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Super-sensitive controller opens Wii to music
Super-sensitive controller opens Wii to music
13:55 16 July 2008
New Scientist and Reuters
Japanese gaming firm Nintendo, maker of the popular Wii gaming console, has unveiled a new motion sensor for its Wii controller and a number of new games to show off the capabilities of the device.
The controller more accurately tracks the position and orientation of a player's arm and should allow games to be more sensitive to player movement.
At the E3 video game industry trade show in Los Angeles yesterday, Nintendo said the motion controller will come boxed with a new title called Wii Sports Resort, which includes Frisbee throwing and sword-fighting games that show off the controller's abilities.
The company also demonstrated a title called Wii Music in which users can play more than 60 instruments using the new motion controller, which plugs into a socket at the end of the conventional Wii controller.
Leader of the pack
Nintendo fans at the presentation cheered politely while legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto played a virtual saxophone on the game.
Nintendo currently dominates the video game market having sold more than 10 million Wii consoles and 70 million DS handheld machines worldwide.
The company's approach contrasts strongly with that of its rival Sony which dominated the industry in the mid-1990s. But the PlayStation 3, Sony's latest console, has lagged behind Nintendo's Wii, and in recent months has had to compete with Microsoft's Xbox 360 for second place in the United States.
Also at E3, Sony demonstrated a new string to the PS3's bow – a new video service that lets the device download movies and TV shows over the internet to rent or buy. It also plans to double the hard-drive capacity of its main PS3 model.
Sony's online network has failed to keep pace with Xbox Live, Microsoft Corp's online service that gives the Xbox 360 console an advantage over the PS3, says Billy Pidgeon, an analyst at research firm IDC.
Winning formula
The new video distribution service will attempt to close that gap and will feature movies and TV shows from major studios, including its own Sony Pictures, Warner Bros and News Corp's 20th Century Fox.
However, neither company has been able to derail the success of Nintendo's Wii, which has bested more powerful machines from Sony and Microsoft with a cheaper console and its motion-sensing controller that can be swung to produce more realistic gameplay than traditional joysticks or pads.
"A true paradigm shift has taken place in the global games market," said Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata at its news conference, but some analysts were not impressed with Nintendo's new software line-up.
"We are distinctly underwhelmed by Nintendo's presentation today," Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC Securities, wrote in a note to clients.
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