I didn't know it when I bought it, but the Wii MotionPlus only works on games designed to be used with the Wii MotionPlus. I was expecting it to enhance all of my games, but this was not the case at all. More Wii games are going to be released that support this controller add-on, but for right now there's very little reason to spend $20 on one separately unless you want to have two players in Wii Sports Resort or the handful of other games that currently support it.

The Wii MotionPlus came out in June of 2009 and its purpose is to fine tune the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote. According to the Wikipedia, this device using a dual-axis tuning fork type sensor that allows it to better read rotation, which in turn picks up other motion. The result is that it picks up more subtle movements and makes for a much more precise game controller. The regular Wii Remote controller does well with big movements, but not so much with more subtle flicks of the wrist. This Wii MotionPlus is designed to bridge that gap in order to more accurately sense your range of motion.

The MotionPlus connects to the bottom of the Wii Remote and is about an inch long. It doesn't add much weight to the controller, but it definitely feels bigger in your hand. It plugs in and locks in place where you would connect toe Wii Nunchuck, but also has a slot at the bottom so you can still connect the Nunchuck. Nintendo also ships the MotionPlus inside of its own rubber casing because it needs a bigger one. If you are playing a game that doesn't support the MotionPlus, you can still leave it connected without making any difference.

So far, my only experience with the MotionPlus is from playing Wii Sports Resort, which comes bundled with one. I'll detail that experience more in a review of Wii Sports Resort. Suffice to say, it does work a lot better than the standard Wii Remote. I also bought an extra one so my wife and I could play together. Below you will find a list of the games currently known to support the MotionPlus controls. Some of these haven't even been released yet. I don't know about you, but this seems like an awfully short list.

Wii Sports Resort
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
Grand Slam Tennis
Red Steel 2
Virtua Tennis 2009
Kidz Sports - Crazy Mini Golf
Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked
NHL 2K10
Academy of Champions
Gladiator A.D.
The Grinder
Span Smasher
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
SpongeBob's Truth or Square

I think the Wii MotionPlus has tons of potential to enhance gameplay, and I hope it continues to be supported by future game development. Since it is so new, I'm sure there is some reluctance for game companies to make it a requirement. It reminds me a little of the memory expansion pack that was made for the Nintendo 64 and how it would only enhance certain games.

Had I known that so few games would make use of it, I probably would have held off on getting the Wii Motion Plus. I am usually not an early adopter when it comes to technology because you often get screwed over when buying into something that doesn't take off. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo did not eventually just start making a new type of Wii Remote that already has the MotionPlus technology built into it.

Recommended: Yes