The Wii Remote , informally referred to with the portmanteau Wiimote , is the primary game controller for Nintendo 's Wii home video game console . An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via motion sensing, gesture recognition , and pointing using an accelerometer and optical sensor technology. It is expandable by adding attachments. The attachment bundled with the Wii console is the Nunchuk , which complements the Wii Remote by providing functions similar to those in gamepad controllers. Some other attachments include the Classic Controller , Wii Zapper , and the Wii Wheel , which was originally released with the racing game, Mario Kart Wii .
108-577: The controller was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show on September 14, 2005, with the name "Wii Remote" announced April 27, 2006. The finalized version of the controller was later shown at E3 2006 . It received much attention due to its unique features, not supported by other gaming controllers. The Wii's successor console, the Wii U , supports the Wii Remote and its peripherals in games where use of
216-600: A Famicom/NES controller, or in some cases (including Excite Truck , Sonic and the Secret Rings , Mario Kart Wii , and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing ) as a steering wheel. It is also possible to play a single-player game with a Wii Remote in each hand, as in the Shooting Range game contained in Wii Play . At E3 2006, a few minor changes were made to the controller from the design presented at
324-410: A Toad and Yoshi in the fall of 2015 to accompany the releases of Super Mario Maker and Yoshi's Woolly World , exclusively available at GameStop . The Wii Remote has an expansion port at the bottom which allows various functional attachments to be added. The connector, and any accessories that attach to it, use a 400 kHz I²C protocol. This expandability is similar to that available with
432-492: A round-robin fashion. Since it is the master that chooses which slave to address, whereas a slave is (in theory) supposed to listen in each receive slot, being a master is a lighter burden than being a slave. Being a master of seven slaves is possible; being a slave of more than one master is possible. The specification is vague as to required behavior in scatternets. Bluetooth is a standard wire-replacement communications protocol primarily designed for low power consumption, with
540-520: A 16 KiB EEPROM chip of which a section of 6 kilobytes can be read and written to by the host. Part of this memory is available to store up to ten Mii avatars, which can be transported to use with another Wii console (but it can be used to upload Miis to the Mii Parade and keep it on the console (by copying Mii to remote, moving Mii to parade from console, and then moving from remote to the console)). 4,000 bytes are available for game use before
648-409: A Bluetooth device. A network of patents applies to the technology, which is licensed to individual qualifying devices. As of 2021 , 4.7 billion Bluetooth integrated circuit chips are shipped annually. Bluetooth was first demonstrated in space in 2024, an early test envisioned to enhance IoT capabilities. The name "Bluetooth" was proposed in 1997 by Jim Kardach of Intel , one of the founders of
756-399: A Wii Remote, Wii MotionPlus, and Nunchuk, all in a sky blue color referred to as Mizuiro and distinct from other blue Wii Remotes. For North America, Nintendo announced on September 1, 2009, that black versions of the Wii Remote, Wii MotionPlus, and Nunchuk would be released during the holiday season . On November 16, 2009, the black Wii Remote and Wii MotionPlus was released as a bundle, and
864-787: A built-in Bluetooth radio, others require an external adapter, typically in the form of a small USB " dongle ". Unlike its predecessor, IrDA , which requires a separate adapter for each device, Bluetooth lets multiple devices communicate with a computer over a single adapter. For Microsoft platforms, Windows XP Service Pack 2 and SP3 releases work natively with Bluetooth v1.1, v2.0 and v2.0+EDR. Previous versions required users to install their Bluetooth adapter's own drivers, which were not directly supported by Microsoft. Microsoft's own Bluetooth dongles (packaged with their Bluetooth computer devices) have no external drivers and thus require at least Windows XP Service Pack 2. Windows Vista RTM/SP1 with
972-543: A built-in safety jacket that is unsafe to remove, according to Nintendo. At the E3 2006 trade show, Nintendo displayed white, black, and blue controllers; press images released for the event featured white, red, silver, lime green, and black versions. The Wii console and controllers launched in only white versions, with Shigeru Miyamoto commenting that new hues would be provided when supplies became available. On June 4, 2009, Nintendo revealed that it would release black versions of
1080-468: A cellular phone and a vehicle's audio system. At the time, Sony/Ericsson had only a minor market share in the cellular phone market, which was dominated in the US by Nokia and Motorola. Due to ongoing negotiations for an intended licensing agreement with Motorola beginning in the late 1990s, Vosi could not publicly disclose the intention, integration, and initial development of other enabled devices which were to be
1188-621: A given link depends on several qualities of both communicating devices and the air and obstacles in between . The primary attributes affecting range are the data rate, protocol (Bluetooth Classic or Bluetooth Low Energy), transmission power, and receiver sensitivity, and the relative orientations and gains of both antennas. The effective range varies depending on propagation conditions, material coverage, production sample variations, antenna configurations and battery conditions. Most Bluetooth applications are for indoor conditions, where attenuation of walls and signal fading due to signal reflections make
SECTION 10
#17327720248211296-611: A larger size. The Nunchuk can be connected to any microcontroller capable of I²C (e.g., Arduino 's Atmel AVR ), where the accelerometer, joystick and buttons data may be accessed. Todbot has created the Wiichuk, an adapter to facilitate connecting the Nunchuk to an Arduino board. Tokyo Game Show Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
