You know how the Wii controller works. You know what it can do. You've seen the press shots and read the games previews. But how does the controller actually feel?
No matter how many Wii game previews you read, finally getting your hands on the controller in December (or November, if you're a super-keen importer) will be a totally new, slightly unusual feeling. But we analysed, poked, prodded and playtested the controller to death in a recent hands-on session with Wii to bring you these detailed impressions of exactly what the controller is like and how it performs.
Please note, Nintendo was quick to stress that the controllers we used were not final retail units, and so may still differ slightly from the end product you'll be excitedly plucking off the shelves. But apart from a couple of the controllers still being hard-wired to the consoles (instead of being fully wireless), they felt pretty near to complete to us.
THE WII REMOTE The Wii Remote is, as you'd expect from Nintendo, a solidly-designed, comfortable piece of kit. At roughly the length of an average biro pen, the remote has curves in all the right places to make reaching all the buttons an effortless ordeal.
When held in the remote position, your thumb sits nicely over the A, with the D-pad easily within reach. On the flipside, your index finger rests completely naturally on the B trigger - a curved button that is strangely satisfying to press.
Earlier versions of the controller felt light and relatively cheap - as expected for a demo containing almost none of the final controller's technical guts. But we immediately noticed that these newer controllers were, on the contrary, rather weighty. Just think, as well as the buttons and usual circuitry, there's a force-feedback motor, speaker, battery pack, accelerometer thingies and the sensor panel and trickery all packed into that small unit so it's bound to have some heft. It's good - it feels like quality. And it feels expensive (which at £30, you might say it is).
How does it perform? Superbly. The feature that's most intriguing to begin with is its pointer functionality, as this is the first function you see in action, used to navigate almost all game menu screens we've seen so far on Wii.
Completely ignoring the on-screen prompts to start the game, we waved the controller gently left and right to test the pointer's response times. It's spot-on. If you're REALLY picky, you might say there's a slight nanosecond delay in the pointer's motion. But it's so slight it's not a factor - and we played Trauma Center long enough and hard enough to confirm that fact. Besides, these aren't final controllers, remember? Response time could be totally perfected on retail units (and we'll be testing those in two weeks time).
Delving deeper into our curious examination, we lifted the controller to our eye and looked down its body at the screen like you would a gun. We realised that the controller's pointer function is not direct - as in the icon you're controlling does NOT appear on screen exactly where you're aiming the controller like it would with a lightgun.
It works more like a mouse. With a PC, for example, if you have a 17" monitor you don't have to slide your mouse 17 inches across to move the pointer from one side of the screen to the next. The Wii works the same - your movements are scaled up.
That said, the distance from the TV (or in fact, the sensor bar) made a great deal of difference in the pointer's sensitivity - the closer we were, the more sensitive the pointer's movements became. Standing right next to the TV made it near unusable, the slightest movement sending the on-screen pointer flying off the edge of the screen. We found that the sensitivity was most comfortable from about four feet away. Although anywhere from around three feet to the average length of a living room was more than playable.
To test the motion-detecting accelerometers, we had to jump in and play some games. In principle, there are two main ways games seem to use the accelerometers - to accurately track your every move, or in a simpler fashion, to detect a specific gesture. The simple gestures mechanic, used for example in Wii tennis to swing your racquet, is responsive and intuitive. Although it's designed to recognise the wide range of gestures that could be made by different people (not everyone swings a racquet EXACLTY the same) so the motions required to trigger these functions aren't so distinct. You can use tiny wrist-flicks or massive arm movements to achieve the same results.
Games like Excite Truck and Wii baseball, on the other hand, track your every move, and do so brilliantly. Moving a controller in mid-air obviously lacks the touch-feedback of a control stick, so the steering in Excite Truck feels a little weird, but you get used to it. And when playing Wii Baseball, no matter how slight you move, or at what angle, the on-screen bat will follow you precisely. It's a great feeling - almost like you imagined the virtual reality gloves in those ridiculous 80's sci-fi films would have felt like.
Moving onto the controller's simpler functions, the rumble force feedback really added a greater visceral illusion to the motion of the controller, and it's connection to the game, despite not being as beefy as the rumble in the GameCube controller. When fishing in Twilight Princess, for example, the controller's violent reaction to a fish pulling tight on the fishing line really makes you feel like there's tension there. Of course, there's nothing pulling your hand forwards, but you subconsciously imagine that there is, and we found ourselves gritting our teeth as we tugged against that fish.
