[Revo] Secrets of the Wii controller: Iwata has the answers

[.:|Physalis|:.]

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Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently turned journalist, interviewing a selection of the Wii's designers about the console's innovative controller. This slightly odd exercise - part of the build-up to Nintendo's big Wii announcement at the end of the week - provides a pretty good insight into how the Wii-remote came into being.

Head of Wii development Genyo Takeda said: "The DS had a big influence. We kept in mind how we could follow the DS's path. As many people had been predicting, we even considered including a touch panel on the controller and even considered something that's like a PC mouse or track pad in that can be used as a pointing device."

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Controller and system designer Kenichiro Ashida admitted the process of designing the Wii-remote was tricky : "I've been specializing in industrial design since my college years, but prior to entering Nintendo, I hadn't experienced industrial design so closely tied up with software. In particular, with controller design, we have to keep in mind that this is something that's used when playing software. With the Wii, we were unable to clearly see the shape of software, so this was an extremely difficult area."

Ashida added: "I had the strong feeling that this is a game machine that my family and I can use. Specifically, wouldn't it be okay to reset the style where you hold a controller in both hands and play intently from the morning? Not that we're criticizing that deep play style, but I felt the future in this concept of resetting the style of holding the controller in both hands."

Chief software producer and all-round gaming God Shigeru Miyamoto took a typically developer-focused view, saying the biggest problems surrounding the design of the Wii controller involved: "How to persuade users and designers who've gotten used to current interfaces. This was an extremely high hurdle." And one that seems to have been surmounted, given the excellent developer support the Wii now enjoys.

So Nintendo's message is clear: if you liked the DS, you'll like the Wii, and it's a machine for all the family, rather than merely hardcore gamers. Tune in this Friday, and we'll be able to tell you exactly how much the Wii will cost, when it will launch in the UK and what games will be available on day one and in the run-up to Christmas.