Rumor: 360 Getting Wiimote of its Own

It wouldn’t be particularly surprising if Xbox 360 gets some sort of motion sensitive controller during its life. Sony launched with the Sixaxis and the Wiimote has been a tremendous success for Nintendo, so it’s only a natural move for Microsoft to call their move. But I think we’d all be surprised if that controller was essentially a direct rip of the Wiimote.

According to an anonymous source that spoke with MTV’s Patrick Klepek, development of a Wii remote style controller for Xbox 360 has been ongoing since last summer. Rare has been working on “creating a unified interface and look for the controller” but the company has had trouble with making its deadlines. Gee, a Rare-developed product getting delayed? Shocking.

Microsoft doled out the usual “no comment” line when contacted, but the source suggests that the controller would serve for more than Wii Sports ripoffs.

“They want the usual assortment of ‘Halo’/ ‘Gears’/ ‘Forza’/ whatever, just in waggle form,” the source explained.

“The whole thing is a colossal clusterf—,” as the source colorfully put it. “[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.”

Wiimotes wouldn’t be the only thing Microsoft lifts from the Wii, either; Miis would become a prominent feature, albeit with more detail that their Nintendo counterparts.

Whether or not the project will ever get anywhere remains to be seen. “Microsoft is trying to decide how to get something out by the end of the year,” claimed MTV News’ source.

While I know many of you will be prone to skepticism, an FAQ was written to address some of the common questions being asked (natch). MTV claims, “MTV News has been doing background reporting on this story for several months, but only recently felt the facts were solid enough to file a report.”

note: the image above is an MS Paint sketch by the anonymous source; it’s by no means something official

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