Secret microphone discovered in Wii Remote?
If we recall correctly, there had always been rumours that the Wii Remote would house some kind of microphone. It was only until it was officially unveiled that we discovered that Nintendo had not included any such communication device. However, some clever clogs’ over at CNN Money think they might have dug out a little secret concerning a piece of the controller’s innards.
An investigation over at CNN Money in which a Wii Remote was dissected and studies found that the device might house the technology for voice communication already. After taking a screwdriver to the Remote, technicians found an audio translator chip, which “converts analogue data such as human speech into a digital data stream.”
Hello? Microphone, are you in here?
The article did not reveal whether or not this means that the internal built-in speaker can be used as an input for sound, only concluding that “this feature is unused now, but will probably be employed in future games.”
The suggestions arrive in the light of current software development for the Nintendo Wii, including Disney’s High School Musical, which it is thought will make use of some sort of microphone peripheral.
Interesting, indeed. Nintendo has yet to comment on the findings.
Interesting!
probably have to pay to download an unlock update..
hey nintendo isent microsoft they dont make you pay for stupid stuff
Meh, its a lie. It’ll never come out. IT requires a whole new Wiimote, which will cost around 100 bucks easily.
Umm, accelerometers output sinusoidal analog signal data similar to voices, their frequency response under 10khz just like voices, and the audio transducer isn’t really connected to the analog inputs of the audio translator chip. Conspiracy theories abound, but I say it is a conspiracy to convert analog accelerometer data into a digital value for feeding into the console via the systems bluetooth connectivity.
well this would make it possible for a headset to be plugged into the wiimote…plug in through the bottom and have a spot to still plug the nunchuk in.
Nintendo doesn’t make you pay for extra stuff like Microsoft does? Oh come on.
A Wii controller essentially costs you $60, considering remotes/nunchucks are sold seperately. You have to dish out $30 for an adapter to hook your Wii up to Ethernet (or chance a third party adapter, which still makes you drop a few bucks). Not to mention you clearly need an additional headset/microphone to make use of the chip from this article.
The worst part is, if we ever get a microphone/headset, you can bet I’ll be spending the money to own one for Wi-Fi communication. I’m such a tool.
You don’t have to buy an Ethernet adapter if you have a router in your house…
But make sure it’s a WIRELESS router…
would you rather pay double for the base configuration with a bunch of crap you don’t need? like windows for example?
or a nice simple set for a good price would do?