1404-469: A lower power consumption through a reduced duty cycle . The specification is published as Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR , which implies that EDR is an optional feature. Aside from EDR, the v2.0 specification contains other minor improvements, and products may claim compliance to "Bluetooth v2.0" without supporting the higher data rate. At least one commercial device states "Bluetooth v2.0 without EDR" on its data sheet. Bluetooth Core Specification version 2.1 + EDR
1512-410: A membership of over 30,000 companies worldwide. It was established by Ericsson , IBM , Intel , Nokia and Toshiba , and later joined by many other companies. All versions of the Bluetooth standards are backward-compatible with all earlier versions. The Bluetooth Core Specification Working Group (CSWG) produces mainly four kinds of specifications: Major enhancements include: This version of
1620-428: A motion controller to Sony and Microsoft , who both declined. Nintendo then commissioned Gyration to create a one-handed controller for it, which eventually became the "Gyropod", a more traditional gamepad which allowed its right half to break away for motion-control. At this point, Gyration brought in a separate design firm, Bridge Design , to help pitch its concept to Nintendo. Under requirement to "roughly preserve
1728-480: A motion-sensing controller. Video game journalist Matt Casamassina , from gaming website IGN , stated that he believed that Nintendo had planned to release the Wii Remote for the GameCube, noting that "Nintendo said that it hoped that GCN could enjoy a longer life cycle with the addition of top-secret peripherals that would forever enhance the gameplay experience." He suggested that Nintendo may have wanted to release
1836-549: A movable slide to prevent the strap from working loose during prolonged play; the lock clip strap became the standard form. In 2012 with the launch of the Wii U, the wrist strap was once again updated to allow users to push the sync button through the new jackets and battery covers. Nintendo announced a free accessory for the Wii Remote, the Wii Remote Jacket, on October 1, 2007. The removable silicone sleeve wraps around
1944-470: A pair of flashlights or a pair of candles , as Sensor Bar substitutes. The Wii Remote picks up traces of heat from the sensor, then transmits it to the Wii console to control the pointer on your screen. Such substitutes for the Sensor Bar illustrate the fact that a pair of non-moving lights provide continuous calibration of the direction that the Wii Remote is pointing and its physical location relative to
2052-475: A radio technology called frequency-hopping spread spectrum . Bluetooth divides transmitted data into packets, and transmits each packet on one of 79 designated Bluetooth channels. Each channel has a bandwidth of 1 MHz. It usually performs 1600 hops per second, with adaptive frequency-hopping (AFH) enabled. Bluetooth Low Energy uses 2 MHz spacing, which accommodates 40 channels. Originally, Gaussian frequency-shift keying (GFSK) modulation
2160-419: A short range based on low-cost transceiver microchips in each device. Because the devices use a radio (broadcast) communications system, they do not have to be in visual line of sight of each other; however, a quasi optical wireless path must be viable. Historically, the Bluetooth range was defined by the radio class, with a lower class (and higher output power) having larger range. The actual range of
2268-465: A wider visible spectrum than the human eye. The Wii Remote provides basic audio and rumble (vibration) functionality, but the Nunchuk does not. At the 2006 E3 press conference, it was revealed that the Wii Remote has its own independent speaker on the face of the unit. This was demonstrated by a developer as he strung and shot a bow in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess . The sound from both
SECTION 20
#17327720248212376-405: Is a packet-based protocol with a master/slave architecture . One master may communicate with up to seven slaves in a piconet . All devices within a given piconet use the clock provided by the master as the base for packet exchange. The master clock ticks with a period of 312.5 μs , two clock ticks then make up a slot of 625 μs, and two slots make up a slot pair of 1250 μs. In
2484-411: Is connecting to a Class 1 transceiver with both higher sensitivity and transmission power than a typical Class 2 device. In general, however, Class 1 devices have sensitivities similar to those of Class 2 devices. Connecting two Class 1 devices with both high sensitivity and high power can allow ranges far in excess of the typical 100 m, depending on the throughput required by
2592-528: Is included with most Linux kernels and was originally developed by Qualcomm . Fluoride, earlier known as Bluedroid is included in Android OS and was originally developed by Broadcom . There is also Affix stack, developed by Nokia . It was once popular, but has not been updated since 2005. FreeBSD has included Bluetooth since its v5.0 release, implemented through netgraph . NetBSD has included Bluetooth since its v4.0 release. Its Bluetooth stack
2700-562: Is managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which has more than 35,000 member companies in the areas of telecommunication, computing, networking, and consumer electronics. The IEEE standardized Bluetooth as IEEE 802.15.1 but no longer maintains the standard. The Bluetooth SIG oversees the development of the specification, manages the qualification program, and protects the trademarks. A manufacturer must meet Bluetooth SIG standards to market it as
2808-415: Is placed on. The Remote should be pointed approximately towards the Sensor Bar; precise pointing is not necessary so long as it is within the limited viewing angle of the Wii Remote. Use of the Sensor Bar allows the Wii Remote to be used as an accurate pointing device up to 5 meters (approx. 16 ft) away from the bar. The Wii Remote's image sensor is used to locate the Sensor Bar's points of light in
