Nintendo Wii Fanboy

I think that it is really pointless. The Wiimote in my opinion is just fine. Although I have yet to use the Zapper so I have no hands on experience. I have though played every shooter for the Wii to date and have had no use or urge to use this. If I did purchase the Zapper I doubt that it would get much use.

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I prefer my play guns to look like real guns, this looks like something slapped together for a bad science fiction movie.

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I like it. It looks like a phaser rifle from Star Trek. Now give me a phaser rifle wielding game, and we'll be all set.

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Well, honestly it seems like a waste of time. I mean cant I just point myself. also the fact that its just like, you know, plastic, sorta turns me off. Its not connected to the console in any way, i might as well take a squirt gun and duck tape the wii mote to it. Then again that would be a lil dangerous. Anyway, if there were any reason for me to buy this, it would be for the zelda crossbow : sry, im a super zelda fanboy.

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I'm mad that it doesn't even shoot real bullets or launch real frag grenades.

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Wow I seem to be like the only person who thinks this is cool ha ha. Well, I suspect many of the unconvinced will shell out the $20 for Link's Crossbow Training and PERHAPS at some point become attached to the zapper. Will have to wait until I've tried to make a judgment about a thing like this though. I know it will sure make me -feel- cool when I'm playing RE:UC, more than just pointing a TV remote looking thing at the screen. I'm not much of a shooter game player in the past, so if you look at it this makes it more approachable for folks like me who would just 'feel cool' blasting zombies away with both hands gripping a vibrating rifle type thing while more seasoned players prefer ultimate control. Hell, you are used to two joysticks being the way you aim, which is NOTHING like a real gun, so you are all used to it!

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I would reverse the orientation of the 'chuck and wiimote, in order to position the 'chuck in front. This gives the player a more natural configuration and gives the designers something less awkward to work with.

frankly im dreaming of the day I can play something like greg hastings paintball on the wii, as the ideas I have for a port would play pretty damn well.

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First of all, I'm going to make it clear that I think the concept is cool, and I most likely will get it, not right when it comes out because I'll be busy with Galaxy, but probably early December.

Okay, now that's out of the way... it's a marketing technique, and a sly one at that. Fine, not everyone is sold on it, but step one is to get us to associate the Wii with light gun shooter games better. If they can get the Wii Zapper out to the general public, there will most likely be people not usually getting shooters who will get them simply because they feel this'll make them more fun.

To deepen the strategy... Nintendo quickly realized by press reactions that this thing wouldn't sell at 20 bucks, and probably not much for even half that. In the end, it's a piece of plastic, and most people will realize that. Come on, people; we aren't paying $20 for a piece of plastic with a free game. You have to realize that it cost Nintendo a bit more to throw together Link's Crossbow Training than to pour plastic into a mold. In Nintendo's mind, this is Link's Crossbow Training with a free Zapper, preparing the way for shooters on the Wii. We're paying for the game more than for the atttachment. They can turn it around to try to make us think, "Cool, a free game!" because that sounds better than, "Cool, a free hunk of plastic!"

Don't get me wrong, I still believe it's a nice deal; Link's Crossbow Training looks worth it. This is just a better way of marketing, at least for them. They released this game seperate, for $15, and then sold the attachment for $5, they wouldn't sell as many of these attachments, but the game would most likely.

I'd like to know how they plan to get us to buy at least a second, though... in Japan, people can just buy different bundles to get more Zappers with more games... it would be nice to have a couple for Umbrella Chronicles...

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Real buttons would be nice. That crappy mechanical trigger could be fashioned from tree branches and rubber bands--for less than 20$ I might add. Using a real controller (with a pass through connector so you can still use the chuck) would also give you the option of retaining use of the A, 1, 2, plus, minus and d-pad. This can either decrease dependence on motion controls (there's always going to a couple of moves in a game that don't work reliably, or are uncomfortable, and it's nice to have a button alternative), or let you avoid them completely.

On a pistol style zapper (like brandos wrapper), you place the dpad on the grip under the thumb, A 1 2, and or plus and minus (with button size varying from the wiimote) under your free 3 fingers on the grip beneath your trigger finger. If you put 1 and 2 on either side of the dpad instead, since you've got a little more thumb mobility than in your other fingers, and insist on remapability before devs can claim "supports zapper", that would be worth buying, even for an extra $10.

In the meantime, I'm going to go whittle some pine and collect some rubber bands. Crossbow training will be on ebay solo in no time.

