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Input Devices Wii Entertainment Games

Lenovo To Bring Wii-Inspired Input To PCs 53

Posted by Soulskill from the now-we-just-need-monitor-insurance dept.
PCWorld reports on an upcoming Lenovo PC that includes a remote control with functionality similar to that of the Wii Remote. It will control games using the same motion-based method, and Lenovo appears to be coming out with sports games like tennis and bowling to demonstrate its capabilities — an unsurprising choice given the huge success of Wii Sports . "Lenovo is trying to capitalize on the trend of entertainment options merging into the PC. Few are able to play motion-based games, which could make this motion-based game controller a pioneer. In addition to controlling TV functions and video recordings on the PC, the remote control can also be used as an air mouse that moves the mouse pointer when waved. It has some advantages over a conventional mouse — it can function without being on a surface and be used at a distance — when sitting on a couch, for example."
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Lenovo To Bring Wii-Inspired Input To PCs More

Lenovo To Bring Wii-Inspired Input To PCs

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  • ...because I still use an 80-character TTY terminal, you insensitive clod!

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by trolltalk.com ( 1108067 )

      ...because I still use an 80-character TTY terminal, you insensitive clod!

      You have 80 characters AND a TTY? I'm still stuck with a 32x16 display on an old tv, with lowercase letters being uppercase letters, but green on black, instead of black on green, you insensitive clod!

      • I'm still stuck with a 32x16 display on an old tv, with lowercase letters being uppercase letters, but green on black, instead of black on green, you insensitive clod!

        You have two colors on your display?! That I should be so lucky! I have to do all my coding on a monochrome display with a tube that has been burnt out for almost 12 years, but you don't hear me complaining! I consider myself lucky to still have a job (and lead developer, no less) with 3D Realms [wikipedia.org].

  • ... as Apple's new laptop without a keyboard [theonion.com]! :)
  • and can pc's use 'wiimotes' as is, ive seen flash games which can take input from them, is that for wiimotes attatched to pc's, or for wiis with access to the internet?

  • When I read the title... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Xest ( 935314 ) on Tuesday January 06, 2009 @06:32AM (#26341169)

    I thought they meant for much more beyond games.

    I was thinking someone had come up with the genius idea of doing something like punching Windows to close them, slapping them down to minimise them, uppercutting them to maximise them and other such exciting things. You could even have an onscreen keyboard where you have to machinegun the buttons to type.

    Suddenly for a moment there the working day seemed like it was going to begin being a whole lot more exciting.

    • Re:When I read the title... (Score:5, Funny)

      by WillAdams ( 45638 ) on Tuesday January 06, 2009 @07:42AM (#26341565) Homepage

      You missed your calling. You wanted ``Doom as a Tool for System Administration'':

      http://www.cs.unm.edu/~dlchao/flake/doom/ [unm.edu]

      William

    • Suddenly for a moment there the working day seemed like it was going to begin being a whole lot more exciting.

      and ergonomic breaks would be a lot more enjoyable.

      At my job we have an annoying program (workpace)that takes control of the computer to force us to take breaks. It even suggests exercises that we should do while we wait for the program to release control of the computer. I think it would be more interesting if I could still continue to do work, but had to do the exercises to get the work done.

      I t

  • Potential is high (Score:3, Informative)

    by gmuslera ( 3436 ) on Tuesday January 06, 2009 @06:52AM (#26341275) Homepage Journal
    Remember Johnny Lee's Wii remote hacks [ted.com]? It isnt just for games.
    • Why can't a game manufacturer produce a fun add-on for a 'Johnny Lee' type setup? We can all make the glasses easily enough, and it would make your monitor a pretty good 3D device, acting more like a window than a monitor. I'm sure it wouldn't be so hard to do - can games companies really not spare a coder or two for a few days now and again?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by KalvinB ( 205500 )

      http://blog.dawnofthegeeks.com/2009/01/01/a-better-wiimote-pointer/ [dawnofthegeeks.com]

      If you download and try Johnny Lee's headtracking demo you soon realize you can't tilt your head. It's because he's using the raw information from Brian Peek's library which doesn't tell you where the wiimote is actually pointing.

      The above link has a demo that uses Brian Peek's library and some additional code to allow you to use the Wiimote as a pointing device.

      I'd rather spend $50 for a Wiimote and $15 for a Wii "sensor" bar than have to

  • reminds me of the Thinkpad Hard Disk Active Protection System (accelerometers near the hard drive) which had a linux driver that allowed it to be used as a joystick. Quite fun for playing neverball...

  • and getting rid of the keyboard entirely. [theonion.com]

    I had remotes come with PCs before (Medion). They usually suck because it doesn't work with linux and it's usually yet another startup progam in Windows. Also, since this doesn't come bundled with all PCs, it's guaranteed to fail at attracting game developers.

    That's why PS3 own effort [ps3fanboy.com] will be a failure. Unless it comes standard, few game developers are goingto bother programming for it to get the ball rolling.

