So far a lot of the Wii U video and technology has focused on how one player will use the Wii U controller and others will use Wii Remotes, but a new patent shows the potential for a single player using both controllers together.
The patent outlines how a player could use the Wii Remote to interact with both the TV and Wii U controller. In the example given (see below) two characters are under threat of attack from a UFO: using the Wii Remote you could grab a character from the image on a TV and drop it onto a safe area in the Wii U controller screen.
The smaller image represents the Wii U screen; the larger image is the TV.
The Wii U controller contains a sensor strip along the top so it's no surprise Nintendo intends to use the Wii Remote and new controller in conjunction with each other, but this is still a fascinating concept with plenty of potential: we imagine it working well with Pikmin 3 in particular.
Nintendo will unveil plenty more Wii U details at E3 on 5th June.
Comments 47
Wow! Nice option...
Wow, so nintendo is the first to make a home console 'complete', where you can take the whole thing with you. The new controler acts as a handheld wii of some sorts?
@polaris no it will not be a handheld. just a controller with a touchscreen.
It will be interesting to see the many ways in which third-party developers do NOT use this feature.
Sweetness. Maybe my theory that we can play old Wii games on the tablet is true.
@bruningspear
so true. i imagine being so excited for the speaker on the wiimote and almost nobody used it (except for no more heroes but i didnt play that game
@ajcismo It was shown you can play Wii Fit on the tablet.
It's a fun idea for some mini games, but for a truly single-player experience, i find this pretty useless.
Wasn't it shown that you can have 5player multiplayer? That will totally change games like Mario Party, and Goldeneye.
@6ch6ris6 I also remember that Red Steel utilized it in multiplayer. There was supposed to be a mode, using 4 players, where the speaker would tell one certain player who they were supposed to kill, or that they were it. I have the game, but I haven't been able to get 3 other people to play, so I'm going by what I read a long time ago.
The problem would be finding a place to set the controller...
cough gimmicky cough
What about the other guy!?
How the wii u controller will recognize the wiimote?Does it have a built-in sensor bar?
Interesting. I can't wait to see all the possibilities at E3
This looks really interesting, the Wii U is getting better and better
Interesting. I wonder what they'll use this for.
Could also be used to quickly drag your Mii's directly onto the Wii U controller so they are stored in it's on-board memory for example.
@Randomname19
Yes, it does.
@Randomname19 Yes, it says so in the article
I think there's great potential for this in co-op — imagine using Remote and Nunchuk on the TV while your buddy uses the controller. Want to give him/her an item? Just grab it and point it at their screen. Genius.
Also Wii U will almost certainly come with a charging cradle you can use to stand up your controller.
Oh, and anyone who can't see the potential for this — Metroid and Zelda could both use it in incredible ways.
How will it be able to tell the difference between the sensor bar on the controller and the one on the TV? The sensor bar is just IR dots.....
Different infra red frequencies perhaps, or based on distance between Wii Remote and sensor bar?
I love how people can freely write something off as a "gimmick" and @James has thought up some very interesting gameplay ideas!
@James- Maybe, catching those little bugs in twilight princess, or picking up a fairy to put it in a bottle would be nice with this. But only for a certain part of any game i guess. Using this concept over and over again and messing with two controllers all the time would be a little irritating, at least for me.
The wii remote was aimed at the wiiU controller and they press 'A'. then it is aimed at the screen and press 'A' again. This provides two reference points.
The wii remote can NOT tell what sensor bar it looks at.
On another note, I can not see this being very good. I see it being a pain in the backside. And who really wants to be using wii remotes again? I am sorry but I will not be buying a single game that uses the wii remote as standard.
I want the future.
@3dbrains Oh I don't know, I think the Wii-mote (and motion control in general) still has a lot to offer. Imagine if people in 1990 said, "I'm done with this D-pad and buttons thing" after only one true generation of its use. Hopefully devs will keep exploring how to use smartly implemented motion control using Motion + and/or Wii U's tablet. I have a feeling the tablet's sensor bar will prove to be a brilliant stroke of forward-thinking on Nintendo's part..... ever if we're all not quite exactly how they'll use it.
Seems awkward. Either I'm holding 1 in each hand trying to point at the screen, or the screen is siting in it's cradle far away or laying faceup on my lap, doesn't seem like a smooth process at all. I'm all for using both controllers in a game, I'm pretty sure I can grip the pad with a Wiimote still in my hand, I just don't know how I can accurately point the Wiimote at the pad. My wrist hurts just trying it.