2916-404: Is useful when transferring information between two or more devices that are near each other in low-bandwidth situations. Bluetooth is commonly used to transfer sound data with telephones (i.e., with a Bluetooth headset) or byte data with hand-held computers (transferring files). Bluetooth protocols simplify the discovery and setup of services between devices. Bluetooth devices can advertise all of
3024-486: The Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution trilogy take advantage of the versatility the expansion port confers to offer multiple control schemes to suit different kinds of players. The Nunchuk (model number RVL-004) was the first attachment Nintendo revealed for the Wii Remote at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show . It connects to the Wii Remote via a cord 1 to 1.2 m (3.5 to 4 feet) long. Its appearance when attached resembles
3132-496: The Mario series' 25th anniversary, was included in red Wii bundles released for the occasion along with a matching Nunchuk and console, Wii Sports and New Super Mario Bros. Wii . The red Wii Remote Plus would also be bundled with European copies of Wii Play: Motion , which is replaced with a black one in other regions. A red Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk of matching color is also included with every Wii Mini . At E3 2011 , it
3240-549: The Wii U , the Wii's successor. Another sync button on the battery cover was added, allowing users to sync without removing the battery cover. A year later, Nintendo began releasing Wii Remote Plus controllers that are themed after Mario characters, starting with Mario and Luigi on November 1, 2013, to accompany the release of the Wii U Deluxe set. A few months later, Nintendo released a Princess Peach -themed Wii Remote Plus, on April 24, 2014. A year later, Nintendo also released Wii Remote Plus controllers themed after Bowser ,
3348-552: The Wii Zapper and Wii Wheel and comfortably use the Wii Remote horizontally without having to remove the Wii MotionPlus attachment from the Wii Remote. Wii Remote Plus competed with Microsoft Corporation 's Kinect and Sony Computer Entertainment 's PlayStation Move with PlayStation Eye motion controllers , respectively. Nintendo later announced that the remote would be available in white, black, blue and pink. It
Wii Remote - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-485: The keypad of typical television remotes. Also, the symbol on the Home button was changed from a blue dot to a shape resembling a home/house, the shape of Power was made circular rather than rectangular, and the blue LEDs indicating player number are now labeled using 1 to 4 small raised dots instead of numbers 1 to 4, resembling the dots used to mark the four controller ports of the GameCube console. The Nintendo logo at
3564-480: The nunchaku weapon, hence the name. It also resembles the middle handle of the Nintendo 64 controller . Like the controllers of the Wii's two predecessors, the Nunchuk has an analog stick whose movement is restricted by an octagonal area. The Nunchuk also has two trigger buttons (a last-minute modification changed the two triggers to one trigger and a C button, as described below). It works in tandem with
3672-488: The "Xbox" button), or the PlayStation 3 's mid-game XMB . It may be accessed under most circumstances during Wii operation, which pauses the on-screen action. Otherwise, a "home" symbol with a no symbol on it appears onscreen. It is also inaccessible during Nintendo GameCube play, as the Wii Remote cannot control Nintendo GameCube software. The Wii Remote has the ability to sense acceleration along three axes through
3780-408: The "replacement program". The old 0.6 mm (0.024 in) diameter strap is replaced by a larger, 1.0 mm (0.039 in) diameter version. Nintendo's online "Wrist Strap Replacement Request Form" allows owners to receive up to four free straps when a Wii serial number and shipping details are provided. On August 3, 2007, a new wrist strap was found to be supplied, with a lock clip instead of
3888-535: The Bluetooth Core Specification was released before 2005. The main difference is the introduction of an Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) for faster data transfer . The data rate of EDR is 3 Mbit/s, although the maximum data transfer rate (allowing for inter-packet time and acknowledgements) is 2.1 Mbit/s. EDR uses a combination of GFSK and phase-shift keying modulation (PSK) with two variants, π/4- DQPSK and 8- DPSK . EDR can provide
3996-530: The Bluetooth SIG. The name was inspired by a conversation with Sven Mattisson who related Scandinavian history through tales from Frans G. Bengtsson 's The Long Ships , a historical novel about Vikings and the 10th-century Danish king Harald Bluetooth . Upon discovering a picture of the runestone of Harald Bluetooth in the book A History of the Vikings by Gwyn Jones , Kardach proposed Bluetooth as
4104-588: The Feature Pack for Wireless or Windows Vista SP2 work with Bluetooth v2.1+EDR. Windows 7 works with Bluetooth v2.1+EDR and Extended Inquiry Response (EIR). The Windows XP and Windows Vista/Windows 7 Bluetooth stacks support the following Bluetooth profiles natively: PAN, SPP, DUN , HID, HCRP. The Windows XP stack can be replaced by a third party stack that supports more profiles or newer Bluetooth versions. The Windows Vista/Windows 7 Bluetooth stack supports vendor-supplied additional profiles without requiring that
4212-499: The Game Developer's Conference. The controller was made slightly longer, and a speaker was added to the face beneath the center row of buttons. The B button became more curved resembling a trigger. The "Start" and "Select" buttons were changed to plus + and minus – , and the b and a buttons were changed to 1 and 2 to differentiate them from the A and B buttons, while also evoking
4320-490: The Microsoft stack be replaced. Windows 8 and later support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). It is generally recommended to install the latest vendor driver and its associated stack to be able to use the Bluetooth device at its fullest extent. Apple products have worked with Bluetooth since Mac OS X v10.2 , which was released in 2002. Linux has two popular Bluetooth stacks , BlueZ and Fluoride. The BlueZ stack
