Nintendo has a storied history of releasing peripherals to enhance the functionality of their systems, so the announcement of the Wii Motion Plus surprised just about no one. It was especially unsurprising after developers increasingly expressed displeasure in the functionality of the Wii Remote. But while Nintendo has a history of releasing add-ons and extra products, they have a terrible record when it comes to supporting them. One would have reason to expect that buying this product would leave them with an abundance of hope in a product that would be left largely unfulfilled by a lack of support and imaginative use if they judged their decision to purcase on track record alone.
There have been a plethora of neglected peripherals left to rust in Nintendo’s shed dating back to the company’s early hardware days. The Nintendo Zapper on the original Nintendo was part of a gimmick. The company wanted people to perceive their product as an “Entertainment System,” not a video game system because due to the negative perception caused by the crash of ‘83. The Zapper, along with R.O.B. the robot, served its early purpose and was left by the wayside in lieu of the console’s success. The Super Scope 6 for the Super Nintendo does not have the same pillowy excuse. This device wasn’t developed as marketing ploy; it was a featured device. There were a meager 11 games developed for use with the Scope in the end, and that’s including the cartridge that came in the box; hardly something to justify the price of not just buying the product, but constantly stuffing it full of batteries to make it work as well. Anyone who bought the Super Scope likely felt ripped off by the lack of developer support, and after enjoying what few games they had access to likely left it in a closet somewhere to gather dust.
Followed by this device is a pile of devices that saw even less support than the Super Scope. The N64 expansion pack, the e-Reader for the GameBoy Advance (a card-swiping device that would have been revealed as a failure if any sort of market-testing was done), the DK Bongo Drums and most recently the Wii Balance Board are some notable offenses. Too early to label that last one a failure? Are there even five games coming out that support it that readily come to mind? Exactly. Even the Wii Zapper, which is nothing more than a plastic shell, has seen no support from Nintendo except the game it came with. There is no evidence that the company is going to change their ways with the Motion Plus. It seems that when something is optional, it shortly equates to forgotten.
Nintendo’s recent stance on the Motion Plus’ release is also troubling. Many had the device tagged for a spring release after it was revealed at E3 2008, you know, since the company said that was when it was scheduled to come out with Wii Sports Resort. Recent rumors of a delay, however, have revealed that this may not be the case. Nintendo said that a release date was never officially revealed. If the company can’t get the product out on time, it’s certainly going to hurt the product’s chances at market. Imagine if the third-party games that make use of it, like Red Steel 2 and the new Tiger Woods game come out and the device is “legitimately” delayed? Those games will play worse because of it and developers may be put off from supporting it in the future.
Speaking of third-party games, a number of games that were supposed to support Motion Plus no longer do. High Voltage Studios removed functionality for the device from their game, The Conduit, as did EA with their upcoming Dead Space prequel. Both of these games are fairly high profile titles on Nintendo’s white box and could have had a hand in establishing the Motion Plus’ prominence in terms of both development and sales. The fewer titles that support it, however, leaves fewer chances for customers to use it, therefore decreasing the chances they’ll actually purchase it.
Of course there’s the question of whether it actually matters how many games support it so long as the few that do are fun. It depends on a couple of factors, most importantly as to whether the customer (i.e. you) will feel like you got your money worth before the device is relegated to a box somewhere in your house, only to be pulled out occasionally. History teaches us to anticipate that there will be few games that support the addition, despite developer demand for it because Nintendo themselves will fail to support it.
This is a device that could potentially make the Wii a better system, and Nintendo should take the steps to make that happen. Selling the device individually is the first step, but the technology should be implemented in a new version of the Wii Remote to make it the new standard. History shows this method worked for Sony with the original Dual Shock when they phased out their original controller, and it would likely work here as well, and it’s likely Nintendo could do even better if they bundled the new remote with something along the lines of Wii Play 2. Imagine the sales! If they take the same route they have in the past, the Motion Plus will be doomed to fail from the start. We’ll be left with yet-another peripheral with high potential but limited application to box up and store away with all the rest of Nintendo’s broken promises.
Yeahhh… that purchase of Wii Fit really didn’t go so well for me. I got yelled at by that goddamn animated board for five days and then stuffed it in the corner.