Nintendo has had less of an uphill battle with the Wii than they had with the Nintendo DS mainly because the success of the Nintendo DS earned them a lot of respect to do whatever they wanted.

If Sony or Microsoft came out with motion controls instead of Nintendo (in particular if the PS3 or XBox 360 had the Wiimote+nunchuck) I'm not too sure they could have been successful. Ubisoft, Activision and EA gave the Wii the support they did because of how successful the DS was and how inexpensive Wii development was; trying to convince "the suits" that motion controls would be successful and to devote $20 Million to exclusive projects would have been impossible without a track record of success of inovative console design.

 There is one problem with that theory, and it all goes back the ´Simpsons did it´ episode of South Park.  Nintendo is the only original gaming company still kick´n, and if it wasnt for Sony jumping to CD´s before Nintendo, Nintendo would have never lost their sempremacy.  People buy what they are used to unless a competitor makes a sinificant change and/or improvement that tears the consumer away.  Well, geuss what?  Nintendo just got that back, and now MS and Sony have no choice but to move with the times as well (because its hard to deny that there is no improvment they could really make without doing something different, although not necasarily what Nintendoes) When MS and Sony release their next console (along with Nintendo) with all 3 having motion-sensitivity, everyone will be more comfortable with Nintendo, because ´NINTENDO DID IT, NINTENDO DID IT.´  So MS and Sony have to make their first, so even if it is better than the CURRENT wiimote, it wont matter. Nintendo already know what they are doing, and can make bigger, more solid and higher quality motion-sensitive controller.  They know how it works, whats wrong with it, and whats right about it, and they have a fun little thing known as a pattent. hehe

In other words, you think Sony will include an Eyetoy3 in every PS4 because of the success of the Wii, instead of making it an option as it had been these last two generations?  Motion controls have been out there a while.  Nintendo was just the first to make it standard in their console (if you don't count this system http://www.xavix.com ).

Eye Toy is kinda fun, but I could not see it playing..."real games" if you will. Its too simplistic and a little ahead of its time.  Besides,  I question whether the elimination of buttons would ever make it.  Im not gonna say some things would always need buttons, because thats not really true, but I feel right now buttons are just better for things.  Thats why the Wiimote is so great, because (although some people like to "forget") it has a good amount of buttons.  Im not saying someday buttons wont be eliminated all together, but right now I feel it would be too big a step.

If MS and Sony had motion controls on the consoles they have out now I think they would be in a worse position. They would have to price their respective systems a little higher due to the R&D costs they would incur developing their own motion controls. Hence, they would be selling less consoles then they are now.

I think that the prices would still be too high for most consumers. Though I think it would hurt Nintendo by taking off the hype.

Technically, the sensor bar doesn't 'sense' anything, it is only utilized for the IR pointer. It is elongated with multiple "stereo" IR emitters at each end to allow the Wii remote to detect orientation for games that use the IR pointer or for navigating the channel menus.

Consider a single setup emitter/receiver as what you have in your TV, VCR, DVD, et al already. You need only aim the appropriate remote (the emitter) in the general direction of the appliance (the receiver) and you can control its functions. Your TV doesn't "know" if you're aiming to the left of the TV, to the right, or behind your head and down a hallway -- either you're within range and aiming at the TV, or you're not.

The sensor bar, in effect, does the exact same thing, though in reverse. The sensor bar emitters broadcast IR spectrum out, and the Wii remote receives these signals to determine which side of the TV is the left, and which is the right. That's it! Speed of motion, Up, Down, Pitch, Roll, Yaw ... all of that is handled internally by the accelerometers. A simple test that demonstrates how the IR works is to move closer to a large screen TV and attempt to navigate the channel menus. You'll find the cursor placement is distorted up close, because the range of motion is limited to the two ends of the sensor bar's width. All of this IR pointer data is relayed back to the console via the Bluetooth communication in the Wii remote. The cable connecting the sensor bar to the Wii is a power supply cable only. The bar doesn't "do" anything other than emit light. You can remove the sensor bar entirely and just set other working TV remotes on top of your television pointing back at you and the system still functions. I've also read that placing lit candles on both sides of the TV may work under certain lighting conditions.

The motion control aspects of the Wii Remote is entirely composed of the accelerometers within the remote. They relay speed relative to themselves when at complete rest via the Bluetooth connection to the Wii console.

In Wii Sports Tennis, for example, which does not utilize the IR pointer, and therefore doesn't require the remote 'see' the sensor bar, you can swing regardless of the direction either you or the Wii remote is facing, provided you're within the Bluetooth range of the Wii console. Orientation is completely relative for motion controls.

I have enough romote controls. Just because you point there remote at the Tv doesnt mean it is any better. In fact I think that the design of the PS controller is perfect. It has very good ergonomics, enough buttons to allow for in-depth game play, and all of the buttons are well placed, as are the analog sticks. Sony needs to just keep there design the same...just as they did. Adding motion is cool, and now they are putting back rumble.....I was never a fan of any way....so they are where they should be on the controller front.

I can tell you now I'm dying to play Halo 3 with the Wii-mote, I'd love if they came out with it for the 360 just for Halo 3 alone.

The PS3 controller is a remote control too, a much inferior controller to the Wiimote. It is also better than conventional remotes. Don't be surprised to see remotes for all devices hooked up to your TV to start using the same technology. It is a far superior way of navigating through countless menus.

Keeping things the same is a good way of staying behing the competition. One of the many reasons the PS3 is not selling.