    Why even bother?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by amn108 ( 1231606 )

      It is not 'ahead of the curve' unless the end of that curve is in a dumpster, the one where all moronic apple gadgets end up. Not everyone likes Apple style, and even fewer can be led to believe one can ever be as fast a typist using a giant wheel. At least because of the ergonomic factors, the travel distance after all is greater with one giant wheel. I type on my keyboard at about 65 words per minute IN ANY LANGUAGE, without using a T9 type dictionary. I seriously doubt the limitations of a giant wheel wi

  • The WiiMotes are simple blue-tooth devices, you can already get drivers and control panels to hook up your Wii motes to your PC! What a rip this crap is!
  • Those things are dangerous. Many gamers, accustomed to sitting still, have been injured by the Wii. Now the PC world will be hurt by this onslaught of moving controllers.
  • Haven't these been around for a while?

    • Exactly, I've used a gyro (air) mouse before. Granted it was pretty hard to control, but if they used the accelerometers to simply detect motion (e.g. usually games, most likely) and used an infra-red system to actually point (OS mouse pointer), like the Wiimote, it might be a fair improvement I suppose.

      • Yeah, we have a few of these at work. They take a bit of getting used to (e.g. they work best if you hold your wrist steady and move it around from your elbow)

        So I've only played with the Wii a little bit, but I think I like the gyromouse more. The gyroscopic sensors are much more sensitive. With the Wii, I ended up just flicking the thing as if it was just another button. The IR on the Wii is necessary for precise control, but it doesn't seem very precise or sensitive compared to the Gyromouse. On the

  • The person sitting next to you on the plane constantly waves the damn thing around, until your drink is spilled.

  • And all the rumours about PC gaming will die out and now that...mmh.

  • Advert Warning (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BarneyL ( 578636 ) on Tuesday January 06, 2009 @09:13AM (#26342213)
    The advert at the top of the page right now may well be telling you that you can save a fortune buy paying someone to learn how to run wii games for free (it is for me).
    I'd hope that none of you would fall for this but be aware that all these sites provide is a bundle of freely available software including the twilight hack and homebrew channel. The makers of this software are not at all pleased [hackmii.com] about this sort of thing.
    Is there any way to mod an advert down?

    • Yeah, I'm seeing something about "Top Wii Download Sites", which I find kind of shocking, since Nintendo has a monopoly on their Wii legit downloads (their site or nothing).

      I find it very unfortunate that such obvious scams can actually make it on to slashdot, but perhaps it's some form of Darwinism?..

  • It's just a pointer, not a "pointer, VOIP handset, and tv remote"

    Probably cheaper, too. If it ever comes out.

  • And ultimately it will fail, or at best be a niche device. A PC is something you sit down right in front of, with the screen generally about 1.5-3 feet away. It's not a console where you sit/stand 5-10 feet away and have plenty of room to swing such a controller. If there were really a significant market for this, the drivers to use the Wii controller would be a lot more popular and people would already be using those.

  • Of course Wii Sports is "selling" well: everyone's FORCED to take a copy when they buy a Wii console!

    If you don't count bundled sales, however, the game's sales numbers are pathetic.

    Don't get me wrong, it's a decent game, but if they'd bundled "Mario's Extreme Knitting Challenge" instead, it'd "sell" just as well. And all these "journalists" who keep pointing to Wii Sports as a massive success for the motion-based sports gaming genre would probably be calling knitting games the wave of the future.

    • If you don't count bundled sales, however, the game's sales numbers are pathetic.

      Wow definitely the least informed comment I have seen all day. Wii Sports is only available bundled, except in Japan where it has an amazing attach rate. So yes since you cannot buy it unbundled in 90% of the market it is selling terribly.

    • So Wii Sports isn't helping to sell Wiis? The Wii would sell just as well if it had a knitting game instead?

      Interesting logic you have there.

      • So Wii Sports isn't helping to sell Wiis? The Wii would sell just as well if it had a knitting game instead?

        Sure, the Wii Sports bundle may help move a few more Wiis, but that's beside the point -- calling "Wii Sports" the "best selling game of all time" is an unfair comparison, and terribly misleading.

        As to whether the Wii would sell without Wii Sports, the Xbox 360 has been selling unbundled for most of its life. The only game bundled with the unit I purchased was "Hexic", a minimally featured downloadab

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by grumbel ( 592662 )

          Sure, the Wii Sports bundle may help move a few more Wiis,

          A few? I would say Wii Sport is moving almost *ALL* Wiis, its by far the best show case title for the Wii and aside from Wii Fit and a tiny few other titles there really is very little else that archived similar mainstream media coverage, which along with word of mouth is one of the big reason the Wii is selling like crazy. I am purposefully ignoring all those Zelda, Metroid and Mario games, since if they would have any significant influence on Wii sales, the Gamecube would surely sold a hell of a lot bette

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