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There's three things I don't like about it, in order of random importance:

1) The trigger "metabutton". I've bought devices in the past where you slide your normal controller into a new housing, and the buttons in the housing push the buttons on the normal controller. I've had nothing but bad experiences with these things, and as much as I trust Nintendo's design savvy, I'm not sure that they're going to bring something new to the idea of buttons that push other buttons.

2) The look of the thing. It doesn't say "Zapper" to me. If you say "Zapper", I think of the thing they made for the NES. This thing that they've offered here? It's like... some sort of tripped-out pointing device. Like, if you were giving a presentation, projecting computer images on a wall, you'd use something like that to navigate it. I don't see how it's going to make gun games more realistic or immersive.

3) It doesn't do anything. It's all form, no function. It's exactly the same as those stupid tennis racket attachments. It offers no gameplay functions, none whatsoever.

The funny thing about the Wii remote is that it's an all-in-one bundle, it serves most of the extra functions that peripherals were traditionally used for. I remember people being worried about having to buy like a million adapters to plug into the remote, but so far, it seems like peripherals just basically aren't necessary on the Wii.

I'll be first in line for Wii Fit though. I'd like to get in on the ground floor with that one.

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Nintendo was smart to price this at $20. It's really just another casing, albeit one that seems like it would be comfortable. I can't see a lot of game support in this, but Ghost Squad and Crossbow training look like a blast. I'm in - I think of it as some more Wii Play action, which I enjoyed immensely.

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I find the design really offputting.

It's not very minimalistic (unlike every other design aspect of the Wii) and details like the nunchuck wire sticking out shows the clunkiness of design.

Also that's not really how you hold most guns. You don't even hold a crossbow like that and it comes with Link's Crossbow training.

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@ 5 "I'm mad that it doesn't even shoot real bullets or launch real frag grenades"

haha

well I don't have any opposition to the design, I'll probably end up purchasing link's crossbow training, but I need to try it out before I can say it's good or not.

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In defense of it, the Zapper will add as much fun to your games as much as the Sports attachments have. For most of us here, that's a bad thing, but to the casualites who actually picked up those Sports packs and enjoyed them, the Zapper'll be a great addition.

Personally, though, when I first saw the E3 '06 prototype, I was hoping for an actual light-gun accessory. Something that added -functionality-. I never liked and still don't like the idea of playing arcade shooters with a -mouse cursor-.

That's why when I hear about "Zapper Compatible" games having a "No-cursor" mode, I get pretty intrigued. I can't imagine it being very accurate, but it beats playing arcade shooters with a mouse cursor.

In the end, I won't be getting it. I'll pick up Link's Crossbow training if I see it in a bargain bin. And if this "No-Cursor Mode" thing picks up with more developers, I'll likely pick up a Brando 2-in-1. Maybe.

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Seems to me the only reason to have this is to make shooting games more immersive. But it's designed so unrealistically that it doesn't accomplish that. So it's something to get just for the novelty of it. There's nothing wrong with that, just not something I'm interested in. I think I feel the same way about the Mario Kart wheel but at least that's packed in with a game we all already wanted. As opposed to Link's Crossbow which is really just a demo for the zapper.

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LeChuck: "Seems to me the only reason to have this is to make shooting games more immersive. But it's designed so unrealistically that it doesn't accomplish that."

And I suppose the fact that a WiiMote doesn't look like a tennis racket/boxing glove/fishing rod/steering wheel/bowling ball/sword/nose-picking finger/pool stick/paper airplane/etc...
detracts from the 'immersiveness' of the games....

Just sayin' :)

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Four words: trigger in the back. And for people who can't figure out how that would work, two more words: bullpup configuration.

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First off, I think it's really ugly. It goes completely against the sleek aesthetics of the Wii.


Second, it just looks like bad design. I mean, the way they designed it, it wouldn't even feel like a gun. There's a reason that the Zapper design is so beloved and it isn't just it's appearence. Even when you knew it was fake, it was fun to wield something that felt somewhat like a real pistol. This is nothing like that.

Finally, it kind of defeats the purpose. I mean, a light gun game with the original Zapper design would be awesome. It would feel just like an arcade game. This is a completely different, unnatural design. It just seems to have been designed around it not looking like a gun so that they did not get in trouble. However, it will make for much less fun games.

I don't know for sure if I will like/dislike it at this point. I'll probably buy it either way. But it still seems poorly designed for a gun peripheral.

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http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/10/e3-the-wii-zapper-prototype-revealed/

Check out the original. THAT would have been awesome.

