The Technology Behind The Wii Remote

In the early days of console gaming, Nintendo was a leading player in the market, with a great many titles for its console of the day. After some time, however, Nintendo became better known for its portable gaming console the Gameboy, and began to lag behind in the area where it was once the leading player. That all changed when Nintendo released the Wii, one of its latest gaming consoles. The Wii was designed and developed with the intention of revolutionizing console gameplay, thanks to its very different control scheme and game styles. The Wii remote does not resemble any of the more traditional console controllers, although some of the Wii accessories that complement the console are also available for other consoles.

Motion Sensing

The Wii revolutionized motion-based gaming with its Wii remote that was designed to sense motion along all axes, allowing players to play games entirely without the use of buttons. While the PS3 sixaxis controller was also designed with motion sensing capabilities, it was intended only as a means of detecting whether a player was leaning the control to one side. The Wii remote, on the other hand, was meant to be used with large movements, such as mimicking a proper tennis swing or even boxing punches.

This change in how the controller worked also meant that the type of games played on the Wii changed as well. Among the most popular games that have been released for the Wii is Wii Sports, which is basically a collection of games based on different real life sports, such as tennis, soccer, boxing and bowling. Players then compete in virtual versions of these games using the motion sensing Wii remote to sense their movements.

Even classic games such as driving games were played in a different manner. With driving games, you hold the remote horizontal to the ground, and simply tilt the remote in whichever direction you want your car to go. The further you tilt the remote in one direction, the harder the car turns in that direction. The result is a very intuitive control system that does not take as much time to master as controlling a car through the use of analog joysticks.

Steering Wheel

For fans of driving games, of which there are many, the steering wheel accessory for the Wii is a must-have. Your Wii remote fits snugly into a compartment in the center of the steering wheel, and then you can drive your on-screen car in exactly the same way as you would drive your regular car. Gaming of this type is extremely family-friendly and even young children find it easy to play games using the steering wheel.

Wii Fit

The Wii Fit is another one of the Wii accessories that depends on motion sensing technology, but it does stretch the category of what is considered a game. Instead, it is marketed as more of a fitness tool that incorporates some elements of gaming to make exercise more interesting and less mind-numbingly boring. The Wii Fit, like the Wii remote, uses motion sensing technology to improve a player抯 balance while providing exercise at the same time.