The speaker further enhances this illusion, with the sounds of various crashes, bumps and bashes sounding from the controller itself. It's fairly loud, too. You'd be able to hear it even with your TV up high although, as internet forums have speculated, the sound quality is pretty low. But it does the job.
We can imagine what a challenge it has been for developers to make games for this controller, but when done properly, we're already certain that this controller offers the functionality to produce totally unique and absorbing game experiences.
NUNCHUCK EXPANSION The Nunchuk expansion plugs into the bottom of the Wii remote with a chunky proprietary socket that clips in firmly. Two small prongs lock it in securely, so there's no concern of the expansion coming lose during the pressures of heated gaming sessions. The wire is also suitably long enough - at about a metre in length, you can have one hand held against your shoulder and stretch your other arm out fully without a problem (unless you have an ape's arms).
The Nunchuk expansion is far lighter than Wii Remote - which is expected because it lacks a force-feedback motor and doesn't need a battery pack as it draws it's power from the remote. The analogue stick feels nice, with just the right amount of resistance, and an adequate level of grip from the smooth rubber surface on its top, and its accelerometer functions are every bit as responsive as the remote.
And so concludes our detailed (and lengthy) analysis of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers. Hopefully this will put most of, if not all, your fanboy curiosities to rest. But if you do have any questions, please unleash your queries in the comments section below and this correspondent will do his best to answer them.
Everyone seems to say the wii remote is expensive but is it really? All that technology inside plus the fact it can be an instant steering wheel,fishing rod etc plus going some way towards mouse like control on a console. 30 quid (45-50 with the nunchuck added) for the wii-mote might seem not so bad when these things are taken into consideration.
Wow that sounds perfect! I couldn't have hoped for any better, shame about the sound quality in the speaker, but that hardly matters when the controller is so good! The only thing that worries me though is how is it powered? Does it take batteries? Is it chargable? I hope it is rechargable like the XBox 360 controllers
Shame Mike didn't mention it in the article, or in detail at least. I don't know how feasible it is, but I hope that the Wii-mote has an inbuilt battery and to charge it you just need to plug it into the console, maybe into one of the Gamecube-controller ports. I've heard rumours that it uses batteries, but that would be the worst thing they could do in my opinion. I'd end up forgetting to charge them up, or misplacing the battery charger.
Nitpick: They say the "pointer" function doesn't actually make the cursor go where the front of the wiimote is "aiming" like it would happen in a lightgun.
Doesn't that basically mean that those menus they tried it on were NOT using the pointer function and instead just the motion sensors to replicate a mouse's feel? I mean, the pointer sensor thing is right at the front of the wiimote so you would imagine that when it was used it would function as a proper pointer.
Hope they'll elaborate on that when they try some FPS game as I would really like to later see an option between mouse-esque feel and actual pointing style (so that you could use it exactly like you would a lightgun).
Wow that sounds perfect! I couldn't have hoped for any better, shame about the sound quality in the speaker, but that hardly matters when the controller is so good! The only thing that worries me though is how is it powered? Does it take batteries? Is it chargable? I hope it is rechargable like the XBox 360 controllers
Sorry that wasn't mentioned, guys. The article was more focused on the look and feel of the controller rather than it's basic features, as most of that information has been publically know for a while now.
Anyhow, in terms of power, the controller does indeed use two standard AA-size batteries, which you will need to replace when dead. Two batteries will power the controller for roughly 60 hours if just using the accelerometers (Excite Truck, Wii Baseball), but this time is reduced to around 30 hours if the pointer sensor (Mario Galaxy, Trauma Center, Red Steel) is in use. I guess the sensor technology must be some pretty powerful stuff to sap power like that. So I'd say an average of around 40 hours play is what you can expect, which is not bad.
The other thing is that, unlike the Xbox 360, there will not be a rechargeable pack that can be powered up by plugging the remote into the console. I know this sounds like bad news but think about it - if you were to connect your controller to the console and play at the same time, with the whole motion thing going on, you are likely pull your console over and send it crashing to the floor. I don't know about you, but my life would end if I that happened to me.
That would be a serious design flaw on Nintendo's part, don't you think? I know what I'll be doing - grabbing a load of universal rechargeable AA batteries and a nice recharge unit. They're expensive, I know, but you can charge them, like, 2000 times or more so it's well worth it in the end. Then I'll have a couple of sets on charge, ready to swap over with the dead ones after I've cained 40 hours on Zelda. (It's going to be a good Christmas).
