Back when the Wii Motion Plus add-on was first announced, Nintendo begged to ask the question: Why wasn’t this functionality built into the controller in the first place? Well, Kotaku may have recently found Nintendo’s answer to this question. According to a listing on Gamestop’s US website, a listing that, unsurprisingly, has since been removed, the upcoming Wii title developed by Artoon, FlingSmash, will be bundled with what the game’s box art refers to as the “Wii Remote Plus” controller. Based on the peripheral’s name, it would be safe to assume that the controller is in fact the all-in-one remote Wii fans have been asking for ever since the pricey Motion Plus was first announced.
So far, Nintendo has neither confirmed nor denied the Gamestop listing's validity but should be announcing something soon if fans and media make enough noise. This leak has come out as a surprise for many to be sure, especially considering that the new controller’s debut will not follow the first party backed pack-in strategy formerly established by the releases of Wii Play, Wii Fit and Wii Sports Resort. Perhaps a Fall release Wii Party bundle would have made more sense. Of course, given that Wii Party has already seen release across the Pacific, many Japanese gamers would end up feeling quite jilted in that scenario.
Nintendo must have a lot of faith in the quality of FlingSmash, a simple game based around players using the Wii Remote to bat the main character through obstacle-laden levels. Going with such an unproven and little known title from Artoon could easily hurt sales for the new controller. Granted, FlingSmash isn’t due to hit the market until early November, so much remains to be seen. Expect more on this story in the coming weeks.
