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According to MTV News, sources have revealed that Microsoft hopes to be able to release a Wii Remote like device for its Xbox 360 console before the year is out. The platform holder is said to have been working on such a device alongside Rare since last summer.
The new controller is said to be able to do all that the Wii Remote does and more, with one source sketching the device he’d seen. This revealed a Wii Remote shape containing four face buttons, an analogue stick, underside trigger, speaker and microphone, but the device does not have support for a companion controller as is the case with the Wii Remote.
According to further unnamed sources the controller is much more ambitious than the Wii Remote, with Microsoft wanting Halo, Gears of War and Forza all to work with the new motion controller.
“The whole thing is a colossal clusterf@!#,” a source told MTV News. “[Microsoft] marketing just want it so they can match the Wii point for point. The biggest parts of their marketing materials outline how easy it would be for third parties to port their Wii games to the 360.”
Rare is also said to be working on creating the Xbox version of the Wii’s Mii avatars, with Microsoft intending for all of its avatars to be compatible with all games that make use of the motion controller. The Xbox avatars are said to be more detailed than the Miis, but they must remain generic looking in order to fit in with the style of all motion controlled titles.
Despite problems, a source told MTV News that “Microsoft is trying to decide how to get something out by the end of the year”.
The motion controller is far enough along in development for Microsoft to have distributed development kits to certain developers, a source told MTV, although it’s still not clear when Microsoft will reveal its plans, if indeed the project sees the light of day.