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I am looking at the zapper from the perspective of having shot many types of firearms in my lifetime. Here is my problem (however, I will probably get one anyway). From the footage that I have seen, a person who is right-handed holds the nunchuck in their left hand, and the sissy-bar portion in their right hand, thus placing the trigger of their virtual gun in their right hand, but up front. To someone who is used to firing real arms, this is rather akward. The overall holding position is reversed. The left arm is no longer used to steady the shot. Also, I have never fired any small arms with a trigger up front. Now, if the Z-butten were used as the trigger with the B-button as a secondary, that would be better for me. I could adjust to navigating with my right hand better than adapting myself to shoot left-handed. It would be nice if zapper compatable games had the option of reconfiguring the buttons to the players preference (maybe that will happen.) But like I said, I will probably get one anyway.

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Why would you constrain the two sets of accelerometers (one in the wiimote and the other in the nunchuck) together?

As far as I can tell, you lose six degrees of freedom (three twist and three linear) with this arrangement, cuz the nunchuck and the wiimote will be registering pretty much the same on their respective accelerometers.

(And yeah, I know the accelerometers won't be seeing _exactly_ the same acceleration, but they're still constrained to the same 6 DOF as each other...)

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they put the shoot button on the wrong handle!

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To me it seems unnecessary, and actually a bit cramped/restrictive. But that may just be me.

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Sorry to all you naysayers out there, but having had some hands on time with the Zapper at E for All (another thing that naysayers, uh, naysaid?) with both Link's Crossbow Training and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, I can tell you all that the Zapper is the real deal. Yes, I get that the same functionality is available without a plastic casing in which to secure my beloved Wiimote and Nunchuck, but the feeling that you are holding a, shall we say, crossbow or machine gun, is inescapable! I LOVE IT!

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GEEZ! Now I've gone back and read all of your comments! I haven't read one other person's remarks that mention having actually held this thing in your hands (except for my own). You guys really all need to put away the preconceptions and try it out; most of you sound rather like all the 'hardcore' gamers who dissed the Wiimote before they tried it... Remember Nintendo's mantra back then? PLAYING IS BELIEVING. Trust me, fellas (and ladies), this thing FEELS awesome!

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I rather like the look. It looks secure. I think two hands will be good because the barrel is going to be heavy. But I agree that the trigger needs to be in the back. I don't need something so real that the police are going to shoot me for carrying it, but it should follow the basic principles of gun design.

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I think the zapper is somewhat pointless. The split hands wiimote/nunchak stance is just really the most relaxed and long lasting stance. I imagine it'll see modest sales.

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If aiming worked on the Wii (look down the "barrell" of your wiimote or zapper, and see if the crosshair shows up where it should on the screen) then this would be way cool.

My preferred way for the sensor bar to work would have been a light at each corner, so the game actually knew the rectangle of the screen and could move the cursor around accurately.

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I could see the entertainment value. However for a right handed person like myself would need to use the zapper in the left hand in order to make use of the analog stick as in a normal game. Which essentially is a contradiction of normal right-handedness. Plus, the trigger should be on the nunchuk, where it would be on a real gun.

The design itself is just flawed for someone who's right handed.

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Does no one see the advantage of this? By having the remote and nunchuck at a exact distance from each other at all times, developers can use the motion from both the chuck and mote for more accuracy and cooler motion use. This can't be done with the nunchuck loose.

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I wanted a shell for the Wiimote that had its own analog stick and buttons - thus replacing the nunchuck. I don't want a casing for the Wiimote AND nunchuck. Leave that crap to the third parties.

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Mike: "And I suppose the fact that a WiiMote doesn't look like a tennis racket/boxing glove/fishing rod/steering wheel/bowling ball/sword/nose-picking finger/pool stick/paper airplane/etc...
detracts from the 'immersiveness' of the games....

Just sayin' :)"

I was referring more to the way you hold and use it than the way it looks. For some of those things like a racket/fishing rod/sword aside from the difference in shape and size you hold the remote pretty much like you would the real object. Regardless, it doesn't seem to me like the Zapper ADDS to the immersiveness and if you're going to ask me to spend $20 on it, it needs to add something.

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Personally, I'm on the fence. Blind fanboy love makes me want it, but at the same time it really just seems like one of those worthless racket attachments. I'll wait till one of my friends get it before I pass judgement.

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It is rediculous because the wii mote is already a pointing device. Also in terms of the design....it isnt long enough...it looks like a retarded uzi. i am a big dude using that thing will make me look like i have T Rex arms.

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