Sorry for the long post - it is detail you guys want though, right?...
Maybe a little too early to ask but what feels more next-gen, Wii or 360?
(Whoops, double post. Soz.)
It's not too early to ask that and, if anything, it's a question you can only really answer yourself.
It's down to your opinion. 'Next-gen' by common definition would refer to graphics. If that's all you root for then 360 is next-gen as you like. I must say, when I got my Xbox 360, my gaming life didn't really feel like it had advanced a whole lot. Not like when I pushed my SNES aside for the PlayStation and N64. Or When I first saw PS2 graphics, crapped my pants and immediately began hating my blocky-as-hell PSone.
See, now if you think of 'next-gen' as something that really pushes your gaming experience forward, you'd be looking at the Wii. When I finally get that machine home, my gaming will change. It will move on. Something new will have entered my life.
Nitpick: They say the "pointer" function doesn't actually make the cursor go where the front of the wiimote is "aiming" like it would happen in a lightgun.
Doesn't that basically mean that those menus they tried it on were NOT using the pointer function and instead just the motion sensors to replicate a mouse's feel? I mean, the pointer sensor thing is right at the front of the wiimote so you would imagine that when it was used it would function as a proper pointer.
Hope they'll elaborate on that when they try some FPS game as I would really like to later see an option between mouse-esque feel and actual pointing style (so that you could use it exactly like you would a lightgun).
This is a tricky one to explain. The pointer-menus I spoke of definitely use the pointer sensor. The sensor is on the top of the controller because it needs to 'see' the sensor bar (it's like a camera).
But like you, I figured it strange that the controller doesn't have direct aim, and a little disappointing, to be frank. The first time I noticed it was when I played the Wii Shooting tech demo (the one that looks like Duck Hunt) a few months back, in two-player mode. FYI - the aim is to hit more targets and to score more than your opponent.
I thought I was in for an easy win, being a House of the Dead NINJA, and all that. So I, naturally, lifted my controller to my right eye like a little handgun, close the other eye and got ready to bust ass, but immediately noticed that not only was my cursor not where I was pointing, but it would also move in far bigger motions than I was aiming. That's when I realised it was more like a virtual mouse than a lightgun, but I put it down to either a changeable option in the game, or a fault in the early demo pods.
But that's not the case - I've since played Mario Galaxy, Trauma Center, Wii Sports and various other games with pointer menus. All do exactly the same. Maybe it is something that's software specific, and future games might allow for direct pointer control. I've not played any FPS games on Wii yet, but I'm going to play Red Steel tomorrow (October 10) so I'll let you all know how that handles the pointer.
My only curiosity is that if no games will ever allow direct-aim functionality, or if it's simply not possible, then what use will the gun-style expansion Nintendo showed be? Surely that would be pointless...? I will explore...
Anyhow, in terms of power, the controller does indeed use two standard AA-size batteries, which you will need to replace when dead. Two batteries will power the controller for roughly 60 hours if just using the accelerometers (Excite Truck, Wii Baseball), but this time is reduced to around 30 hours if the pointer sensor (Mario Galaxy, Trauma Center, Red Steel) is in use. I guess the sensor technology must be some pretty powerful stuff to sap power like that. So I'd say an average of around 40 hours play is what you can expect, which is not bad.
The other thing is that, unlike the Xbox 360, there will not be a rechargeable pack that can be powered up by plugging the remote into the console. I know this sounds like bad news but think about it - if you were to connect your controller to the console and play at the same time, with the whole motion thing going on, you are likely pull your console over and send it crashing to the floor. I don't know about you, but my life would end if I that happened to me.
I would be good if you could charge the controller via plugging it in to the system like the 360. Ok sure it would not be practical to have it plugged in while playing but hey, I'm sure it would be ok to have it plugged while not playing.
And since the system needs to be in standby for the connect24 feature thingy anyway...it would make sense to charge the controller at the same time. Hence you wont have people complaining about wasting energy by it being in standby mode.
As for the battery life, how long will it last for with every feature enabled? i.e. connected to the nunchuck as well?
Anyway, sure hope some like MadCatz will come out with some sort of charge kit for the controller.
I would be good if you could charge the controller via plugging it in to the system like the 360. Ok sure it would not be practical to have it plugged in while playing but hey, I'm sure it would be ok to have it plugged while not playing.
