Although once optional, Nintendo is now making Motion Plus a manditory purchase. At least for new Wii owners.

In speaking with Infendo today, the company was quick to point out that the newly announced Black Wii bundles are, in fact, “new stock” units. In other words, Motion Plus is now standard with every Wii sold—be it black or white.

“This isn’t technically a bundle,” a representative told me by email. “This is the new ‘stock’ Wii. From its launch moving forward, this is how the system will be available, in white or black.”

The move to package better motion controls with Wii is Nintendo’s latest attempt to keep prospective buyers from waiting for competing products by both Sony and Microsoft, arriving later this year.

“To date, this is the only precision [motion] control currently on the market, and with the addition of Wii Sports Resort, you’re getting that next level of Wii Motion Plus all for $199,” the represented added.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime said he wouldn’t dare rip off the competition like Sony and Microsoft are doing with Wii.

“I think we would have been embarrassed to do what our competitors are currently doing,” he told Kotaku, when asked what his company’s next console might include. “So, all I can tell you is that we will innovate. We will provide something new. Something that the consumer and the industry will look at and say ‘Wow, I didn’t see that coming.’”

Oh, Reggie. It’s not like your competition is completely devoid of new input ideas. Okay, maybe they are. In any case, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming,” isn’t always the ideal reaction (ahem, Virtual Boy).

In an interview with Wired, Nintendo’s killer-app had this to say about motion control finally becoming the industry standard:

“Looking at what the other companies have shown here at E3, it feels like they have finally obtained the very basic technology for doing motion control, but… I don’t think I could create an experience that truly feels interactive if you don’t have something to hold in your hand, if you don’t have something like force feedback that you can feel from the controller.”

While I still find Project Natal fascinating, I tend to agree with Miyamoto. Even Sony said “some experiences need buttons.” What do you think?

In case you didn’t see it last week, Ubisoft announced a new fitness game for Wii called Your Shape. The virtual fitness program uses a bundled camera to detect full body motion, a la the still undated Project Natal for Xbox 360. Interestingly, both the game and peripheral will debut this holiday, and the trailer seems to suggest it will behave similarly to Microsoft’s more ambitious camera. It’s still unclear, though, if Ubisoft’s proprietary camera will work with other games. Still, it’s possible, I guess.

Nintendo did not take Jack’s advice to hire Wii hack maestro Johnny Lee. Instead, Microsoft realized a genius was in the room and hired him to work on Project Natal, the camera attachment for Xbox 360 that recognizes full boy motion. 

“I have been helping Xbox with Project Natal,” Chang said on his blog. “Speaking as someone who has been working in interface and sensing technology for nearly 10 years, this is an astonishing combination of hardware and software. The few times I’ve been able to show researchers the underlying components, their jaws drop with amazement.”

Having played Natal first hand, I can only say the same. Gotta catch a flight right now, but I’ll explain later. 

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