Inside the Wiimote

[Narcolepsy]

This is an interesting article about the innards of the Wiimote - even with a few computer engineering classes under my belt, most of it is pretty foreign, but there's clearly a lot of technology crammed in the little thing.

Also of note - the accelerometer + bluetooth (wireless) chip seems to cost $100 separately on that site. Does that mean Nintendo is selling these controllers at a loss? And perhaps more importantly, that at $250, the Wii is a better deal hardware wise than many claim?

Makes you think, anyway. Enjoy!

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=Wii-Internals

 

[nofx]

Pretty amazing, stuff in there.

 

[smwScott]

No, it's called mark up.

Nintendo is the only company pulling a profit off of hardware sales ... good business and all but it's a detriment to the consumer.

 

[Narcolepsy]

No, it's called mark up.

Nintendo is the only company pulling a profit off of hardware sales ... good business and all but it's a detriment to the consumer.

Yes yes, I've heard and read about this many times over. I'm talking about a difference of degree - it's possible they're not making quite as much of a killing as we think they are. (But at the same time, I'm sure mass producing them is much cheaper than buying that little chip.) Just thinking to myself really... it's not the real point of the thread.

 

[jondy]

Nintendo is the only company pulling a profit off of hardware sales ... good business and all but it's a detriment to the consumer.

I wouldn't call Nintendo's business model a detriment to the consumer.. it seems to me they're the only console maker pushing innovation, rather than poly counts, in their hardware. Sony and MS will make their money either way, they'll just do it through games sales.

I love seeing stuff pulled apart, but I don't understand half the jargon

 

[smwScott]

I wouldn't call Nintendo's business model a detriment to the consumer.. it seems to me they're the only console maker pushing innovation, rather than poly counts, in their hardware. Sony and MS will make their money either way, they'll just do it through games sales.

Not to harp on the subject, but that's just what they tell you so you'll pay $250 for 5 year old hardware. If you compare launch lineups of the three next gen consoles, the Wii had the least impressive. I mean their star game, the only one worth buying really, was a GC port. Depending on how much better the games get and how much they actually use the controller this could all turn around, but right now I've seen not only better but also more innovative games from both of the competitors.

But back on topic - yeah the Wiimote is a bit more advanced than I thought. It's certainly got a lot more going on than the tilt sensor in the SIXAXIS, which is just a tiny little chip.

 

[StardogChampion]

Not to harp on the subject, but that's just what they tell you so you'll pay $250 for 5 year old hardware.

Nonsense. Aparrently it's 2.5x faster than the GC. Go look on some game dev forums where developers are discussing it. They're saying that if it was just as fast as the GC, then the chip would be less than half the size it is.

And with your logic about the price being a detriment to the consumer, then everything you buy that makes a company profit is of detriment to the consumer?

more innovative games from both of the competitors.

Name them. If you say Gears of War I'll laugh my ass of then die from choking on my own puke.

 

[smwScott]

Nonsense. Aparrently it's 2.5x faster than the GC. Go look on some game dev forums where developers are discussing it. They're saying that if it was just as fast as the GC, then the chip would be less than half the size it is.

And with your logic about the price being a detriment to the consumer, then everything you buy that makes a company profit is of detriment to the consumer?


Name them. If you say Gears of War I'll laugh my ass of then die from choking on my own puke.

I know it's a bit faster than the GC, the 5 year old hardware comment was just to get my point across. Realistically it's probably only 3-4 years old

To the second question: when the competition is offering to sell it at a loss then yeah, you're getting a worse deal than you could. It's all relative.

I certainly would not name Gears of War. From what I've played it's an alright game but it's about as generic as humanly possible. What I would point to is both Sony and MS tactic of selling new, innovative, cheap games online while Nintendo is just continuing to repackage old shit. I'm also referring to things like Africa or whatever it's called, which is by far the most unique game I've seen in a long time.

Collections of mini-games are in no way revolutionary or even particularly innovative. I'll wait for Mario Galaxy, and if it is both a good game and uses the controller in a way that truly changes the experience in a way that couldn't be done otherwise, then I'll start to buy into the Wii.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

It's not so much that the competition is offering to sell it as a loss, it's more that they don't have a choice. It's not like they're doing it for altruistic motives - if they priced their consoles to make a profit, no-one would ever buy them

 

[smwScott]

Of course. They sell it at a loss and make it back by charging expensive royalties on games and technology like Blu-Ray. No one said they were being nice.

The point still stands, you get more for your money when buying one of the other two consoles.

 

[StardogChampion]

I'm also referring to things like Africa or whatever it's called, which is by far the most unique game I've seen in a long time.

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/wildearth/index.html

 

[Cole]

With the Wii are paying $250 dollors for old ass hardware.

While with the Ps3 you paying up to $600 for newer hardware.

With the Wii you are paying $250 to play games in a new way.

While with the Ps3 your paying to play similar games(to the ps2) with prettier graphics.


When it comes to getting more for your money..it still comes down to the consumer and point of view. While yes you are getting more because there selling at a loss, the value to the consumer(which is what counts) may be less. There are plenty of people that would see when they buy the Wii, they would be getting more for there money.

 

[Asus]

Without going off topic I'll just say that I'm glad they don't charge more for the controllers. Although it is definitely worth the price for the new game experience they provide.

I bet the Wiimote/Nunchuck will have an above average replacement rate over traditional controllers since this is the first time controllers with this kind of technology are being sold at a high volume, along with it being a physical way to play. It would be best if Nintendo is not selling them at a loss but have some profit margin.

 

[Darkwolf]

Nintendos profits will come in mostly from the games that they sell over the next 5 years or so.

Also, I barely understood any of that... but it's interesting to see where everything is... also to see what the firmware is stored on.