Control Issues: Examining the New
By: Andrew JoyAs for the other two peripherals, Nintendo showed us the Zapper Style and the Classic Style, though they actually revealed precious little. The Zapper Style you’ll likely recognize, as it bears a strong resemblance to the light gun used with the original NES. While it does add a certain amount of credibility to the rumors of a Duck Hunt remake (and a shooting demo available at E3 actually showcased similar gameplay), the real possibilities come from the analog stick on the back there. As the Wii remote slips into the Zapper, it has a separate trigger used instead of the B button on the back of the Wii remote (which is then covered), but it appears to lose the ability to connect the Nunchuk, so it features its own analog stick. While it does revert the gameplay back to one hand, it also appears to lose the shoulder buttons of the Nunchuk and the advantage of two accelerometers. However, these are still just prototypes, and the implications for certain games are still there – can anyone say Resident Evil?
And finally, the last peripheral shows just as much, if not more, promise than the Nunchuk. The Classic Style controller, as the name implies, would be used to play Virtual Console games, which include not only Nintendo’s older systems (NES, SNES and N64) but also games from the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafix 16. However, even though the Wii includes GameCube controller ports to play its backward compatible games, the Classic Style seems equipped to do the job as well. It features a start, select and home buttons, a D-pad, A, B, X and Y buttons, left and right shoulder buttons, a Z button (located near the right shoulder button), and two analog sticks. As it would be held in two hands, just like other video game controllers today and from the past, it appears that two notches on the back of the Classic Style controller could serve to hold the Wii remote in place, though nothing has been said for sure yet. Beyond its uses with the Virtual Console, the Classic Style controller also seems a likely candidate for use with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which the developer has already said will not make use of the Wii’s unique controller. When the Wii was discussed early on, Nintendo mentioned a “shell” that could slip over the Wii remote (like the Zapper), that could be used for older games and newer, cross-platform games. It is unclear at this time whether or not it is still on the table, or whether this Classic Style controller has replaced it, as Nintendo isn’t opposed to mixing things up.
In the past few months, in fact, we have seen quite a few adjustments and some startling revelations with the regular Wii remote. Most of the differences are just minor changes, of course, such as how the company’s name has now been etched onto the back and Wii is emblazoned on the front, the power switch is more rounded, the home key has a picture of a little house on it, the start and select buttons are now plus and minus signs and the secondary A and B buttons (the ones that are in the proper position when you hold the Wii remote like a classic NES controller) are now 2 and 1, all respective. Some of the additions to the controller include two small slip locks for the attachments so they won’t pop out so easily, a spot for a drawstring (just like what you’d find on a DS and PSP) to be attached and, oh yeah, there’s a speaker right in the middle! In what was perhaps one of the biggest announcements of E3 2006, Nintendo revealed that in addition to having a rumble pack, the Wii remote would also give you audio feedback. Certainly this means big things for immersion when you are swinging controller like a tennis racket and actually feel the force of the blow and hear the satisfying pop of the ball right in your hand. Who cares if your system supports Dolby Digital when you are hearing a bowstring draw taunt, release an arrow and then listen as it whistles through the air to your TV’s speakers?
Despite all these big announcements, we may not know all the Wii remote’s secrets yet. Many things are still being rumored, and with every passing day, more fuel is being added to the fire. In more recent news, Nintendo has registered a large chunk of Wii-related web address, Wii-karaoke.com among them, causing many to speculate that the Wii remote will include a microphone. With that possibility on the horizon and a speaker already built right in, some are speculating that Nintendo’s new controller could offer VOIP solutions. And, finally, in one of his interviews Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned that Nintendo is looking at ways of personalizing the controls, and that the company hopes everybody in the house will have their own. Though really nothing is confirmed for how user profiles connected to each controller would be utilized, again, the possibilities seem endless. Imagine, for instance, going into a room and turning on the system with your controller and not having to worry about choosing your save file, picking out your custom caricature for games like Wii Sports, having to pick out your homepage when using the Opera web browser or having to adjust you controls and sensitivity settings.
Unfortunately, for all its bells and whistles, possibilities and promise, we are not without our concerns for the controller. For instance, it has been revealed that the Wii remote will operate on just two AA batteries, with no plans for a rechargeable power supply (it has been said that it is simply cheaper for them to supply regular batteries). That means, with the controller powering an LED light, a rumble pack, internal speaker, presumably its entourage of peripherals and any number of internal whatnots that we can’t see or haven’t been revealed yet, your Wii remote is likely to eat up batteries faster than Cookie Monster with a bag of Chips Ahoy! While we do hope Nintendo will reconsider the decision, as we know they have the technology – what, with the rechargeable battery packs inside the Nintendo DS and the more recent Game Boy Advance incarnations, the SP and Micro – we also have to remember that Nintendo went with regular, “disposable” batteries with its last wireless controller, the WaveBird. And, while the WaveBird had an estimated 100 hours of play with just two AA batteries, it also clearly lacked a rumble pack (for which it ultimately suffered, in my opinion) and an internal speaker. However, should Nintendo not change its mind, we’ll be sure to let you know...that way you can buy stock in Energizer.
On the same token, taking into account all the delicate internal sensors and the company’s past, it brings up another point that people should really be concerned with: durability. While others may disagree, if there’s one thing I’ll remember Nintendo for, it’s durability. The handhelds I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying have been quite sturdy and can stand being dropped more than a few times (as I know from personal experience), and even the consoles have been known to take a beating – some of my own are the equivalent of grizzled warriors, leathered in scars. But, more to my point, in all my years playing Nintendo systems (and that is many years, going all the way back to the original NES), I never once remember one of their controllers breaking on me (which is more than I can say for some of the other companies out there). So, why bring this up, you may be asking? Well, for all intents and purposes, the Wii remote is far different than your typical Nintendo controller. The closest we’ve come is the light gun, which went the way of the dodo with the more recent generations of Nintendo consoles, and even that not so much a matter of technology but just gameplay. However, there is one notable exception to Nintendo’s legacy of tough, and that is the Virtual Boy. The not-so-portable portable had a short, miserable life among Nintendo’s pantheon of handhelds; due in part to the fact that a good impact with anything could easily jostle those intricately placed mirrors inside, rendering the system unplayable. And, again, while I am not directly comparing the technology, it is still something to think about while we wait to get our hands on the final version.
In the meantime, now that you should have a thorough understanding of how the controller works, feel free to read through our current and upcoming Wii coverage. We’ll have constant coverage of the console up to and past launch, so be sure to keep an eye on our ever-growing list of previews!
Posted: 06/05/2006