The Little Things Noticed At Our Nintendo Demos

All day, we’ve been bringing you new impressions of Nintendo’s big holiday games, but allow us to note some little things of possible importance from our time with those titles. Small things I observed: –MotionPlus Shouldn’t Stay Attached: Like the Nunchuck, Nintendo’s MotionPlus Wii Remote add-on can get in the way while playing some games. Take New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which is played by holding the Remote sideways as if it’s an NES controller. MotionPlus isn’t utilized, but if it’s plugged in, it adds to the Remote’s length, requiring one’s right thumb to reach too far to press the 1 and 2 buttons. So be prepared to remove MotionPlus for games that don’t need it, especially those played NES-style.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); –New Stop-Playing Images: I’ve heard people complain that Wii games’ graphics aren’t good enough, but I’ve never heard anyone complain that the images that appear in Wii games to remind players to go outside and get fresh air aren’t good enough. Well, Nintendo has improved them. While playing Wii Sports Resort I noticed that the reminder to get fresh air was new and improved, with an added dash of color and a more [[link]] accurately rendered and jacketed Wii Remote sitting on a table [[link]] while wind blew in from an open window. –Re-Calibration Recommendations: MotionPlus undoubtedly improves the Wii Remote’s motion-sensitivity, but there are signs that the device may have sensitivities of its own. While playing Wii Sports Resort I saw multiple recommendations to press the Remote’s plus button in order to re-calibrate the MotionPlus add-on. –Minimum Motion: For every Wii Sports or Wii Music that Nintendo makes with full motion-control support, there are at least as many games from the company that use motion sparingly. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is one of those. You shake the Remote to pick up a nearby player’s character or, if you’ve fallen and return in a floating bubble, to drift your character toward an active one so you can re-join the [[link]] action. For gamers skeptical about the applicability of motion control to all gaming mechanics, Nintendo’s restraint from motion in key titles speaks volumes. There’s one other game I played with the folks from Nintendo yesterday, in addition to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Style Savvy, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort. More on that one tomorrow. http://kotaku.com/5300987/fifty+seven-flights-up-with-new-super-mario-bros-wii