4428-604: The Mii data. Pokémon Battle Revolution and Super Swing Golf also use this memory. This function is also used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl , allowing the user to save controller configuration data to the Wii Remote. Monster Hunter Tri also uses this function by allowing players to save their profiles to the Wii Remote. Pokémon Rumble uses this section to store Pokémon. Carnival Games: Mini Golf and Club Penguin: Game Day! as well as other games use this to store
Wii Remote - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-399: The Nunchuk can also be used as a controller itself, a feature that is leveraged by Opoona , Bust-A-Move Bash! and SpeedZone . This allows two players to share a single Wii controller, enabling the multiplayer modes of Bash! and SpeedZone to support five to eight players across the maximum four Wii controllers that can be synced to a single console. One Nunchuk comes bundled with
4644-863: The R520m in Quarter 1 of 2001, making the R520m the first ever commercially available Bluetooth phone. In parallel, IBM introduced the IBM ThinkPad ;A30 in October ;2001 which was the first notebook with integrated Bluetooth. Bluetooth's early incorporation into consumer electronics products continued at Vosi Technologies in Costa Mesa, California, initially overseen by founding members Bejan Amini and Tom Davidson. Vosi Technologies had been created by real estate developer Ivano Stegmenga, with United States Patent 608507, for communication between
4752-419: The Sensor Bar using triangulation . Rotation of the Wii Remote with respect to the ground can also be calculated from the relative angle of the two dots of light on the image sensor. Games can be programmed to sense whether the image sensor is covered, which is demonstrated in a microgame featured in launch title WarioWare: Smooth Moves , where if the player does not uncover the sensor the champagne bottle that
4860-509: The Wii Remote Plus in late 2010, which featured built-in Wii MotionPlus technology, it would initially be available in the same four standard Wii Remote colors, plus a special red variant that was included with red Wii consoles manufactured to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mario series. In the years that followed, Nintendo released more Wii Remote Plus color schemes based on its first-party game franchises. Accessed with
4968-530: The Wii Remote and television was altered as the bow shot to give the impression of the arrow traveling away from the player. In addition to reproducing certain in-game sound effects that reflect the on-screen action, the Wii Remote speaker can also function as a voice receiver through which non-player characters can speak to the player with long-distance telecommunication , featured in games like Red Steel , Real Heroes: Firefighter and GoldenEye 007 . Some party games and hotseat multiplayer games also utilize
5076-422: The Wii Remote can also control rotation of a cursor or other objects. The use of an infrared sensor to detect position can cause some detection problems in the presence of other infrared sources, such as incandescent light bulbs or candles. This can be alleviated by using fluorescent or LED lights, which emit little to no infrared light, around the Wii. Innovative users have used other sources of IR light, such as
5184-608: The Wii Remote flying. WarioWare: Smooth Moves also sometimes requires the Wii Remote to be dropped, which would cause problems in the event of a strap failure. In response, Nintendo has posted guidelines on proper use of the strap and the Wii Remote. On December 8, 2006, units with thicker straps began to appear in some areas of the world. On December 15, 2006, Nintendo denied reports of a Wii wrist strap recall. While Nintendo denied claims that three million straps had been recalled, it replaced broken wrist straps free of charge. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission became involved in
5292-639: The Wii Remote in such a way that would be hindered by a wrist strap, such as Let's Tap , most House Party games in Wii Party and the Treasure Twirl game in Wii Play Motion . In such games or game modes, on-screen prompts, as well as instruction booklet text, will specifically state that they must be played without the wrist strap. Video game web site IGN reported that the strap tends to break under heavy use, which would potentially send
5400-419: The Wii Remote to provide a better grip, and cushioning to protect the Wii Remote if dropped. Nintendo started including the jacket with the controller on October 15, 2007. The safety jacket included with every Wii Remote is usually translucent. However, for black Wii Remotes and red Wii Remote Plus controllers, the safety jacket would be of the same color. The original Wii MotionPlus accessory also comes with
5508-553: The Wii Remote with a new system, instead of onto the GameCube, as "[the] Revolution addresses one of the GameCube's biggest drawbacks, which is that it was/is perceived as a toy." Images of the GameCube prototype of the Wii Remote, including the Nunchuk, were found online in October 2018 when one of the prototypes was made available through an online auction. As the Wii gained in popularity, reports surfaced of counterfeit Wii Remotes entering circulation. Although these devices may provide
SECTION 50
#17327720248215616-486: The Wii Remote's Home button, the Home Menu displays information about the controller(s) currently being used, and allows the user to configure certain options. At the bottom of the menu screen, the battery life of all connected controllers is displayed. Below that is a bar labeled Wii Remote Settings. Selecting it brings users to an options screen where they can control the audio output volume, rumble settings, and reconnect
5724-463: The Wii Remote's field of view. The light emitted from each end of the Sensor Bar is focused onto the image sensor which sees the light as two bright dots separated by a distance "mi" on the image sensor. The second distance "m" between the two clusters of light emitters in the Sensor Bar is a fixed distance. From these two distances m and mi, the Wii CPU calculates the distance between the Wii Remote and
