Report: Sunlight Affects Wii-Mote Sensors

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Angelcurio

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Report: Sunlight Affects Wii-Mote Sensors

A blog report from Nintendo World on September 14th reveals that the Nintendo Wii is sensitive to natural sunlight.

OMBRENOIR17, a forum member at Nintendo NSider, was able to attend the event and reports in a blog that many of the Wii kiosks were completely shutdown and not working because of natural sunlight. Nintendo has already confirmed that halogen lighting will affect the sensors of the Wii and decrease functionality, but now sunlight has been thrown into the mix.

We've contacted Nintendo about the situation, but are still waiting on an official response. Stay tuned for an update to the recently discovered vampire-like nature of the Wii.
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Link: http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=83588

Could the wii have the same problems as the eye toy regarding sunlight?
 
Well, if a blog said it, it certainly must be true... BTW, that's an instant no-purchase for me since I enjoy playing videogames with the sun directly shining on the TV.
 
That'd have been quite an oversight if true, although I'm sure most gamers do as much as possible to keep the sun out of their rooms! I guess it depends how the sunlight effects it (if it does). Does it have to be direct, or will just having the curtains open on a bright day cause problems. If the curtains are open and the window is to the side of the TV, will the Wiimote register false positives (pointing to the TV) when pointing towards the window? I guess that's possible if it picks up IR. I've always thought the optical method was a kooky approach.
 
I agree with Corwin, like most people I find that the best picture quality is ahcieved if I have as much sunlight as possible shinning directly on my TV, so this is very disapointing :LOL:
 
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Shifty Geezer said:
That'd have been quite an oversight if true, although I'm sure most gamers do as much as possible to keep the sun out of their rooms!
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Isn't the whole concept behind the Wii supposed to be it's appeal to the "non-gamer"?

I find most of those people do not like their rooms to look like dungeons. They seem to like sunlight, so this might be a problem for them.
 
Anyone remember the wiimote/nunchuck demonstrations a few months ago on a stage at e3? that was hardly dungeon lighting conditions. same goes for a number of other places where one could try out the wii.

if the rumour is true, I think it will only be a pain in extreme conditions, like sunset beaming through windows and into the sensor bar, or playing outside, etc.
 
cloudscapes said:
if the rumour is true, I think it will only be a pain in extreme conditions, like sunset beaming through windows and into the sensor bar, or playing outside, etc.
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It won't be 'beaming into the sensor bar' that's the problem, as the sensor bar has no sensors! It's a few lights placed in a pattern that an 'eye' on the Wiimote looks at. This it'll be the Wiimote picking up IR from elsewhere that could mess things up. The frequency used might (?) not be present from stage lights, but might come from sunlight. That could explain why stage-shoes had no problem if there is a problem with natural light.

It'll be interesting if true to what extent the problem affects the Wii. EyeToy could be pretty poor at times. I've a room with pale walls, and in both sunlight and artificial light, the EyeToy can't distinguish between them and my hand making it totally ineffective. Of course in EyeToy's case you can't close the curtains to fix the problem.

Like all these things, it may just be a case of including some setup guidelines for best use. Though I'm sure an alternative method than an IR camera would have been a better solution in most ways. Someone needs to write a book about Wii like that XB360 book, and explain all the choices!
 
I do not know what this sun is that you speak of. lol


But seriously, so far don't most games not need the sensor bar to begin with?
 
Most of us dont want much sunlight in their rooms playing a game but it will sure be a problem for many. I hope Nintendo does something about it.


But then again they might not need to. How serious is that problem and how much sunlight does it need to cause issues?
 
On one of the "Ask Iwata" features, Iwata or one of the other Nintendo seniors there said that they took some measures to fix the situation. I'm not sure whether that was before or after the trouble with the kiosks.
 
Since this thread has already seen its share of noise, I ask everyone to be especially careful to discuss in a respectful manner.
 
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