Nintendo Unveils New Controller Option at E3

Nintendo has not yet held its annual E3 press conference, where a big announcement regarding the Nintendo Wii or a Nintendo-made game is expected, but it has released some information on a new hardware accessory for its gaming console.

The add-on is called MotionPlus and is designed to fit perfectly on the lower end of a Wiimote. The main purpose of the accessory is to provide better movement tracking for the Wiimote, and to allow the player to move quicker and get better feedback regarding the moves he performs in the game he's playing.

Nintendo is saying that the new gadget is "combined with the accelerometer and the sensor bar, [and] allows for more comprehensive tracking of a player's arm position and orientation, providing players with an unmatched level of precision and immersion." So far, the movements of the Wiimote have not been fully tracked, and there were rare situations when the movement of the player and of the motion tracking controller was not perfectly reflected in the onscreen moves performed by the player's avatar. Now, Nintendo says that "a true 1:1 response in their game play" is possible if players get the new hardware add-on that the company is offering.

No details have been released regarding the price of MotionPlus or the time at which it will become available for sale in stores. Nintendo is only saying that some of the games it will showcase at E3 will be played using Wiimotes that have MotionPlus attached, in order to give players a taste of what's to come.

Being one of the gamers that, upon first seeing a Wiimote, have quickly thought of lightsaber duels, I can only hope that this new technology drives LucasArts to create an awesome Wii Star Wars game. No story or character development is needed, just an excuse to use the MotionPlus-enabled Wiimote to slash wave upon wave of Jedi.