Topic: Unplug your sensor bar, and still play?

My brother and I found this out by accident. Put in Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort. Set up any sport you want to play, like bowling, bowl the first frame. Then unplug the sensor bar. You will still be able to bowl. I think this is crazy, I thought you needed the sensor bar. This won't work for games where you point at the screen, like Link's Crossbow Training, but every other game should work like this.

Let me know what you all think.

I found that out on these boards a few months ago from one of the other users. I was wasting so many batteries with my wireless replacement sensor. (Again, darn you freaking cat) It is good info nonetheless.

Of course. The gyros and all the crap that detect motion are in the Wiimote. The sensor bar is pretty much only there for the pointer

I guess this isn't that big of news to most, but I thought the sensor bar was needed to sense everything. I am still shocked by this find.

Yeah, the name isn't exactly an accurate description of what it does. The sensor bar is just a set of infrared lights. There's actually a low resolution camera in each remote. The remote sees the lights and uses them to calculate where on the screen you are pointing. And that's all that the bar is used for. The actual motion sensing part of the technology is a separate component in the remote and it has its own way of detecting movement that has nothing to do with the pointer.

All this data that the remote collects from the pointer, the gyroscope, the buttons on the remote, and anything connected through the expansion port (nunchuk / MotionPlus / classic controller) is transmitted directly to the system through the remote's bluetooth wireless connection. The sensor bar doesn't play any role in that either.

A side effect that people noticed long ago about this is that certain things like candles and xmas lights can be used to make temporary replacement sensor bars in a pinch. This is also why it's possible for so many third party wireless sensor bars to be on the market. All they really need is the lights and a power source and the remote interprets it the same way it interprets the bar that comes with the system.

And if you've been keeping an eye on Sony at all, you might have noticed that their Move system that's supposed to be coming out soon takes that concept the other way around. Sony's wand has a light on it (a big glowing ball that changes colors) which their EyeToy camera peripheral can track. And while we're on the subject, Microsoft's Natal peripheral (also supposed to be coming out soon) cuts out the controller completely and just uses some advanced new 3D sensing camera technology to track your whole body. (That's the real "sensor bar" right there. It's like this little magic box that's supposed to be able to do everything.)

In Super Paper Mario, I was able to use the treadmill from six yards away, in another room.

I guess the sensor bar is indeed solely for the cursor.

My wireless sensor bar worked for a couple of minutes after I pulled the batteries out. How's that for scary?

lol that is scary.

To clarify, the pointer still worked. It was so bizarre

Oh, I see. You don't actually require the sensor bar, but things will go wonky really easily without it lol

@Ravage: Funny thing is it was working as if it were still on. No wonkiness or anything