We don't usually cover mobile phone news here on Nintendo Life but in this case we're willing to make an exception. Those of you familiar with Google's Android operating system will know that there are countless downloadable apps available via the appropriately-named Android Market.
One app that caught our attention recently was the Wii Controller Demo, produced by Ryan Frawley. This software - which is available for free - allows Android users to create a Bluetooth connection between their phone and a Wii Remote and then log input information on the phone's display.
While this in itself isn't tremendously exciting it does have long-term implications for gaming on Android; Frawley is still working on the software but it already has the ability to detect the presence of a Nunchuk and Classic Controller. Once the app is working properly he intends to allow other developers to use it in their games and emulators.
Emulation is probably the key area here; unlike Apple Google is quite happy to allow developers to distribute emulator apps on the marketplace. It's possible to play SNES, NES, Mega Drive and GBA games on Android devices and, when paired with a Wii Remote/Classic Controller combo, you've effectively got a portable Virtual Console.
If you have an Android phone then we recommend you check this out.
Comments 14
huh. interesting, certainly... illegal... maybe......
That's pretty cool. I don't think (at this point) it's illegal though.
Yea, not yet we know, if it be good or it be bad.
There's nothing illegal about the Remote recognizing part; my Macbook recognizes Wii controllers just fine through bluetooth. Emulators themselves aren't illegal either, it's the ROMs that are, and I don't think Google is distributing those on their app store.
Still, cool beans.
Nice. They have an app that allows Wiimote response on the iPhone (although I think it requires jailbreaking...), so it makes sense that Android phones get an app too.
I hope this comes out on the PalmPre too...
that sounds fascinating!
@Panda: yeah, the ROMs part was what i meant. and an emulator's not much use without 'em. still, it would be cool...
What a coincidence, I downloaded a program 2 days ago to hook up the WiiMote to my girlfriend's MacBook, so I could play older games on it. Its definitely a neat thing to do. =D
My only option of playing Earthbound is to play it through an emulator... If only Nintendo would release it in Europe VC! I've even written a letter to them, darn it!
I have the HTC Hero wich is the new Android phone currently and love it. I saw this little App the other day and passed right by it as a gimmik app. I guess I will now be trying it out.
With the question of legality aside, that's pretty cool! However, I wonder if this will increase the gaming apps or decrease them. We'll just have to wait and see.
What´s that thing?
I had a program that did this on my Symbian-phone a few years ago. Used my Wii remote to play a racing game among other things. Fun stuff. I also tried using a Wii remote to control one of my own games on my computer. That program simply rerouted input from the Wii remote to keys on the keyboard however, so it was not a fancy library/sdk like this seems to be.
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