Nintendo confirms Wii MotionPlus for June and July

by Stevie Smith - Apr 9 2009, 16:15

In the same week that Electronic Arts announced a London media event that will showcase some of its upcoming releases for the Wii (and DS), Japanese gaming giant Nintendo has finally coughed up a general release plan for its much talked about Wii MotionPlus control extension.

Initially debuted by Nintendo during last year’s E3, the Wii Motion Plus dongle attaches flush to the base of the existing Wii Remote controller and, according to Nintendo, will provide a massively improved on-screen interpretation of player movements.

With EA set to release the likes of Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 during the summer months – both of which utilise the benefits of Wii MotionPlus – the industry and gamers alike have been waiting for Nintendo to finally confirm the formal arrival of its controller enhancement. Step forward company president Saturo Iwata.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Iwata said that Wii MotionPlus will be launched in Japan alongside Wii Sports Resort (the follow up to hit title Wii Sports) this coming June. North America and Europe will receive the software and control dongle in July.

While it remains to be seen if the dongle will be bundled with Wii Sports Resort as well as sold separately, it would perhaps make good business sense to package both together given the need to get Wii MotionPlus seen and the massive consumer success garnered by the original Wii Sports.

It’s also possible that Nintendo may well bundle the hugely anticipated sports sequel with the Wii console itself in order to reinvigorate the hardware’s position against rival consoles the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. 

In terms of initial industry reaction to Wii MotionPlus, the boffins at TechRadar spent some time 'hands-on' with the extension and commented that it offers “much improved motion control,” that provided a “feeling of true 1:1 motion… something that many Nintendo fans felt let down by with the original Wii Remote.”

Nintendo is yet to divulge specific regional dates and prices for the arrival of Wii MotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort, but rest assured The Tech Herald will pass that information on just as soon as we receive it.

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