Nintendo Coming Up with Fix for Wii U Motion Sensor Issue

[Guest]

The Wii U's GamePad has a bit of a motion sensor issue. Miyamoto suggests a "fix"...

Nintendo Coming Up with Fix for Wii U Motion Sensor Issue : Read more

 

[kinggraves]

This more than anything so far makes me doubt Nintendo's true understanding of their situation. I do not want another "Wii Motion Plus". If it doesn't work like it's supposed to out of the box, it isn't a feature that your device has. As far as I'm concerned, the Wiimote's real issue was how difficult it was to properly point with the way their sensor worked. It could have been better than auto aim, if my targeting didn't fly wildly off screen every time I left the sensor's limited range. Even light guns worked better than that.

Of course, that was the WiiMote's primary function. This is mainly supposed to be a second screen for gameplay usage. I can't say I'm too concerned with a factor I didn't like in the Wii gameplay now not being a factor in the Wii U gameplay. I'm sure this is disappointing news to some, and rather arrogant to say they will just program around it. Nintendo needs to remember their are OTHER people that develop games, and their support is also necessary to succeed. I can appreciate the honesty though. Sony probably would've just promised the feature and when it didn't work, shrugged it off and said it's no longer a feature.

But really... how much more would the better sensor cost? I wouldn't mind paying an extra 10 if the feature is built into the controller, but I don't like playing to have to stick some extra dongle in a port just to get slightly better functionality.

 

[aftcomet]

Looks like it's off to a great start with a solution that's not really a solution.

 

[JOSHSKORN]

NES was cool...and still is IMO. Don't care for Nintendo's new toys.

 

[notuptome2004]

umm the Wii U has a Sensor bar connected to it just like the Wii but it is highly larger more inside it so i dont see how ther was an issue unless the demo on that TV did not have the sensor bar connected or it was knocked down

 

[Guest]

You need to learn how to read. The pad itself has no sensor that interacts with the ir sensor bar like the wiimotes do.

I noticed this at E3, too. It would be a good idea to include it prior to shipping, but it's probably too late in production.

 

[dormantreign]

I don't intend on buying games that make me flail my hands/arms around. Just want that pro controller and a zelda game.

 

[amabhy]

This is something apple would do- have a flaw and then say "you're playing it wrong" or "you're designing games wrong". Dangerous road to go down, nintendo...

 

[slabbo]

well, they admitted the problem and as long as the fix works that's fine with me. I could careless what's in the controller or in the software as long as it works seamlessly.

 

[beoza]

[citation][nom]amabhy[/nom]This is something apple would do- have a flaw and then say "you're playing it wrong" or "you're designing games wrong". Dangerous road to go down, nintendo...[/citation]

That isn't the issue at all. Nintendo admitted there is an problem, how many other companies have you heard of in recent years admitting there is an issue with software or hardware and actually coming up with a solution to the problem? Sure it's not a perfect fix like adding better sensors but at least is some kind of a solution to the problem. They can send out the info to all game devs who can incorporate the fix into their games before users actually get their hands on them. Would you rather have had them ignore the issue then have a huge backlash from buyers because of this issue? Or would you rather have them admit to it now so that when the console and games ship the fix is in place? I'm not a fanboy, Ive owned most of the consoles out there since I was 6yrs old in the late 70's. I would much rather have them find the issue now and get the games fixed with a work around solution, than after it's release. All software/hardware can and usually does have problems on release, nothing is perfect but with future revisions and hardware price drops they can add better sensors later. This is definitely good PR for Nintendo.

 

[Guest]

How is this good PR for Nintendo? They just admitted they are using cheap parts that they know cause problems in order to keep the price down. What other cheap parts did they use? What future problems will the Wii U have?

It isn't good PR to say "we know we are going to be selling a flawed product, but hey, we had to save money, and you can just learn to live with it."

 

[Shin-san]

Ow. I hope that Microsoft and Sony won't be doing the same with their motion controllers

 

[amabhy]

[citation][nom]beoza[/nom]That isn't the issue at all.[/citation]

Uh, did u read the article? "For now, Nintendo’s either going to have to design games that doesn’t require the GamePad’s sensors to be pointed at the screen." The problem makes it so that games are limited in the things they can do. its not a matter of a bugfix in every game, its a loss of functionality similar to having to hold the iphone differently. Nintendo also stated it would cost too much to implement a real hardware fix- and with that you have the makings of a situation similar to antennagate. Sensorgate perhaps?

 

[cee2cee]

[citation][nom]beoza[/nom]That isn't the issue at all. Nintendo admitted there is an problem, how many other companies have you heard of in recent years admitting there is an issue with software or hardware and actually coming up with a solution to the problem? Sure it's not a perfect fix like adding better sensors but at least is some kind of a solution to the problem. They can send out the info to all game devs who can incorporate the fix into their games before users actually get their hands on them. Would you rather have had them ignore the issue then have a huge backlash from buyers because of this issue? Or would you rather have them admit to it now so that when the console and games ship the fix is in place? I'm not a fanboy, Ive owned most of the consoles out there since I was 6yrs old in the late 70's. I would much rather have them find the issue now and get the games fixed with a work around solution, than after it's release. All software/hardware can and usually does have problems on release, nothing is perfect but with future revisions and hardware price drops they can add better sensors later. This is definitely good PR for Nintendo.[/citation]

Apple also had a "kind of" solution to the iPhone: hold it differently. Nintendo here is doing the same thing by telling game makers that they can't make games where you have to point the thing at the screen. This is not a fix.

 

[djscribbles]

[citation][nom]kinggraves[/nom]But really... how much more would the better sensor cost? I wouldn't mind paying an extra 10 if the feature is built into the controller, but I don't like playing to have to stick some extra dongle in a port just to get slightly better functionality.[/citation]

The reason they have the issue is likely due to the lack of the precision IR camera (which constituted the bulk of the wii-mote cost), without the camera, the accelerometers and gyroscopes are never "reset" with a new home position, and over time they accumulate error that represents itself as apparent drift. You can't buy sensors without this problem, the issue is the WiiMotes had a way to compensate for it, while the WiiTab does not.

Adding the IR camera this late in the design is probably not even in the realm of possibility. Somewhere in the company, there is likely an engineer saying "I told you so".

 

[djscribbles]

Also worth noting that more than likely they will just implement a cheap/dirty software fix inside the controllers software where it resets when it's in a resting state (much like the way the pointer-nub on laptops resets after it is stationary for a certain period of time).

 

[Madeline Tanderre]

Try this, its what worked for my sensor http/howtofixstuff.blogspot.ca/2013/08/how-to-fix-wii-sensor-bar.html