And since the system needs to be in standby for the connect24 feature thingy anyway...it would make sense to charge the controller at the same time. Hence you wont have people complaining about wasting energy by it being in standby mode.
As for the battery life, how long will it last for with every feature enabled? i.e. connected to the nunchuck as well?
Your point is valid. But picture this scenario - you're playing Wario Ware when, suddenly, your controller batteries run low so you have to charge them. You don't want to stop playing, but the only way to charge them is to plug your controller into your controller with a wire, which makes playing Wario Ware a definate no-go (it's quite physical). So, through Nintendo design, you would be forced to stop playing your console.
That's not what Nintendo would want. Hence, no console connection cable. The thing you guys must understand is that the the 360 pad can be feasbly connected to the console because a) you can continue playing as you normally would without the wire, and b) doing so doesn't put you or your console at risk. Wires are a perfectly functional option with the 360's standard, traditional controller. But not with the Wii's movement-sensitive remote. It's the (small) price you pay for innovation.
As for battery life including the Nunchuck - Nintendo hasn't released estimates that detailed just yet. But I wouldn't have guessed that the Nunchuck would make a great deal of difference because it has no rumble, speaker or pointer functions, and those, I believe, are the main power-eaters on the main remote. I imagine that just the analogue stick, two buttons and accelerometers on the Nunchuck consumes a minimal amount of power.
How did you calibrate the remote? I'd imagine that at some point it asks you to point at the corners of the tv and hit the trigger, but I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere.
I would be good if you could charge the controller via plugging it in to the system like the 360. Ok sure it would not be practical to have it plugged in while playing but hey, I'm sure it would be ok to have it plugged while not playing.
And since the system needs to be in standby for the connect24 feature thingy anyway...it would make sense to charge the controller at the same time. Hence you wont have people complaining about wasting energy by it being in standby mode.
As for the battery life, how long will it last for with every feature enabled? i.e. connected to the nunchuck as well?
Your point is valid. But picture this scenario - you're playing Wario Ware when, suddenly, your controller batteries run low so you have to charge them. You don't want to stop playing, but the only way to charge them is to plug your controller into your controller with a wire, which makes playing Wario Ware a definate no-go (it's quite physical). So, through Nintendo design, you would be forced to stop playing your console.
That's not what Nintendo would want. Hence, no console connection cable. The thing you guys must understand is that the the 360 pad can be feasbly connected to the console because a) you can continue playing as you normally would without the wire, and b) doing so doesn't put you or your console at risk. Wires are a perfectly functional option with the 360's standard, traditional controller. But not with the Wii's movement-sensitive remote. It's the (small) price you pay for innovation.
As for battery life including the Nunchuck - Nintendo hasn't released estimates that detailed just yet. But I wouldn't have guessed that the Nunchuck would make a great deal of difference because it has no rumble, speaker or pointer functions, and those, I believe, are the main power-eaters on the main remote. I imagine that just the analogue stick, two buttons and accelerometers on the Nunchuck consumes a minimal amount of power.
I see your point. But they could give you the option of using a charge kit AND batteries like the 360.
So lets take your Wario Ware example. Your playing and power goes down...to keep playing you could simply pop out the charge block thingy (let me know if I get too technical ) and slap in some AA batteries. And then charge the kit later when your not playing.
Of course if there was some kind of charge kit for it you could just put the controller on charge overnight everytime so you would never be in a postion of having no juice.
And another advantage of this would be that the Wiimote avoids the curse of all other remotes... losing them and never knowing where you put them last!
A great article, great questions and great, helpful and prompt replies. Well done all 'round. Can't wait to hear your report on how it functions with Red Steel, Mike.
Whoa... hang on... can we just have some clarification on Wii Tennis, here?
Your report seems to suggest that the type of swing your character makes isn't actually related at all to the type of swing you make with the remote. The way I read it, you make a vague swing-like movement and the character makes an arbitrary predefined swing -- which sounds lame. I can do that (more easily) by pressing a button. What's the point in swinging your arm if it's not offering you any greater level of control?
What if I want to tap the ball over the net? Or slam it to the back of the court? Is that a choice I can make depending on how I move the remote? Can I choose to knock it left or right? Would it be possible to slam the ball into the ground on my own side of the court, or send it sailing out to the car park?
