This Sunday, Nintendo is releasing Wii Sports Resort, a game that many are saying lays the groundwork for future additions in the Pilotwings, Star Fox, and Legend of Zelda franchises. It wouldn't be wrong to assume other games, such as Kid Icarus, also following in that same mindset, are being made possible by one thing: the Wii MotionPlus. With over 400k sold in America before the flagship title has even been released (with many likely attached to EA's supported sports titles), it isn't a stretch to call MotionPlus a hit, and that's exactly what Nintendo was planning on.

No, not just for Resort, but for all of their major franchises.

The way I see it, there were three ways Nintendo could have gone about releasing games when they knew that the Wii MotionPlus was around the corner:

  1. They could have released the games without Wii MotionPlus support.
  2. They could have announced a few titles at E3 before the peripheral had come out.
  3. They could wait, and announce games with MotionPlus support after the device has sold million of units.

If they would have followed option one, it would have been to the detriment of their games. Nintendo could develop a Star Fox title, knowing that the peripheral was around the corner, thus intentionally preventing themselves from really making the game they want to make. Following option 2 wouldn't be much better. It would have led to many people feeling a bit betrayed, as if Nintendo was shoving MotionPlus support into games simply to move more units.

The third option, though, and the one that it looks like they are following, makes the most sense. Early reviews on MotionPlus are wholly optimistic, with Wii Sports Resort doing a great job at showing everyone the possibilities. We're soon going to be comfortable with the controller to steer, fly planes, and control characters in 1:1 flight.

We, as gamers, are going to be frothing at the mouth over full versions of these games, skinned to be like our favorite characters. In other words, MotionPlus likely lead to the delay of dozens of Nintendo properties. This was what they wanted the Wiimote to be like all along, and they are finally ready to show us what they can do.