5832-415: The Wii Remote's pointer in-game. Because the Sensor Bar allows the Wii Remote to calculate the distance between the Wii Remote and the Sensor Bar, the Wii Remote can also control slow forward-backward motion of an object in a 3-dimensional game. Rapid forward-backward motion, such as punching in a boxing game, is controlled by the acceleration sensors. Using these acceleration sensors (acting as tilt sensors),
5940-467: The Wii console. The position and motion tracking of the Wii Remote allows the player to mimic actual game actions, such as swinging a sword or aiming a gun, instead of simply pressing buttons. An early marketing video showed actors miming actions such as fishing, cooking, drumming, conducting a musical ensemble, shooting a gun, sword fighting, and performing dental surgery. The LEDs can be seen by some digital cameras, phone cameras, and other devices with
6048-581: The Wii console. Additional Wii Remote units are sold separately without the Nunchuk. The two shoulder buttons, formerly named Z1 and Z2 respectively, have been reshaped and renamed from the Game Developers Conference on. The circular top shoulder button, now called C, is much smaller than the lower rectangular shoulder button, now called Z. The body of the Nunchuk is 113 mm (4.4 in) long, 38 mm (1.5 in) wide, and 37 mm (1.5 in) thick. The connection port also has
6156-474: The Wii, Wii Remote, Nunchuk, and Classic Controller PRO in Japan on August 1, 2009. Each black Wii Remote includes a matching solid-black Wii Remote Jacket. In addition, Club Nintendo in Japan held a contest between June 25, 2009, and August 31, 2009, wherein members who purchased and registered a copy of Wii Sports Resort would be entered into a draw to win one of 5,000 blue controller sets. Each set included
6264-502: The application. Some such devices allow open field ranges of up to 1 km and beyond between two similar devices without exceeding legal emission limits. To use Bluetooth wireless technology, a device must be able to interpret certain Bluetooth profiles. For example, Profiles are definitions of possible applications and specify general behaviors that Bluetooth-enabled devices use to communicate with other Bluetooth devices. These profiles include settings to parameterize and to control
6372-462: The bar. The LEDs farthest from the center are pointed slightly outwards, the LEDs closest to the center are pointed slightly inwards, while the rest are pointed straight forward. The Sensor Bar's cable is 353 cm (11 ft 7 in) in length. The bar may be placed above or below the television, centered horizontally, in line with the front of the television or the front of the surface the television
6480-454: The batteries may be temporarily interrupted. If the Wii Remote is not used for more than 5 minutes, such as when the player is using a GameCube controller, it will shut off, and can be re-activated by pressing any button (this was also the case when using a now discontinued video-on-demand service). Games are able to determine and react to the current battery life of Wii Remotes, with certain games using unique, extra- diegetic methods of alerting
6588-503: The beginning of its instruction booklet (even if the game does not use motion controls). The latter is a word-for-word reproduction of a standard wrist strap warning notice established by Nintendo. The wrist strap is also used to restrain the Nunchuk's connector by its hook, safely slowing any sudden movement of the Nunchuk's cord if the connector is forcibly disconnected. In spite of widespread wrist strap safety notices, there are certain Wii games, in whole or part, that are played by moving
SECTION 60
#17327720248216696-545: The black Nunchuk was released as a standalone purchase. Blue and pink Wii Remotes were released in Japan on December 3, 2009. In North America, the blue and pink Wii Remotes were released February 14, 2010, in a bundle with a standard white Wii MotionPlus. In Australia, the black, blue and pink versions of the Wii Remotes were released on February 25, 2010. In addition, the black Nunchuk and black Wii MotionPlus were also released on that day as well. When Nintendo released
6804-435: The bottom of the controller face was replaced with the Wii logo. Also, the expansion port was redesigned, with expansion plugs featuring a smaller snap-on design. The Wii Remote had the capability of turning the main console's power on or off remotely with a power button, further reinforcing the impression that it looks like a television remote. The blue LEDs also indicate the battery's state: on pressing any button (other than
6912-486: The codename for the short-range wireless program which is now called Bluetooth. According to Bluetooth's official website, Bluetooth was only intended as a placeholder until marketing could come up with something really cool. Later, when it came time to select a serious name, Bluetooth was to be replaced with either RadioWire or PAN (Personal Area Networking). PAN was the front runner, but an exhaustive search discovered it already had tens of thousands of hits throughout
7020-529: The communication from the start. Adherence to profiles saves the time for transmitting the parameters anew before the bi-directional link becomes effective. There are a wide range of Bluetooth profiles that describe many different types of applications or use cases for devices. Bluetooth exists in numerous products such as telephones, speakers , tablets, media players, robotics systems, laptops, and game console equipment as well as some high definition headsets , modems , hearing aids and even watches. Bluetooth
7128-524: The connection—but may subsequently operate as the slave). The Bluetooth Core Specification provides for the connection of two or more piconets to form a scatternet , in which certain devices simultaneously play the master/leader role in one piconet and the slave role in another. At any given time, data can be transferred between the master and one other device (except for the little-used broadcast mode). The master chooses which slave device to address; typically, it switches rapidly from one device to another in
