Report: Wii-like Remote in Development for Xbox 360

According to MTV News, Microsoft has been working on a Wii Remote-like motion sensitive controller for its Xbox 360 console since last summer, citing an unnamed developer who had been briefed on the controller.

The source provided MTV News with a decidedly lo-fi sketch of the controller (pictured left), and claims that the controller isn't very different in functionality from Nintendo's Wii remote. It incorporates four face buttons, an analog stick, a speaker and a microphone. The source added that there are plans for the controller to interact with the Xbox Live Vision Camera.

The controller is supposedly part of a much more ambitious plan than a simple response to Nintendo's waggle-centric casual lineup.

"They want the usual assortment of Halo, Gears, Forza, whatever, just in waggle form," the source told MTV News. "[Microsoft] marketing just want it so they can match the Wii point for point. The biggest parts of their marketing materials outline how easy it would be for third parties to port their Wii games to the 360."

It was also said that Microsoft tasked its wholly-owned studio Rare (Perfect Dark Zero, Banjo-Kazooie) with creating a unified interface and look for the controller, as well as designing a Mii-like avatar system to accompany it in any game which makes use of the remote.

The success of Nintendo's Wii console and Sony's adoption of motion-sensing control with the PS3's Sixaxis controller have led many to speculate on Microsoft's plans for an entry into the motion-sensing sphere. Though the company has never denied an interest in motion-sensitive controllers, there has been no official word on development from Microsoft itself to date.