If the computer is deciding not only where to put your character, but also how to hit the ball, that doesn't leave a lot for the player to actually do. If the challenge is solely to move your arm at the appropriate time then that would be unbelievably disappointing. Please tell me I'm misinterpreting this!
On the point of the pointer (ahem): the remote could undoubtedly be calibrated to act as a light gun. The technology is similar to the Super Scope (if anyone remembers that from the SNES days), which also had a sensor that sat on top of your TV. When you started a game with the Super Scope, the first thing you had to do was calibrate it. You'd be given a target and be asked to aim at the centre and fire -- the system would then base all targeting on that shot.
Something similar could be done with the remote -- but I had hoped that this would be part of the initial configuration of the whole Wii system and the settings would then be available to all games -- rather than having to calibrate on a game-by-game or even session-by-session basis.
Your report seems to suggest that the type of swing your character makes isn't actually related at all to the type of swing you make with the remote. The way I read it, you make a vague swing-like movement and the character makes an arbitrary predefined swing -- which sounds lame. I can do that (more easily) by pressing a button. What's the point in swinging your arm if it's not offering you any greater level of control?
That's exactly the reason I'm slightly disappointed with the Wii. Hearing that your movements with the controller don't actually translate 1:1 onto the screen is a bit worrying, seeing as that's the whole draw of the console. When I first read that Red Steel's sword fighting wouldn't directly translate, but that certain movements make your character perform predefined swings, I hoped it was just because the developer was lazy. Now seeing the exact same thing happening with Wii Tennis is making me wonder why I couldn't just press a button. Yes I am still getting a Wii, but I feel the opposite of what I felt for a certain other white box this time last year. When the 360 was due out, I couldn't wait. Every day I kept seeing more and more reasons to buy a 360 leading up to launch. With the Wii it's the complete opposite. Initial excitement has been brought down quite a bit lately. I have enough faith in Nintendo to finally prove the concept, so I will buy one. But as I've said before, I see the Wii as my secondary console that I will buy purely for Nintendo exclusives.
I still can't see the Wiimote replacing the joypad any time soon. Prove me wrong, Nintendo. Please. Prove me wrong by showing me that your "revolutionary" control scheme really is revolutionary and not just an alternative, more awkward method of pushing buttons.
When I first read that Red Steel's sword fighting wouldn't directly translate, but that certain movements make your character perform predefined swings, I hoped it was just because the developer was lazy.
Yes -- that was disappointing and it was because the developer was lazy (or because they didn't appreciate people's expectations), and (following reaction at E3) has since been changed. Both Red Steel and Zelda have both been changed so that the swords match your every exact movement.
So there's nothing to stop developers doing things "properly" (as I see it), and nothing to stop someone else doing a tennis game on Wii where you have perfect control over your racket, but I'm disappointed if Wii Tennis won't allow this.
Given proper developer support, I do still think the remote will make traditional joypads redundant very quickly. I think you'll also see its technology adopted into other remote devices for easy navigation of DVD and TV menus, etc.
Perhaps you could enlighten us with a brief description of the sensor bar. I've heard very little regarding this and I'm keen to know what it will look like on my plasma telly. Is it's length adjustable? Does it have to be visible or can it sit behind the telly?
I just hope that you can choose how to control the games.
Just like people have with inverting controls on FPS games I hope we can change the controls here to have exact movment replicated onscreen should we prefer that method.
I also read from other sites that someone had some problems playing with the Wii while in sunlight. It could be that the senor could not work properly with sunlight. I hope its not true.
Could you CVG guys shed some light (no pun intended!)on this issue?
i don't think there's a reason to worry about the remote's capability of translating 1:1 movements. Certain games like Wii Tennis have been designed without that level of control but the article itself states the movement is 1:1 for Wii Baseball and we also know that movements are 1:1 for first person shooters (even tilting the remote tilts the gun to the side in Red Steel).
I'd trust Nintendo's design decision as far as Wii Tennis is concerned, it's probably for the best since they wanted it to be an easy game, not a game that you have to know how to play real tennis to enjoy. If people picked up the controller and couldn't make a proper hit or always lost against the AI, all the "ease of use" effect the Wii has had would disappear.
It stills seems to recognise movements pretty good since other reports state that your character even jumps with you if you try to make a really high hit.