If the pad were portable like the Dreamcast VMU maybe this would be worth the effort, but since it's only IN GAME, I'ld prefer a section of my tv screen as a stand-in for the pad face (lets say upper left corner like PIP), then when I pick-up a guy and drop him on the stand-in space he "magically" appears on my pad screen. Same effect, but a WHOLE lot easier to do.
@3dbrains "The wii remote can NOT tell what sensor bar it looks at."
Seems it works by calculating spacial differences between two reference points — i.e. it's using the Wii Remote Plus's motion sensing doo-hicky.
Hope we're gonna see more of this at the E3!
@6ch6ris6 Silent Hill Shattered Memories had the best Wiimote speaker usage. I thought the mobile phone gameplay was a fresh concept done well in that game.
U guys are making me horny for E3 with all the information.
I'm sure using the Wii's remote to drag and drop items onto the tablet won't require expert percision or require the tablet to be standing perfectly upright either. I can imagine this changing the flow of games that are normally riddled with having to pause and toggle through item menus. For example, games like PSO2 that were developed for PC can easily work cause everything would be hotkeyed through the tablet/or/touch screen and the same goes for any other game.
I don't care what anybody says, this is HUGE.
I like that Nintendo is coming up with cool new ideas, but I don't think this has anything over simply using the touch screen. This is just a bad way to keep Wii remotes alive.
This concept would work good with a game where you need to switch quickly between items. You could point and click on the item on the Wii U remote while still playing on the TV.
wii remotes
Wii Remotes
WII REMOTES
Unless Nintendo can forget the Wii and move into the future, I don't see how the Wii U can sell. What about the 1% of people in the world who don't have Wiis? They're obviously trying to impress the hardcore crowd with the Wii U game lineup, and implemiting support from a console that'll be deader than Elvis if Wii U hits the ground running, I don't see how they can do so.
Too much people are trying and failing to see the possibilities of this and therefore marking it as an effort to keep Wiimotes alive, it might not be for every game but we all know that, well it also isn't really needed as Zelda will probably still use the Wii mote and honestly if they could find a proper control scheme that works (especially for turning) i would play all shooting games with the Wii remote also.
However you can't deny that's a nice function of the tech, its similar to the sort of thing that was implied to be what Stark was using in Iron Man
WITCHCRAFT
Fun and all, but where are all the Wii u GAME rumors?!
It seems Nintendo is pretty tight-lipped about those wich is understandable, but I would love to see some rumors! The only rumor so far is that there will be a new Starfox. New super mario bros Wii u, Pikmin 3 and Rayman legends are already confirmed. And the new Smash brothers is in the works, though we probably won't see it at E3. I am really curious what they will deliver!!
Wow, that's like a DS, only unpractical.
@PikminMonster #33
I am almost certain that many 3rd party devs will make single player games that only use the tablet.
Personally, I really loved the concept that AC3 was suggested to utilise - the use of the Wii-U Tablet for display of in-game files and documents, as I'd sit and eat dinner with it, or read it on the loo :L
What? Don't tell me you never played GB/DS on the loo ¬_¬
funny that people complain about wii remotes being used again but nobody complains that sony's controllers are the same just with one or two new things
but, this isnt really news.. i feel like its basically the same thing as that video we saw where someone has the wii u controller on the floor and they are preparing to tee off a golf ball from the floor into the tv screen.
Wow, that's a great idea!
More of this at a well-balanced E3 presentation please.
@6ch6ris6
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword uses the Wii'mote's speaker, silly! That's probably not the only game that does, but I couldn't find a list that quickly. Are you sure your remotes' speakers aren't just off?
@James
In the case of Zelda, the Wii U controller could be strapped onto the front of a shield accessory that also holds the Nunchuk in its handle on the back. You would plug the Nunchuk into the bottom of the Wii Remote Plus as is done for Skyward Sword, but the Wii U controller's onboard accelerometer and gyroscope would add to the shield's precision, while its screen would show the items in your bag for grabbing with the Wii Remote's B button similarly to the bag interface in Skyward Sword.
@James: The Wii U controller has a camera which it could use to tell if the Wii Remote is pointed at itself instead of at your TV.
I'd like to see a game with a similar feature as Four Swords Adventures' Gamecube to Gameboy Advance interaction.
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