donny2112]

they should made Wiimote with built in Motion+ ( plus the add on ) if they wanted this to be the standard .

Of course and I think they will. In the meantime, they have 50 million Wiimotes in the U.S. alone to patch.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

How good is Motion Plus?

Beyond your wildest dreams.

 

[Drkirby]

I hope M+ is enough reason for Nintendo to make anther Wario Ware game.

 

[donny2112]

I hope M+ is enough reason for Nintendo to make anther Wario Ware game.

They have to get through the Balance Board version, first.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

So, do the games that use Motion+ also have non-motion+ schemes?

 

[donny2112]

So, do the games that use Motion+ also have non-motion+ schemes?

They'll have to for awhile.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

So, do the games that use Motion+ also have non-motion+ schemes?

Yes.

 

[Drkirby]

So, do the games that use Motion+ also have non-motion+ schemes?

Most likely all the EA Sports games do, but I think the new Wii Sports will need it. Most likely will be a logo similer to the Wifi logo saying Motion Plus Required, and one for compatible.

 

[EatChildren]

How good is Motion Plus?

See here, here, and here, and also here.

 

[bdouble]

Really this is just sinking in for me. Its really unexpected from Nintendo. This is the first move to really shows that they want to make M+ a standard like many of you have said. Hopefully this is just the first of many M+ bundle announcements.

This bundle plus Sports 2 and then integrated in the wiimote ASAP are just very aggressive moves and make so much sense and steps they really should take.

 

[FlyinJ]

I don't like the idea of having games that "support" M+. Either you make an M+ game or you don't. Half-assing out both versions will make neither good, as you have to compromise your game design for the shittier tracking of the original Wiimote, and therefore your M+ support suffers as well.

Developers should concentrate on one control method and one control method only.

In other words-

When it comes to N+, shit or get off the toilet.

Thank you.

 

[mj1108]

How good is Motion Plus?

It's better than sex.

 

[SapientWolf]

Hopefully it's not old.

EA's Grand Slam Tennis skus:

Grand Slam Tennis [2.07.2009] @49,99 Euro

Grand Slam Tennis Bundle with Wii Motion Plus [2.07.2009] @59,99 Euro


So it's going to be just 10€ (and possibly $10) more for the Motion+ bundle.

I think that's fucking GREAT and I now look forward to boost all my 4 Wiimotes with M+ through game bundles (already two of them coming with EA's GST and WS:Resort).

That's about $81 US dollars. You guys are getting bent over (although not as bad as the Aussies).

 

[pakkit]

When it comes to N+, shit or get off the toilet.

Thank you.

Nintendo doesn't want 3rd-parties doing this and dividing the market. They've pretty much explicitly said, "If you have a game that requires an add-on peripheral, you have to have them sold jointly." It doesn't really matter. Lucas Arts can make a waggle-riffic first-person Star Wars adventure, and most of the market might be happy with it, while the ones who invest in the Motion+ will get a more complete, much more satisfying adventure.

 

[titiklabingapat]

Good. I'm glad they are serious about making M+ standard. This could be the next Wii Fit Balance Board.

 

[donny2112]

That's about $81 US dollars. You guys are getting bent over (although not as bad as the Aussies).

They also have something like a 30% tax that is included in that price, though. Or is that just the U.K.?

 

[Dash Kappei]

That's about $81 US dollars. You guys are getting bent over (although not as bad as the Aussies).

No, that is like $59. I don't think the market works the way you think it does ;-P
Besides, I'm sure PAL gamers will easily find the bundle online for, at the very least, €10 to €15 less.

Usually what I pay for games marked €49 srp si something from €33 when I buy online from UK to €39 if I go looking for them in my own Country.

They also have something like a 30% tax that is included in that price, though. Or is that just the U.K.?

It depends on the Country, it's something around 20%.
Most of them changed for bad (except for the UK, iirc) in 2009:

Austria 20 %
Austria (Jungholz e Mittelberg) 16 %
Belgium 21 %
Denmark 25%
Finland 22 %
France 19,6 %
Germany 19 %
UK 15 %
Ireland 21,5 %
Italy 20 %
Spain 16%
Sweden 25%

And yes, it is already included on the advertised prices.


Back on Topic:

Wii Sports Resort WILL BE bundled with Motion+, it's not like there's any doubt about it, I don't get why some people are even questioning that.

IIRC when it showed up on Gamestop it was $49 for the bundle, but since Wii Sports is a special kind of game we couldn't gather how much was being charged for the M+ itself, having two skus for Grand Slam Tennis gives us final confirmation for that, so it's kinda big info... and much appreciated since people were fearing a suicidal $29 price tag.

Having MORE bundles also gives us the choice to go with the cheaper option of buying the bundles instead of the accessory alone... if you're interested in those games that is

 

[BrodiemanTTR]

How good is Motion Plus?

From my limited hands-on time, worth the hype.

 

[DanteFox]

From my limited hands-on time, worth the hype.

Heck yeah. Motion + Zelda, come to me!

 

[pakkit]

I'll end up with 4 one day, but I am not sure if I will even buy 2 right off the bat. Most likely just going to get one in till something that needs it and is a great multilayer games comes out.

...But both Grand Slam Tennis and Wii Sports Resort will have excellent multiplayer.