Paul Henry Smith has devoted himself to promoting and improving the digital performance of orchestral music. So how does he do this? Well, lots of ways, but to keep the idea relevant to your interests, he uses a Wii Remote and Balance Board.

As you can see in the above video, Smith leans left and right to raise and lower the volume of different sections of his Fauxharmonic Orchestra, and waves his Wii Remote like a conductor’s baton to control the tempo. I don’t know about you, but I would be interested in a Wii game based on that idea.

The Fauxharmonic Orchestra
via Balance Board Blog

Deja vu! Nintendo is being sued by the Ohio-based company, Motiva, who claim that Nintendo’s Wii Remote is a violation of a patent they filed in May of 2004. The patent involves a “hand-held tracking device in communication with a base station that can be used to create an interactive gaming experience, among other capabilities.”

The Lanier Law Firm, counsel for Motiva, had this to say:

Using someone else’s technology without permission is theft.

Editors note: The dictionary disagrees. You’d think a lawyer would know that.

Nintendo makes video games where you get to play a thief, but that doesn’t give them the right to be one.

Well they’re obviously talking about Link’s Awakening, pictured above.

GameDaily

A Japanese retailer event today (or tomorrow there? I don’t know…) has confirmed a few interesting details for Japanese Wii owners. They are as follows:

• Captain Rainbow will launch in Japan on August 28 for ¥6,800 (or $63.32 USD)
• Wii Music will launch in Japan on October 16 for ¥5,800 (or $54 USD).
• Colored Wrist Straps (in white, pink, blue, and green) for Wii Remotes will be available for ¥300 each ($2.79). Packs of four will be available for ¥1000.
• Valkyrie Profile will launch in Japan for the Nintendo DS on October 2 for ¥5040 (or $46.93 USD)

I guess coloring the wrist straps is one way of providing colors to Wii owners while still trying to quench Wii demand in a single color. I hear wrist straps on electronics are huge in Japan, so I expect those to be promptly snapped up.

NeoGAF

Among the many terms I try to avoid using on this site, “Wiimote” is definitely high on the list. Sure, I may slip a few times, but the fact is it’s not Nintendo’s name for the iconic Wii Remote. Now, it turns out that the “Wiimote” term coined by the fans has caused permanent damages to Fobis Technologies.

Fobis’ Weemote is a child-targetted TV remote that has had its name trademarked since 2000. When Nintendo fan use of the term “Wiimote” destroyed their product’s identity, the company conceded and looked to sell the trademark to Nintendo while working to rebrand its product. Unfortunately for Fobis, Nintendo has nothing to gain from such a deal, and declined the offer.

You’d hope that Nintendo would lend a hand to a company hurt by the release of the Wii, seeing as Nintendo owns the Wiimote trademark in Europe and the Wiimote domain name in Canada. Thanks to Mike for the heads up.

TIME
via Game Politics

The Wii’s waggle plus 360’s HD graphics? That’s a good three years off, right? Maybe not. Speaking with Geoff Keighley, Nintendo of America’s president remained open to the possibility of working with Microsoft in licensing the Wii Remote. Here’s an excerpt from the video clip, cleaned up by me from the original transcript:

Keighley: I was talking to Microsoft and they didn’t announce their motion controller. John Schappert was saying he’d love to talk to you about the idea of using the Wii-mote to work with the 360. Gonna happen?
Reggie: You know those Wii-60 rumors continue to…
Keighley: Schapper said, he’d be open to having that meeting.
Reggie: You know it’s interesting, for us, we said…
Keighley: Not gonna happen, right?
Reggie: We said during our press conference that we’re about making people smile, and what’s thrilling is…
Keighley: Gotta make him [John Schappert] smile.
Reggie: …with Mr. Miyamoto and Mr. Iwata and these fantastic experiences we bring to the market, we do believe we make people smile, and that’s what is giving us the momentum in the market place. You know, in terms of, you know, other people, you know, trying to tack on to our technology and our approach…
Keighley: …and your success…
Reggie: …and our momentum in the market place, you know, it’s… We’ll see…

Remember when Bill Gates said he wouldn’t hesitate to purchase Nintendo? My, how the tables have turned. It’d be interesting to see what details would have to be part of the deal for such a Wii/360 collaboration - I would imagine both Nintendo and Microsoft having to deal with egos. You can view the video of the above interview after the break.

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The Wiimote is already one of the most versatile units on the market, with more technology crammed into its glossy shell than you can shake a stick at. One of the biggest problems, however, is the reluctance of developers to strive for the 1:1 motion control that makes games so intuitive.

It looks like this is what Nintendo is aiming for with the add on, which can only mean one thing: lightsabers. And Red Steel may finally be more fun than eating mud. On second thought, that game needs much more help than this, and let’s be honest, I love eating mud. Nintendo’s press release after the break. Expect more at tomorrow’s press conference.

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