Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on July 16, 2008 by CyberNet.

While the Wiimote has been able to impress and amaze millions of people out there, it has been lacking something for others. What was it lacking you ask? The capability to sense even the slightest movements. For some games, the Wiimote just wasn’t precise enough in detecting how the user was moving their Wiimote. To help with this problem, Nintendo has released an add-on called MotionPlus.

MotionPlus is the solution to requests for a Wiimote that has superb motion controls. As shown in the photo below, it fits right on to the bottom of the current Wiimote and just extends the length a bit. Because it’s an add-on and not something that Nintendo built right-in to the existing Wiimote, users will have to determine if they want to spend the extra money on it. Unfortunately this new add-on will only work with games designed to take advantage of the technology. This means that all of the games you currently have in your library won’t work with MotionPlus.

At this point there is only one game that takes advantage of MotionPlus and it’s called Wii Sports Resort. You must have the add-on attached to the Wiimote if you want to play the game. Gizmodo put it to the test and said it was undeniable that MotionPlus does add “true 1:1 movement support.” A Nintendo spokesman described it and said “It renders every light shift of the wrist or arm into the gameplay.” Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Now we need to talk about the down-sides of this add-on. First of all, it costs money and will ultimately make the system more expensive. Consumers will need to buy controllers, nunchucks, and now the MotionPlus add-on for a true Wii experience. Another thing to keep in mind is that as game developers put MotionPlus to good use, those who really didn’t want to “upgrade” their controllers will be forced to if they want to be able to play the latest games.

We weren’t able to find any details about pricing, but if it’s anything like the Nunchuck, expect to spend at least $20 on it.

Source: Gizmodo

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Don’t panic! That’s not a herd of horses about to parade through your living room, but it is the noise that only 10 Engadget Podcasters can make as they run through your WiFi and into your speakers for this, the first-ever Engadget Partycast! We’ll play Twister all over some new Sony tablets, pin the tail on the red envelope, and we might even fire up the hottest new music-streaming service on the HiFi to get you moving. The party is happening right now down below underneath that play button. We’re almost at capacity, but we’ll let you in if you hurry the dang heck up!

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00:02:52 – Sony S1 and S2 hands-on
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00:09:53 – Sony’s VAIO Z finally arrives in the US, goes up for pre-order starting at $2,000
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Filed under: Podcasts

Engadget Podcast 248 – 07.15.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last night’s Netflix / 3DS news was more than just empty promises — and now we have the official press release to prove it. Starting today, Netflix subscribers with unlimited streaming plans will be able to watch TV shows and movies from the service’s selection of online content on their Nintendo 3DS, like the Wii before it. Movies will show up in 2D (darn) on the upper screen of the device, with 3D content coming soon to the glasses-free portable. The Netflix app will be hitting the Nintendo eShop today as a free download. The app doesn’t appear to be in the store as of yet, but we’ll let you know when it pops up. In the meantime, feel free to check out the press release below — no glasses required.

Continue reading Nintendo confirms Netflix on the 3DS hitting today

Nintendo confirms Netflix on the 3DS hitting today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It wouldn’t be a Nintendo product if the JDM release didn’t get special treatment, and that practice continues here for the 3DS. The Nintendo Video service hits the Japanese version of the parallax-busting handheld tomorrow, allowing the download of 2D and 3D content that’s been “recommended” by the house Mario built. It’s actually the second video service to hit Japanese systems, following SpotPass TV‘s earlier launch with original content. When will we Americans get something fulfilling? “Later this summer” according to a Nintendo statement, which also confirms Netflix will be available “soon” — soon enough to save your subscription?

Nintendo Video arrives on Japanese 3DS tomorrow, American equivalent and Netflix ‘later this summer’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch out, Mario, the Lawyer Bros. are after you again. This time it’s Tomita Technologies and the patent in question is number 7,417,664, “Stereoscopic Image Picking Up and Display System Based Upon Optical Axes Cross-Point Information.” As you might have guessed, the case has to do with 3DS and its use of a parallax barrier 3D screen, something the Tomita’s 2008 patent (applied for in 2003) certainly describes, in addition to a stereoscopic capture device, a position-tracking system, and lots of other accoutrement. The case was filed on June 22nd and there’s not much for us to do now but wait to see whether this plucky plumber can jump his way into dismissal like he has again and again.

Nintendo 3DS accused of infringing on two-dimensional Tomita patent originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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