Nintendo Wii Remote - Greatest Gaming Invention Ever
The Nintendo Wii remote is the greatest innovation to video games in the at least the last ten years. Yes, first person shooter games and the internet have been revolutionary, but neither of those has changed how we play video games. The Nintendo Wii remote has done that and then some. Before the Nintendo Wii remote the stereotypical gamer was some one who could not do anything physical, but with the Nintendo Wii remote you actually have to physically do the things your characters do, so sitting on the couch doing nothing is not an option any more.
How Does it Work?
Inside the remote are several accelerometers that measure the amount of movement by the remote and translate that to your on screen persona. Whether it's rolling a bowling ball or swinging a tennis racket, the Nintendo Wii remote will put that movement from you to your on screen character. In addition to the internal sensors, there also is the sensor bar that is placed either above or below your television. This bar centers and orients the remote in space so that it knows where the television is.
The sensor bar is not necessary for the Nintendo Wii remote to function, but it does improve the sensitivity and responsiveness of the controller. The Nintendo Wii remote will send back its movements as tracked by the accelerometers to the main system by using blue tooth wireless. In addition to this you can also add a component with more accelerometers in it that can track additional movements. That additional component is called the Nunchaku and is designed to work in tandem with the Wii remote. Together these two controllers offer players unheard of control over their representations within the video game.
Many people have described the experience of actually being their avatars as exhilarating. In addition, the Wii remote is being used by physical therapists to help with therapy for their patients. Many times it can be difficult to get motivated to do repetitive action therapies, but the Nintendo Wii remote can help with this. Patients can spend hours and hours doing these motions if it is a part of the game. The game helps to take their minds off of what they are doing.
So as you can see, this little remote has had a profound effect on how we think about video games. Who knows what the future brings, but you can bet that games will be centered around people being able to act out the actions of their in game characters and have those action represented. Because of this we will have to look back at the Nintendo Wii remote as starting it all.