7236-437: The console via short-range Bluetooth radio, with which it is possible to operate up to four controllers at a distance of up to 10 metres (30 ft) from the console. The Wii Remote communicates with the Sensor Bar by infrared, providing pointing functionality over a distance of up to five metres (16 ft) from Wii Remote to Sensor Bar. The controller can be used in either hand; it can also be turned horizontally and used like
7344-682: The console's physical reset button . Operations Guide : On Wii Menu channels, including the News Channel, Forecast Channel , Internet Channel , Everybody Votes Channel , certain WiiWare titles and Virtual Console titles, the Operations Guide button appeared on the Home Menu. The guide accessed acts as an instruction manual for the game being played. The Home Menu can be compared to the Xbox 360 's in-game menu (accessed by pressing
7452-399: The controller (see Wii Remote Chargers ). Nintendo's industrial designer Lance Barr said that the Wii Remote's expansion port is unsuitable for internal battery charging. The only type of (externally charged) rechargeable battery supported is nickel-metal hydride (NiMH). A 3300 μF capacitor provides a temporary source of power during quick movements of the Wii Remote when connection to
7560-635: The controller, "since the portable console and living-room console would have been exactly the same". Coincidentally, this idea would later be implemented on the Wii U 's GamePad controller, as well as the Nintendo Switch . Sources also indicate that the Wii Remote was originally in development as a controller for the GameCube , rather than the Wii. Video game developer Factor 5 stated that during development of launch title Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader , it had an early prototype of
7668-631: The controllers, for example to connect Wii Remotes through one-time synchronization. Depending on when the Home Menu is accessed, a different number of buttons are displayed. Wii Menu : No matter when the menu is accessed, the Wii Menu button will always be present. Selecting this will exit a game or a Wii Menu channel and return the player to the Wii Menu, where users can choose another channel. When playing certain Virtual Console titles, with
7776-407: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 543912853 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:33:45 GMT Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In
7884-476: The disparate Danish tribes into a single kingdom; Kardach chose the name to imply that Bluetooth similarly unites communication protocols. The Bluetooth logo [REDACTED] is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes [REDACTED] (ᚼ, Hagall ) and [REDACTED] (ᛒ, Bjarkan ), Harald's initials. The development of the "short-link" radio technology, later named Bluetooth,
7992-415: The end of 2005 the controller was ready for mass production. During development of the Wii Remote, video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto brought in mobile phones and controllers for automotive navigation systems for inspiration, eventually producing a prototype that resembled a cell phone. Another design featured both an analog stick and a touchscreen , but Nintendo rejected the idea of a touchscreen on
8100-451: The exception of the Nintendo 64 and Neo Geo , this will also create a suspend point. Reset : In applications and games (both retail and downloadable), the Reset button is available. This performs a soft reset of that particular application, for example returning a game to its title screen or the loading screen of a Wii Menu channel, the same as what would happen if the player were to press
8208-406: The existing GameCube button layout", it experimented with different forms "through sketches, models and interviewing various hardcore gamers". By "late 2004, early 2005", however, Nintendo had come up with the Wii Remote's less traditional "wand shape", and the design of the Nunchuk attachment. Nintendo had also decided upon using a motion sensor, infrared pointer, and the layout of the buttons, and by
8316-450: The features of the Wii U GamePad is not mandated. The Wii U's successor, the Nintendo Switch , features a follow-up named Joy-Con . Development of a motion-enabled controller began when development of the Wii console started in 2001. In that year, Nintendo licensed a number of motion-sensing patents from Gyration Inc., a company that produces wireless motion-sensing computer mice . Gyration had previously pitched their idea and patents of
8424-470: The first " Smart Home " internet connected devices. Vosi needed a means for the system to communicate without a wired connection from the vehicle to the other devices in the network. Bluetooth was chosen, since Wi-Fi was not yet readily available or supported in the public market. Vosi had begun to develop the Vosi Cello integrated vehicular system and some other internet connected devices, one of which
8532-500: The founding signatories and a total of five members: Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Toshiba, and IBM. The first Bluetooth device was revealed in 1999. It was a hands-free mobile headset that earned the "Best of show Technology Award" at COMDEX . The first Bluetooth mobile phone was the unreleased prototype Ericsson T36, though it was the revised Ericsson model T39 that actually made it to store shelves in June 2001. However Ericsson released
8640-417: The initial teaser video that revealed the controller at Tokyo Game Show 2005, the 1 and 2 buttons were labeled X and Y. The Wii Remote has a wrist strap attached to the bottom to prevent it from flying away during game action if not held securely. The wrist strap is tied with a cow hitch knot . Every Wii game contains safety warnings concerning wrist strap use during its startup sequence and also at or near
8748-633: The internet. A full trademark search on RadioWire couldn't be completed in time for launch, making Bluetooth the only choice. The name caught on fast and before it could be changed, it spread throughout the industry, becoming synonymous with short-range wireless technology. Bluetooth is the Anglicised version of the Scandinavian Blåtand / Blåtann (or in Old Norse blátǫnn ). It was the epithet of King Harald Bluetooth, who united
