When Nintendo announced Wii MotionPlus at E3 earlier this week, I was, as a Nintendo fan and hardcore gamer, pretty excited. I wasn't expecting Nintendo to improve its motion sensing technology until they released their next console… but now, thanks to the reality of 1:1 real-time motion control, all kinds of new gaming possibilities might be realized, including, of course, the hypothetical first-person lightsaber dueling game that many a gamer and Star Wars fan has been dreaming of for a long time.

Despite my excitement, however, I was also bit puzzled when I heard the MotionPlus announcement. At first glance, it seems like Nintendo is making a really poorly planned business move, which would be really out of character for Nintendo's marketing department. From a business perspective, the MotionPlus peripheral has two fatal flaws. First of all, it splinters Nintendo's hardware base by creating a large technological gap between those who have MotionPlus and those who don't. Because MotionPlus appears to make a considerable difference in how games are played, developers would have to choose between adopting the new tech and losing some of their market, or just making new games that don't use MotionPlus. Secondly, MotionPlus has no instant casual appeal. Unlike Mario Kart''s Wii Wheel or the Wii Zapper, you can't understand the purpose of the MotionPlus hardware just by looking at it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that some casual gamers wouldn't even appreciate the advantages of the MotionPlus solely for the reason that they're already convinced that the Wii remote has 1:1 control without it. 

But these concerns, as big as they are, were shattered at Nintendo's press event. My faith in the abilities of Nintendo's wily marketing geniuses was officially restored when, up on stage in front of the E3 throng, Reggie Fils-Aime announced that the MotionPlus hardware would be bundled with a Wii Sports Resort, a sequel to the ubiquitous Wii pack-in title. Smart move, Nintendo.

The MotionPlus Wii Sports Resort bundle virtually guarantees that almost every Wii owner will pick it up sooner or later. Hardcore gamers, who are already painfully aware of the Wii remote's limits, will probably just get it for the tech boost. For casual gamers though, the Wii Sports name will be irresistible. Wii Sports is arguably better known now than either Link or Samus, being a staple of the ridiculously popular Wii console, and if the past year's games sales have shown us anything, it's that well marketed casual games can outsell some hard-hitting rivals by mile-wide margins. While only the springtime release of the MotionPlus bundle will test the mettle of Nintendo's latest marketing ploy, I think it's safe to say that Nintendo's going to continue raking in obscene amounts of money for a long time to come. Now all we need is that dream lightsaber game.