Why the Wii Won’t Work

The Guru Speaks….

I’m not sold on the Wii for two reasons.

One, its new interface, the Wiimote, the long rectangle works great for consumer appliances because it forces you to use an index finger to push a control. I shudder to imagine the pain of clutching your TV remote, rotating your wrist down 40 degrees, and furiously pressing on the directional control with your index finger for hours. Instead of the “swollen thumb” syndrome experienced by today’s gamers, now they’ve got the same repetitive motion problems we inflict on users of keyboards. The Wiimote seems like a carpel tunnel torture device.

Two, added to the Wii experience is the Wii Nunchuk. This is a corded attachment that inserts into the base of the Wiimote for a motion-based interface to the console. Combined with the Wii’s sensor bar, when you move your hands, the sword swings on screen. When you punch, Joe Boxer lands a right hook. When you shoot with the Nunchuk trigger, GI Joe starts cleaning up the battle field.

Now, the interface between the Wiimote and Nunchuk is about a 2’ long cord that stretches between the Nunchuk and the Wiimote. Maybe you’ve seen the TV commercials. Can you imagine a moment, in the heat of blowing up cyberzombies, you accidentally over-extend the cable, flailing your arms in two directions, yanking it right out of the Wiimote? How about when you and your sister get into a fight and tug on the wire? Or when you’re furiously intent on shooting some digital Nazi’s and you inadvertently wrap the cord around a lamp?

You know, we put handcuffs and ankle shackles on prisoners to limit mobility. The thought being that chains, ropes, or cords restricts movement. In the era of Bluetooth, Home RF, or WiFi, why the designers of the Wiimote didn’t take the opportunity to get rid of the cord – to promote endless mobility – boggles the mind.

Meanwhile, their competitor, Sony, gets it right. The SIXAXIS Playstation 3 Wireless Controller is the traditional thumb-driven interface that everybody’s used to except with six-axis motion-sensing capabilities allowing for some degree of physical movement, and, it uses Bluetooth for wireless connectivity. Instead of three separate and expensive devices, you get to spend your hard-earned game money on just one. No limitations, no new repetitive motion injury, nothing that will easily break when you play it, or allows you to garrote your sibling in a moment of blissful universal domination.

I struggle to understand just what these guys at Nintendo were thinking? Mobility = cords? Controller Innovation = a TV remote? Value = buying three separate devices? Not in my playbook. That deserves a fragging from my BFG.

R

Russell Mickler works a technology consultant in Battle Ground, WA, USA. With over thirteen years of experience, Mickler holds a CISSP, MCSE, a Masters Degree in Information Technology, and is pursuing his Doctorate at Walden University. His website can be found at www.micklerandassociates.com; he can be contacted at mickler@micklerandassociates.com.

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