Your report seems to suggest that the type of swing your character makes isn't actually related at all to the type of swing you make with the remote. The way I read it, you make a vague swing-like movement and the character makes an arbitrary predefined swing -- which sounds lame. I can do that (more easily) by pressing a button. What's the point in swinging your arm if it's not offering you any greater level of control?
That's exactly the reason I'm slightly disappointed with the Wii. Hearing that your movements with the controller don't actually translate 1:1 onto the screen is a bit worrying, seeing as that's the whole draw of the console. When I first read that Red Steel's sword fighting wouldn't directly translate, but that certain movements make your character perform predefined swings, I hoped it was just because the developer was lazy. Now seeing the exact same thing happening with Wii Tennis is making me wonder why I couldn't just press a button. Yes I am still getting a Wii, but I feel the opposite of what I felt for a certain other white box this time last year. When the 360 was due out, I couldn't wait. Every day I kept seeing more and more reasons to buy a 360 leading up to launch. With the Wii it's the complete opposite. Initial excitement has been brought down quite a bit lately. I have enough faith in Nintendo to finally prove the concept, so I will buy one. But as I've said before, I see the Wii as my secondary console that I will buy purely for Nintendo exclusives.
I still can't see the Wiimote replacing the joypad any time soon. Prove me wrong, Nintendo. Please. Prove me wrong by showing me that your "revolutionary" control scheme really is revolutionary and not just an alternative, more awkward method of pushing buttons.
LOL, having 1:1 motions would have been quite funny I suppose, especially in a doubles match of tennis or something, you'd be constantly smacking you mates in the face with the wiimote. I'm hoping (and it sounds more likely) that it's basically a 3D mouse-a-like with acceleration and sensitivity controls. Having a basic lightgun replica would have been a bit pants really, although I'm sure there'll be some entertaining controllers released with certain games in the future.
Anyway, a mouse is about the best controller device by far at the moment, if the Wii-mote just adds an extra dimension, it's still a big step forward. eg: CoD3 with the wii-mote you can look in all directions (as with a mouse) but also lean (restricted to keyboard) and lob grenades (again, restricted to keyboard). This means you have many more functions available at the flick of a wrist than any other controller. Also, as a mouse is superior to a gamepad when it comes to precise control, the wii-mote could then lead to an unprecedented level of control in just one hand....
Perhaps you could enlighten us with a brief description of the sensor bar. I've heard very little regarding this and I'm keen to know what it will look like on my plasma telly. Is it's length adjustable? Does it have to be visible or can it sit behind the telly?
Yes, I've been very interested in how this works as well. I imagine it has to be visible and in front of you. My concern is that I play on a ceiling mounted projector, most of my consoles are played wirelessly, as the consoles themselves sit behind me. I'm thrilled that it comes with a sensor bar, so I can play the Wii on the projector (light guns and what-not don't work with it ), but I'm concerned on the amount of cable needed to plug the Wii in to both the receiver (~5 ft behind me) and have the sensor bar at the base of the screen (~15 ft in front me). I'll buy whatever I will need to play the Wii on the projector, but I guess I'd just like to know what I'm getting myself into.
Like someone else already stated, I think it won't be long untill a peripheral manufacturer like Madcat will come up with some sort of rechargeable battery pack that you can slot into the battery compartment of the Wii-mote.
In that case you can either buy an extra batterypack which can be recharged during your gaming, or you can recharge your main batterypack while you sleep.
Nitpick: They say the "pointer" function doesn't actually make the cursor go where the front of the wiimote is "aiming" like it would happen in a lightgun.
i think it all depends on how close/far you are from the detector in the console. so if your right near it, its more sensitive, but if your more further away, its more reasonable....its just about finding the right distance for the right feel i think
Just to clarify about the remotes power usage: As the battery power runs down, does the wii-mote give any warning? For example, after a long bout of Zelda, and I want to hookshot to some ledge, so I aim up, and if the battery power is low; would it mean that the power suddenly cuts out, or would some warning be given earlier on, like a light, or sound from the speakers?
Also, as you move furthur and furthur away from the main console itself, does the power usage increase?
As far as I'm aware, on boot-up, the 4 lights at the bottom of the controller (which are used to indicate whether you are player 1, 2, 3, or 4 the rest of the time) will light up to indicate how much power is left -- 4 for full power, 2 for half, etc.
Don't know about the power usage relating to distance from sensor bar, but I seriously doubt it. Though the remote can technically judge its distance from the sensor bar I doubt it adjusts its power output accordingly.
