Wii MotionPlus gets June 12th release date

Nintendo has named June 12th as the day that it will release its motion-enhancing Wii MotionPlus peripheral in Europe – a full six weeks before the arrival of Wii Sports Resort on July 24th.

Wii MotionPlus comes in the form of a dongle that plugs into the bottom of a Wii Remote. It provides the Wii with a far greater level of motion-sensing accuracy and in theory will pave the way for true motion-mapping on the console.

Everyone who has played the Wii can remember the moment they first discovered its intuitive controls and realised that this was an incredible new way of experiencing video games,” Nintendo’s European MD of marketing and PR Laurent Fischer stated.

Wii MotionPlus will create that feeling again, taking gameplay to a new level of realism. And with Wii Sports Resort, people will get the chance to immerse themselves in a hugely fun set of games that are designed to make the very best of this exciting new technology.”

Other titles that will use the add-on include Sega’s Virtua Tennis 2009, which is due for release in late May, as well as EA duo Grand Slam Tennis (June) and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (autumn).