Recently it was reported here on GA that a source at Microsoft claimed that there was a Wii-mote style controller in development for the 360 and that it was being worked on with Rare. The source stated that the project was being pushed for a Fall 2008 launch and was a facsimile of the competition’s. Thanks to some snooping by Leigh over at Kotaku there appears to be some validity to the rumour, but not in the direction you might expect.
Originally it was believed that if there was a Wii-mote clone to be made, it would be Gyration to make it. After all it is their very technology that powers the little white stick of wonder. However, Gyration responded to rumours yesterday about a possible 360 project, which they unequivocally denied. The focus then shifted to a company called Motus, who are themselves in the business of motion sensing devices. Motus originally developed the iClub; a motion tracking device that provided feedback to improve one’s golf swing. However, rather than using infrared tracking, as the Wii-mote does, Motus has developed a system (through hardware, software, and firmware) to track motioned based on the polar north, essentially using the Earth itself as the counterpoint for monitoring movement.
We know that Motus is working on a controller for consoles (or perhaps even a console) using this technology and that it is called ‘Darwin’ [the Darwin sports a sleek design, purportedly modeled after the hilt of a katana sword and is pictured above]. However, the rumour mill has it that the Microsoft Wii-mote controller is called the Newton. Motus, for their part, denied any knowledge of a controller named the Newton, though it certainly fits in with their naming scheme. When asked about whether a relationship exists with Microsoft, Motus’ response was coy. And in what may simply turn out to be coincidence, Motus is also targeting a Fall release for its controller, the same time block as the source believes Microsoft is geared up to launch its own…Hmm…
All in all, Microsoft is the only console of the Big Three to be completely incapable of motion tracking. And while they’ve billed the Wii as puerile, whilst trying to establish the 360 as the advanced/mature gaming system, they can’t deny the numbers. Furthermore, motion tracking has game developers divided, since titles on the Wii that are centered on the interactive controls are ineligible for porting onto the 360. This hurts both parties since the developers miss a fair chunk of the market and Microsoft misses out on popular titles.
But all of this is mainly speculation and the only thing that is going to bring the truth is time. We’ll keep you posted.