As far as I'm aware, on boot-up, the 4 lights at the bottom of the controller (which are used to indicate whether you are player 1, 2, 3, or 4 the rest of the time) will light up to indicate how much power is left -- 4 for full power, 2 for half, etc.
Don't know about the power usage relating to distance from sensor bar, but I seriously doubt it. Though the remote can technically judge its distance from the sensor bar I doubt it adjusts its power output accordingly.
Something like the DS lights would suffice. I.e. if battery low = red led, else green led.
Something like the DS lights would suffice. I.e. if battery low = red led, else green led.
Yeah, but I don't think that's the case. Like I say, as far as I'm aware Nintendo announced quite some time ago that the battery power would be indicated by how many of the four lights lit up at boot-up, as described above.
how long does the battery power last on the remote on the wii? and will there be a recharge plug and play like the x-box 360????
60 hours when playing games that only use the motion sensors; 30 hours when playing games that also use the pointing technology.
Plug and play would be a bit impractical on the Wii, since you have to swing the controller around, but hopefully some 3rd party will come up with a rechargeable lithium battery and a docking station or similar.
also a extender lead is comming for the bar as its long enough for some people.
Great! I'd not come across any information about this and was hoping for a controller docking station...otherwise I would have look up getting rechargeable batteries from somewhere...
also a extender lead is comming for the bar as its long enough for some people.
Great! I'd not come across any information about this and was hoping for a controller docking station...otherwise I would have look up getting rechargeable batteries from somewhere...
Not heard about this before but it looks perfect. Will its charge last as long as normal batteries?
If people dont what something like this, then may I suggest some USB batteries? They are batteries that are charged by a use port. Check out somewhere like firebox.com to read up on them.
Since the Wii has 2 usb ports anyway, you could buy 2 pairs of these batteries and use one in the remote while the other pair charge in the ports.
Couple of times a week?! Man, you plan on spending between 60 and 120 hours a week playing Wii? Jesus -- there are only 168 hours in a week -- and 56 of those are spent sleeping. That only leaves 112 waking hours -- so you plan on spending between 50 and 100% of your life playing Wii? Don't you have a job? A girlfriend? Ever EAT?
I'll be lucky to rack up an hour a week -- my batteries will probably last me a year!
But in answer to your question, the Wiimote has already shown itself to be pretty durable, if not nigh-on indestructible. Nintendo are legendary for making solid kit (I heard a TV show stuck a PS2, X-Box, and GameCube in a washing machine and only the GameCube still worked afterwards) so it should probably be as sturdy as a battery cover is ever going to be.
But I'll still be getting 3rd party lithium batteries and a docking station!
Not heard about this before but it looks perfect. Will its charge last as long as normal batteries?
If people dont what something like this, then may I suggest some USB batteries? They are batteries that are charged by a use port. Check out somewhere like firebox.com to read up on them.
Since the Wii has 2 usb ports anyway, you could buy 2 pairs of these batteries and use one in the remote while the other pair charge in the ports.
That's pretty interesting, I've not heard of this but that's what the docking station is doing in any case?
Not heard about this before but it looks perfect. Will its charge last as long as normal batteries?
If people dont what something like this, then may I suggest some USB batteries? They are batteries that are charged by a use port. Check out somewhere like firebox.com to read up on them.
Since the Wii has 2 usb ports anyway, you could buy 2 pairs of these batteries and use one in the remote while the other pair charge in the ports.
That's pretty interesting, I've not heard of this but that's what the docking station is doing in any case?
I guess so. The docking station thing will probably be the better option as well.
As for Pseudo's comments. Ok maybe not a couple of times a week. But I dont trust companies when they quote times like these. I think they said 60 hours it will last but that figure goes down when you use other features like the nunchuck/class controller rumble/pointer function etc.
Whatever the case. Batteries will defo need replacing more regularly than normal remotes.
I'll be lucky to rack up an hour a week
Lol. Will take you ages to complete Zelda that way!
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
I don't know about you, but my life would end if I that happened to me. 
Soz.)
), but I'm concerned on the amount of cable needed to plug the Wii in to both the receiver (~5 ft behind me) and have the sensor bar at the base of the screen (~15 ft in front me). I'll buy whatever I will need to play the Wii on the projector, but I guess I'd just like to know what I'm getting myself into.
can't belive the wii will need batteries in the controller, thats a serious issue given the amount of hours I spend gaming.
