Since the Wii's inception, fans have been clamoring for a 1:1 motion-accurate lightsaber game from LucasArts. And while Nintendo's announcement of the Wii MotionPlus accessory caught developers off guard, it appears that progress is being made toward that ultimate goal--albeit by a less familiar source.

LiveMove 2 is a piece of middleware designed to help developers easily incorporate Wii MotionPlus support into their games. Produced by AiLive, the tools were demonstrated in a short video (below), which shows a developer using a laser sword to knock around objects, including a human figure. [videofeature] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acND4sO3pJs&vq=2&fmt_map=6/720000/7/0/0 [img] http://cdn.shacknews.com/public/images/videopreview/feature/lightmove2.jpg [/img] [/videofeature]

A sequel to Ubisoft's first-person sword and gunplay title Red Steel will make use of Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus peripheral, a device which drastically increases the motion sensitivity of the Wii Remote.

The peripheral was first demonstrated at Nintendo's E3 2008 press conference along with Wii Sports Resort, the only announced title to make use of the device at that time. The game and Wii MotionPlus will be sold together as a bundle in the spring of 2009.

"Red Steel [is] the typical product that will appreciate the new device," Ubisoft executive director Alain Corre told GamesIndustry.biz. "Red Steel 2 has been in development for many months now, and this new device will help us be even more precise in what we do with the product."

Developed by Ubisoft Paris, Red Steel originally shipped for the Wii alongside the console's debut in late 2006. Despite overwhelming hype for the shooter's gunplay and sword-based combat elements, the title was widely panned for its poor... Read more

Following the debut of the Wii MotionPlus peripheral at last week's E3 2008 exhibition, several third party Wii developers told GameInformer that they were not given prior notice of the peripheral's development before its official unveiling.

According to the report, the developers questioned added that they were not briefed of the implementation of the Wii MotionPlus—which promises to bring one-to-one motion control to the Wii Remote—and were doubtful that they would be able to support the device in games currently under development.

Announced at Nintendo's E3 press conference, the Wii MotionPlus peripheral is currently slated as compatible with only a single game, Wii Sports Resort... Read more