Summary
The Wii Remote (often called 'the Wiimote'), is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console.
The main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and optical sensor technology.
Another key feature of the controller is its ability to expand through the use of attachments. The attachment bundled with all packages of the Wii console is the Nunchuk, which complements the Wii Remote by adding additional buttons and an analog stick.
The controller was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show on September 14, 2005, and was first officially unveiled as the "Wii Remote" in April, 2006.
The Wii's successor console, the Wii U, also supports the Wii Remote and its peripherals.
Development
Development of a motion-based controller began in 2001, at the same time as work began on what would become the Wii console.
Nintendo licensed a number of motion-sensing patents from Gyration Inc., a company that produces wireless motion-sensing computer mice. Nintendo then commissioned Gyration Inc. to create a one-handed controller. At this point, Gyration Inc. brought in a separate design firm Bridge Design to help pitch its concept to Nintendo. The firm experimented with different forms but by late 2004/early 2005 Nintendo had come up with the Wii Remote's less traditional "wand shape", and the design of the Nunchuk attachment.
Nintendo had also decided upon using a motion sensor, infrared pointer, and the layout of the buttons, and by the end of 2005 the controller was ready for mass production.
Design
The Wii Remote is a one-handed remote control, which starkly contrasts with the traditional gamepad controllers of previous gaming consoles. This makes motion sensitivity more intuitive, as a remote design is fitted perfectly for pointing. It also aided the Wii in appealing to a broader audience that included non-gamers. The controller's symmetrical design also allows it to be used in either hand.
The Wii Remote measures 148 mm (5.8 in) in length, 36.2 mm (1.43 in) in width, and 30.8 mm (1.21 in) in thickness.
The controller communicates wirelessly with the console via short-range Bluetooth radio, with which it is possible to operate up to four controllers as far as 10 meters (approx. 30 ft) away from the console.
However, to utilize pointer functionality, the Wii Remote must be used within five meters (approx. 16 ft) of the Sensor Bar.
Wrist Straps
The Wii Remote comes with a wrist strap attached to the bottom of it to ensure the safety of the device (indeed, most Wii games displays a caution screen upon loading to warn the player to use the strap in order to avoid the remote slipping from their grip during gameplay).
In late 2007 a new wrist strap was discovered to be in circulation. The strap featured a lock clip instead of a slide to ensure that the clip would not slide away from a player's wrist during frequent play. This new, lock clip-based wrist strap is now included with all new Wii Remotes.
Jacket
Nintendo announced a free accessory for the Wii Remote, the Wii Remote Jacket, in October of 2007, at which point Nintendo started shipping all consoles, separately-packaged controllers, and the controller included in the game Wii Play with the jacket.
The removable silicone sleeve wraps around the Wii Remote to provide users with a better grip on the controller and more cushioning. This makes it more comfortable to hold during extended gaming sessions and also keeps the Wii Remote protected in case it is accidentally dropped or thrown.
Functionality
The Wii Remote has the ability to sense acceleration along three axes through the use of an ADXL330 accelerometer. The Wii Remote also features a PixArt optical sensor, allowing it to determine where the Wii Remote is pointing.
Unlike a light gun that senses light from a television screen, the Wii Remote senses light from the console's Sensor Bar, which allows consistent usage regardless of a television's type or size. The Sensor Bar is about 20 cm (7.9 in) long and features ten infrared LEDs, five at each end of the bar.
The LEDs furthest from the center are pointed slightly outwards, the LEDs closest to the center are pointed slightly inwards, while the rest are pointed straight forward. The Sensor Bar's cable is 353 cm (11 ft 7 in) in length. The bar may be placed above or below the television, and should be centered. The Wii Remote's image sensor is used to locate the Sensor Bar's points of light in the Wii Remote's field of view.
Because the Sensor Bar also allows the Wii Remote to calculate the distance between the Wii Remote and the Sensor Bar, the Wii Remote can also control slow forward-backward motion of an object in a 3-dimensional game. Rapid forward-backward motion, such as punching in a boxing game, is controlled by the acceleration sensors. Using these acceleration sensors (acting as tilt sensors), the Wii Remote can also control rotation of a cursor or other objects.
The use of an infrared sensor to detect position can cause some detection problems when other infrared sources are around, such as incandescent light bulbs or candles. This can be easily alleviated by using fluorescent lights around the Wii, which emit little to no infrared light.
The position and motion tracking of the Wii Remote allows the player to mimic actual game actions, such as swinging a sword or aiming a gun, instead of simply pressing buttons. An early marketing video showed actors miming actions such as fishing, cooking, drumming, conducting a musical ensemble, shooting a gun, sword fighting, and performing dental surgery.
Power
The Wii Remote uses two AA batteries as a power source, which can power a Wii Remote for roughly 60 hours using only the accelerometer functionality and roughly 25 hours using both accelerometer and pointer functionality.
An official direct recharging option for the Wii Remote does not exist, but various third-party manufacturers market charging solutions for the controller.
If the Wii Remote is not used for more than 5 minutes, such as when the player is using a Gamecube controller or watching Netflix, it will shut off, and can be re-activated by pressing any button.