8856-410: The light sources. There is no way to calibrate the position of the cursor relative to where the user is pointing the controller without the two stable reference sources of light provided by the Sensor Bar or substitutes. Third-party wireless sensor bars have also been released, which have been popular with users of Wii emulators since the official Sensor Bar utilizes a proprietary connector to connect to
8964-549: The main controller in many games. Like the Wii Remote, the Nunchuk also provides a three-axis accelerometer from STMicroelectronics for motion-sensing and tilting, but lacks any feedback features. The presence of a motion sensor in the Nunchuk allows the Wii controller to recognize gestures from both of the player's hands independently, a feature that is leveraged to implement boxing controls for Wii Sports or dual wield combat in some hack and slash games, such as Prince of Persia: Rival Swords . Despite having fewer buttons,
9072-474: The most widely used mode, transmission power is limited to 2.5 milliwatts , giving it a very short range of up to 10 metres (33 ft). It employs UHF radio waves in the ISM bands , from 2.402 GHz to 2.48 GHz. It is mainly used as an alternative to wired connections to exchange files between nearby portable devices and connect cell phones and music players with wireless headphones . Bluetooth
9180-423: The player to low battery life. In September 2010, rumors were circulating of a Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus already built in after the box art for the upcoming FlingSmash revealed it to be bundled with "Wii Remote Plus". Nintendo initially declined to comment, but later announced the device on September 29, 2010, confirming it to be a Wii Remote with MotionPlus built in, allowing players to use peripherals like
9288-499: The player's in game avatars. The game Petz: Monkey Madness allows players to transport their monkey between copies of the game. The Wii Remote uses two AA size alkaline batteries as a power source, which can power a Wii Remote for 60 hours using only the accelerometer functionality and 25 hours using both accelerometer and pointer functionality. In May 2013, Nintendo announced a rechargeable battery and dock accessory, and various third-party manufacturers market charging solutions for
9396-548: The port on the Nintendo 64 controller. There is a female connector on Wii remotes, to which expansions with a male connector can be connected. The multiple kinds of controllers that can connect to the Wii Remote make it into a more versatile controller, opening up new Wii controller configurations and likewise multiple control schemes. Various racing games such as Mario Kart Wii and a few Need for Speed video games, as well as some fighting games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl , Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars and
9504-504: The power button) while the controller is not being used to play games, four LEDs flash to indicate full battery, three for 75%, two for 50%, and one for 25% life remaining. Similarities have been noted between the Wii Remote and an early Dreamcast controller prototype. In the Red Steel trailer shown at E3 2006, the Wii Remote had a smaller circular shaped image sensor instead of the larger opaque IR filters shown on other versions. In
9612-681: The public market due to its large market share at the time. In 2012, Jaap Haartsen was nominated by the European Patent Office for the European Inventor Award . Bluetooth operates at frequencies between 2.402 and 2.480 GHz, or 2.400 and 2.4835 GHz, including guard bands 2 MHz wide at the bottom end and 3.5 MHz wide at the top. This is in the globally unlicensed (but not unregulated) industrial, scientific and medical ( ISM ) 2.4 GHz short-range radio frequency band. Bluetooth uses
9720-413: The range far lower than specified line-of-sight ranges of the Bluetooth products. Most Bluetooth applications are battery-powered Class 2 devices, with little difference in range whether the other end of the link is a Class 1 or Class 2 device as the lower-powered device tends to set the range limit. In some cases the effective range of the data link can be extended when a Class 2 device
9828-499: The remote represents will not open. The Sensor Bar is required when the Wii Remote is controlling up-down, left-right motion of a cursor or reticle on the TV screen to point to menu options or objects such as enemies in first-person shooters . Some Wii games that depend on infrared pointing, such as The Conduit and The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return , allow the player to calibrate
9936-452: The same functionality as official Wii Remotes, the build quality is typically inferior and components such as the rumble motor and speaker are noticeably different. It is also unclear whether official accessories operate correctly with counterfeit units due to the differences in internal components. The Wii Remote assumes a one-handed remote control -based design instead of the traditional gamepad controllers of previous gaming consoles. This
10044-427: The same spectrum but somewhat differently . A master BR/EDR Bluetooth device can communicate with a maximum of seven devices in a piconet (an ad hoc computer network using Bluetooth technology), though not all devices reach this maximum. The devices can switch roles, by agreement, and the slave can become the master (for example, a headset initiating a connection to a phone necessarily begins as master—as an initiator of
10152-452: The services they provide. This makes using services easier, because more of the security, network address and permission configuration can be automated than with many other network types. A personal computer that does not have embedded Bluetooth can use a Bluetooth adapter that enables the PC to communicate with Bluetooth devices. While some desktop computers and most recent laptops come with
10260-404: The short-link technology an open industry standard to permit each player maximum market access. Ericsson contributed the short-link radio technology, and IBM contributed patents around the logical layer. Adalio Sanchez of IBM then recruited Stephen Nachtsheim of Intel to join and then Intel also recruited Toshiba and Nokia . In May 1998, the Bluetooth SIG was launched with IBM and Ericsson as
