The Wii Motion Plus Problem

The Wii Motion Plus is a ridiculous concept to me. It's an add-on for the Wii Remote that adds more fidelity to the Wii Remote's motion capabilities. You hook the tiny box onto the bottom of the Wii Remote in order to enjoy the type of motion control the Wii originally promised. I never picked up a Wii Motion Plus add-on, because I had no desire to pay twenty dollars for it, and there were absolutely no games I wanted that supported it.

The stupid looking box at the bottom makes the
Wii's motion how it should have been in the first place

     

Nintendo is well known for releasing ridiculous peripherals that don't work out as planned and the Wii Motion Plus is one of them. It was released too late in the Wii's life to make any kind of difference. The magic of Motion controls had already worn off by the time the add on was released in June of 2009. Nintendo could have tried to push the Motion Plus, but they didn't. It is now 2011 and there are only four retail games that require Wii Motion Plus, and Twenty eight more games that have the option of using it.

     

There's only one of those games that's even worth playing to me. In November of 2011 Nintendo released Zelda: The Skyward Sword. It require Wii Motion Plus, and it's the first game I want to play that has anything to do with the add-on. The Motion Plus allows for 1-to-1 motion between the Wii Remote and Link's Sword in Game. I've always been a huge Zelda fan, which is why I want to play this game. In an attempt to try and save money this year I asked for Skyward Sword as a Christmas Gift. I didn't ask for a Wii Motion Plus, because I figured I could buy it on my own.

     

Much to my chagrin Nintendo has discontinued their Wii Motion Plus add-on. Now they only sell Wii-Remotes that have the add-on built in. The last thing I want to do is buy a new Wii Remote when the Wii is on its way out. Nintendo has made it clear that Skyward Sword will be the Wii's last major first party release. They're much more concerned with the Wii U. Wii Remotes with the built in add-on are going for thirty-five dollars on Amazon, but I opted to buy the discontinued add-on for twenty-five dollars instead. It won't arrive for at least five days after Christmas, which means I'll have to wait a bit before I can play Skyward Sword.

     

Nintendo has a history of doing this kind of thing and I'm getting sick of it. The new circle pad for the 3DS, is even more outrageous than the Motion Plus. I payed two-hundred-fifty dollars for a 3DS and then the price dropped. Now I feel like I got an unfinished handheld, because Nintendo is adding two extra shoulder buttons and a second analog stick. These moves are making it increasingly clear that Nintendo is falling behind the times. There are other places for gamers to turn and things like this could eventually become a problem for Nintendo.

     -Manny