Fight Club: Motion Control Comparisson (Part 1 Motion Plus is A Plus)

 

  

Pretty much everyone and their Grandma (Literally) have played the Nintendo Wii which basically makes this pretty simple to do.

This generation, the Wii was the first to really emphasize motion control gaming and has thus pulled into the gaming circle a lot more gamers. The WiiMotion Plus now comes built into every Wiimote. To those who have first edition WiiMotes well, if we want some additional precision added to the gaming experience, then we're gonna have to invest $19.99 into a Wiimotion Plus add on. However, if we pick up certain games like Wii Sports Resort, that uses the Motion Plus best, or Red Steel, a not so great game, then we'll have it.

The WiiMotion Plus is definitely an improvement and what the Wiimote should have been out the door. It adds more stability rather than that jittery feeling you get while playing the divice. However, I think the hardcore gamer is really going to be the only one to not only be looking for the difference, but will be the one who notices it. Everyone else just won't care. Its not a big change, but change enough. Its pretty much certain that Nintendo had chosen to go this route to compete with both Microsoft and Sony that could do it all better with more power under the hood.

If you look back to your High School Geometry, you probably figured it was a waste of time, until you find its pretty much what motion gaming is all about. Think of the grid. The grid is built up of points in a two-dimensional space in the shape of a square. When you map out the points within those four individual planes, you begin on the X-axis moving left into the negative or right into the positive and then on the Y-axis up into the positive or down into the negative. Pretty simple right? WiiMotion Plus, for example, seems to cram those points tighter together to give more precision. That's how your WiiMotion Plus works. However, compared to the competition, the Wiimote is very two-dimensional.

Now, you draw a cube on the board. A cube is more third-dimensional and that's where the competition comes in. The PlayStation Move for example designed similarly to the Wiimote, not only detects the X-axis and Y-axis, but the Z-axis as well. This gives it a more three-dimensional feel and as a result gives more of an immersive experience its depth reaching into the screen perhaps but isn't anywhere to be found on the Wii. The Motion Plus is a step up, but when compared to the others, its starting to look dated.

Finally, again, the casual gamer won't notice much of a difference, but to the hardcore gamer, the software selection is going to feel thin. The only game Nintendo has really announced to utilyze this technology was announced at last years E3 Nintendo Press Conference which was the next Legend of Zelda game and for me, even I didn't notice much of a difference.

The Wii is going to continue to sell. But the bulk of its gamers are all casual gamers that like to play for a half hour and then move on to other activities. After all, they have a life. But, the tech that is there is going to be forgotten and unappreciated and perhaps this is why Nintendo isn't exactly focusing on Plus as much as they could be. The masses are content. Is the competition going to surrender the standard controller for motion gaming? Not a chance. Both Sony and Microsoft, though they'll work their motion control devices the best they can, will still support very much so the Dualshock 3 and Xbox 360 controller. Because the fact of the matter is, even Nintendo can't let go of the classic controller. Nintendo is still in a very comfortable situation. But they're starting to lose ground and something will have to be done to stay up there. I really don't think WiiMotion Plus is its savior though. Its fun to have, but isn't a drastic enough difference to merit a victory at the end.