Nintendo May Be Planning Portable Wii
A U.S. patent application has recently been uncovered that may give us a clue on Nintendo’s next move in the gaming industry. Though the patent was originally filed on March 30, 2007, it was just updated this week. The patent application describes a handheld device that functions in some ways similar to the Wii in that it can detect 3D motion (along x, y, z axes), in addition to “acceleration and degree of virtual impact.”
“A game system includes a housing to be held by a player. The housing incorporates an XY-axis acceleration sensor to detect an acceleration in an X-axis and Y-axis direction and a Z-axis contact switch to detect an acceleration in a Z-axis direction. These sensor and switch detect at least one of an amount (e.g. tilt amount, movement amount, impact amount or the like) and a direction (e.g. tilt direction, movement direction, impact direction or the like) of a change applied to the housing. A simulation program provides simulation such that a state of a game space is changed related to at least one of the amount and direction of the change applied to the housing.”It appears that the abstract of the patent application may in fact describe some sort of portable gaming console with Wii motion-sensing capabilities. Although the idea is interesting, will it work? It’s quite a different gaming experience to play a sports game, for instance, on a stationary television set as opposed to a small compact screen that is being waved about in one’s hands. Nonetheless, it seems like a really cool and creative concept.
