Nintendo Wii is without a doubt the video game console most dependent on its controller. Sony has been accused of copying Nintendo through its late revelation of its controller, but after what we’ve seen at E3 earlier it seems the first of the two still has the upper hand. Little has been revealed regarding the specifications for the revolutionizing controller though, but now IGN has been able to come across a document sent out to developers and there you can read about a lot of the things not known prior to this day. E.g. how the controller communicates with the console.
The controller uses Bluetooth at 2.4Ghz, a common choice, to communicate with the console and with the help of two AA batteries it will be able to offer up to 30 hours of game time when using the pointing function and up to 60 hours when just using the tilt functionality.
Picture from IGN
The console registers where you point with the help of a 20 cm long bar which you can place either on top of or beneath the TV. This has a sensor in each end which makes it possible for the console to register pointings at a resolution of 1024×768 pixels. Which should be enough for decent precision.
On the controller there are four LEDs which service two different purposes. The first is simply act as identification. The left LED is 1, the next 2 and so forth. But they also show the remaining battery power when you turn the controllers on. If 4 LEDs are shining then it is +75% power left, 3 LEDs 75-50%, 2 shining LEDs mean 50-25% and with only 1 LED you’re below 25%. The controller has a built in rumble features, something Sony claimed was impossible if you wanted a tilt functionality at the same time.
Picture from IGN
The papers also strengthen the fact that there will be an alternative controller, which is mainly meant to be used with the old games and the virtual console. The controller looks a bit like a hybrid between a SNES and GameCube controller and we are a bit doubtful regarding the ergonomics, but we assume it has been tested properly and that we’re wrong
Ninteno has as always chosen not to comment.
