My Wii Mini Review : First Impressions

The "dots" are IR sources seen by the wiimote. If you see more than two it will be confused. You want the IR LEDs on the bar to be the two it sees. If you had lots it wasn't from the bar. You can literally see the IR location on either end of the bar.
 
DemoCoder,

It was stated in another thread, but apparently a problem for you is that you're using a Plasma TV. Plasma's give off Infrared Radiation and have been known to interfere with IR receivers that are not calibrated to work under those conditions.
 
Acually, I'm not using a Plasma, but a very bright projector (2200 lumens) and a screen with a 1.1 gain, so maybe it's a similar issue. I dunno. I did take the Wii over a friends house and it seemed to work better on his Samsung DLP, so maybe there is something to it.
 
DemoCoder said:
Yeah, well, I'd agree that the controls in a game like Wii Tennis are easy to pick up
That's the core of the appeal from both current Nintendo machines though, they are accessible where other systems (including older ones) are not. IMO these new control systems were always less about innovation and more about easier access, especially to non-game players.
You'd be surprised how hard it is for many people to associate/synchronize button presses with screen action instead of waving/tilting/pointing/writing.

I've even seen arguments from reviewers that a puzzle-action(i'm talking about specific game here, but don't want to go into details so lets leave it unnamed) is more "fun" to play by point&click interface then buttons. Reality is that after playing both variations, the latter is decisively more effective and MUCH less error prone in the said game(and hence More fun and less frustration at harder levels), but it isn't instant gratification because you need to learn the button usage. Hence early on, you would probably pick the former as more fun...

Whereas, in a real tennis game, you have to decide where to place your player
Well as anyone that ever played real tennis knows, the game is always about movement first, hitting the ball second. To be fair even in games with full player control not many get this part right.
But until we have home-holodeck devices where you can run around for real, we're stuck with button control for that, and that's harder for larger audience to pick up.
 
Only just saw this thread today and since I have had some time to spend on the Wii as well, thought I'd share my view as well.

Sadly, I find myself quite in agreement with DemoCoder and agree with most points brought up by Joshua Luna as well.

The games I've played so far are all from Wii Sports game package. From what I noticed, most games are quite "dumbed" down and the level of interactivity that I expected from the unique controller have been left out. If most Wii games turn out to be nothing more than dumbed down Xbox/PS3 games where most actions are mapped to movement, I'd rather take the former. I'm aware that the majority of Wii owners probably see this a little different and that's fine by me - it just isn't my thing. As I've said before - I'd rather spend my gaming time relaxing on the couch using only my thumbs and fingers to be immersed into a game, than using exagerated movements to achieve the same result. Playing dumbed down games (like the Tennis games that's more about the movement of the controller and timing and excludes the strategic running/positioning of the player) isn't immersive either - which ironically is what I thought was the entire point behind the Wii controller (or at least, what was always used as an argument in Wii topics).

Sadly, it just isn't. This of course makes it the perfect mainstream party console for many (which is also why it's selling so well I assume), which is great for them if they get the enjoyment out of it.

Ultimately, this also means that I don't see myself buying a Wii either, despite having said in the past that I see it as that perfect 2nd console. The truth is though, I think I've had more enjoyment from the PS3's sixaxis controller in simplified downloadable games/demos such as the Rubber Duck demo as a party feature than the Wii is worth my money. I may change my mind, but for now, that's just how I feel.

Given how Wii is always brought up as the most successfull console (and being actively compared to PS3 and Xbox360 in sales), I do hope that Sony and Microsoft don't follow suit or the gaming I enjoy, I'm sure will have died for me.
 
Only just saw this thread today and since I have had some time to spend on the Wii as well, thought I'd share my view as well.

Sadly, I find myself quite in agreement with DemoCoder and agree with most points brought up by Joshua Luna as well.

The games I've played so far are all from Wii Sports game package. From what I noticed, most games are quite "dumbed" down and the level of interactivity that I expected from the unique controller have been left out. If most Wii games turn out to be nothing more than dumbed down Xbox/PS3 games where most actions are mapped to movement, I'd rather take the former. I'm aware that the majority of Wii owners probably see this a little different and that's fine by me - it just isn't my thing. As I've said before - I'd rather spend my gaming time relaxing on the couch using only my thumbs and fingers to be immersed into a game, than using exagerated movements to achieve the same result. Playing dumbed down games (like the Tennis games that's more about the movement of the controller and timing and excludes the strategic running/positioning of the player) isn't immersive either - which ironically is what I thought was the entire point behind the Wii controller (or at least, what was always used as an argument in Wii topics).

Sadly, it just isn't. This of course makes it the perfect mainstream party console for many (which is also why it's selling so well I assume), which is great for them if they get the enjoyment out of it.

Ultimately, this also means that I don't see myself buying a Wii either, despite having said in the past that I see it as that perfect 2nd console. The truth is though, I think I've had more enjoyment from the PS3's sixaxis controller in simplified downloadable games/demos such as the Rubber Duck demo as a party feature than the Wii is worth my money. I may change my mind, but for now, that's just how I feel.

Given how Wii is always brought up as the most successfull console (and being actively compared to PS3 and Xbox360 in sales), I do hope that Sony and Microsoft don't follow suit or the gaming I enjoy, I'm sure will have died for me.

Not all of the games on the Wii are like that. Sports is just a simple game that everyone can play. Try Metroid or Resident Evil as "hardcore" games, or Zelda if you're aren't over-Zelda'd already. There's some good stuff coming.

Just don't be too quick to write the system off because of one game. I'm sure there will be some stuff you'll enjoy.
 
Acually, I'm not using a Plasma, but a very bright projector (2200 lumens) and a screen with a 1.1 gain, so maybe it's a similar issue. I dunno. I did take the Wii over a friends house and it seemed to work better on his Samsung DLP, so maybe there is something to it.

Quite possible. Is there any option in the Wii configuration to boost the strength of the IR signal from the Wii mote?
 
Quite possible. Is there any option in the Wii configuration to boost the strength of the IR signal from the Wii mote?

It goes the other way. The sensor bar is not actually a sensor. It has two emitters and the wiimote has the receiver. I'm not sure if you can boost the strength.
 
Acually, I'm not using a Plasma

I could've schwartzed you said you were using a large plasma. That was me (incorrectly) noting it in the other thread--and I actually thought I was posting in this one, as I meant to do so a while ago. :) My suggestion was to look for sources of interference, but not knowing if that could explain some of the annoyances you've described. I was just tossing it out there.
 
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