Wii controller prototypes included star-shaped design, was met with opposition
The Wiimote is very recognizable thanks to its similarities with a TV remote. But you may be surprised to hear about one particular prototype Nintendo had created prior to finally settling on the final design. A new book called Nintendo Magic: Winning The Video Game Wars details the prototype, noting that it “had a large star-shaped button in the center, surrounded by three smaller buttons, and used internal accelerometers that let the player control by tilting it forward, backwards, left, or tight.”
The big news, however, is that the controller was met with a great deal of opposition. Developers at Nintendo felt that it would not work very well established franchises such as Zelda and Mario. As we know now, the idea was eventually shot down.
You can read additional details about how the controller would have worked below and we’ve also included a picture of it in this post as well.
“Development on the new [Wii] controller was in full swing by the middle of 2004. With Iwata focusing on the DS, Miyamoto acted in his place on the project. Takeda’s engineering team searched for sensors that would enable intuitive game control, which Miyamoto’s people used to implement the actual controller.
At first, they started just as Iwata had suggested – by aiming for a simple, TV remote-like controller. But as they did the work of testing the controller prototypes that included new sensors, the form factors began to take an unexpected direction.
‘No one liked that one,’ recalls Miyamoto with a rueful grin, of a large, disc-shaped example. It had a large star-shaped button in the center, surrounded by three smaller buttons, and used internal accelerometers that let the player control by tilting it forward, backwards, left, or tight. The prototype was orange, and its bizarre appearance earned it the nickname ‘cheddar cheese’ from the development team.
It was admittedly simple and easy to understand, but was also far too garish. Miyamoto’s team met with around 40 game developers within Nintendo bimonthly to hear their opinions. This iteration of the controller was met with opposition — they complained it was totally unsuited to traditional games like Mario and Zelda.”