10368-401: The simple case of single-slot packets, the master transmits in even slots and receives in odd slots. The slave, conversely, receives in even slots and transmits in odd slots. Packets may be 1, 3, or 5 slots long, but in all cases, the master's transmission begins in even slots and the slave's in odd slots. The above excludes Bluetooth Low Energy, introduced in the 4.0 specification, which uses
10476-408: The speaker to indicate changes between player turns. The volume can be changed or muted with the "Home" button and selecting the corresponding controller icon at the bottom of the screen; if the speaker is muted, any sounds intended to be emitted from the speaker will come from the television in most cases. The rumble feature can also be switched on or off using the Home Menu. The Wii Remote contains
10584-402: The team had a workable solution. From 1997 Örjan Johansson became the project leader and propelled the technology and standardization. In 1997, Adalio Sanchez, then head of IBM ThinkPad product R&D, approached Nils Rydbeck about collaborating on integrating a mobile phone into a ThinkPad notebook. The two assigned engineers from Ericsson and IBM studied the idea. The conclusion
10692-480: The use of Analog Devices MEMS -based three-dimensional accelerometers . The Wii Remote also has a PixArt optical sensor that allows it to determine where it is pointing. Unlike a light gun that senses light from a television screen, the Wii Remote senses light from the console's Sensor Bar (RVL-014), which allows consistent usage not influenced by the screen used. The Sensor Bar is about 24 cm (9.4 in) long and has ten infrared LEDs , five at each end of
10800-473: Was adopted by the Bluetooth SIG on 26 July 2007. The headline feature of v2.1 is secure simple pairing (SSP): this improves the pairing experience for Bluetooth devices, while increasing the use and strength of security. Version 2.1 allows various other improvements, including extended inquiry response (EIR), which provides more information during the inquiry procedure to allow better filtering of devices before connection; and sniff subrating, which reduces
10908-461: Was done to make motion sensitivity more intuitive, as a remote design is fitted perfectly for pointing, and in part to help the console appeal to a broader audience that includes non-gamers. The body of the Wii Remote is 148 mm (5.8 in) long, 36.2 mm (1.43 in) wide, and 30.8 mm (1.21 in) thick. The Wii Remote model number is RVL-003, a reference to the project code-name "Revolution". The controller communicates wirelessly with
11016-597: Was initiated in 1989 by Nils Rydbeck, CTO at Ericsson Mobile in Lund , Sweden. The purpose was to develop wireless headsets, according to two inventions by Johan Ullman , SE 8902098-6 , issued 1989-06-12 and SE 9202239 , issued 1992-07-24 . Nils Rydbeck tasked Tord Wingren with specifying and Dutchman Jaap Haartsen and Sven Mattisson with developing. Both were working for Ericsson in Lund. Principal design and development began in 1994 and by 1997
11124-503: Was intended to be a table-top device named the Vosi Symphony, networked with Bluetooth. Through the negotiations with Motorola , Vosi introduced and disclosed its intent to integrate Bluetooth in its devices. In the early 2000s a legal battle ensued between Vosi and Motorola, which indefinitely suspended release of the devices. Later, Motorola implemented it in their devices which initiated the significant propagation of Bluetooth in
11232-456: Was ported to OpenBSD as well, however OpenBSD later removed it as unmaintained. DragonFly BSD has had NetBSD's Bluetooth implementation since 1.11 (2008). A netgraph -based implementation from FreeBSD has also been available in the tree, possibly disabled until 2014-11-15, and may require more work. The specifications were formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and formally announced on 20 May 1998. In 2014 it had
11340-703: Was released in Australia on October 28, 2010, in Europe on November 5, 2010, in North America on November 7, 2010, and in Japan on November 11, 2010. In addition to being available in the four standard Wii Remote colors, specially colored Wii Remote Plus controllers themed after Nintendo's first-party video game franchises were also released in the years that followed, with one golden Legend of Zelda Wii Remote Plus and several others based on Mario characters . A red Wii Remote Plus, initially designed to celebrate
11448-460: Was revealed that a gold Wii Remote Plus with the Hylian Crest superimposed over its speaker would be released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword . It was available as part of a bundle with Skyward Sword for a limited time. A matching gold Nunchuk was also available to earn for Club Nintendo members for a limited time. In 2012, the Wii Remote Plus was reissued, and branded for
11556-493: Was that power consumption on cellphone technology at that time was too high to allow viable integration into a notebook and still achieve adequate battery life. Instead, the two companies agreed to integrate Ericsson's short-link technology on both a ThinkPad notebook and an Ericsson phone to accomplish the goal. Since neither IBM ThinkPad notebooks nor Ericsson phones were the market share leaders in their respective markets at that time, Adalio Sanchez and Nils Rydbeck agreed to make
11664-724: Was the only modulation scheme available. Since the introduction of Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, π/4- DQPSK (differential quadrature phase-shift keying) and 8-DPSK modulation may also be used between compatible devices. Devices functioning with GFSK are said to be operating in basic rate (BR) mode, where an instantaneous bit rate of 1 Mbit/s is possible. The term Enhanced Data Rate ( EDR ) is used to describe π/4-DPSK (EDR2) and 8-DPSK (EDR3) schemes, transferring 2 and 3 Mbit/s respectively. In 2019, Apple published an extension called HDR which supports data rates of 4 (HDR4) and 8 (HDR8) Mbit/s using π/4- DQPSK modulation on 4 MHz channels with forward error correction (FEC). Bluetooth
#820179