Nintendo: No Delay, High Voltage: It Didn't "Fit"

Recently, we reported on the rumor that Nintendo's highly awaited accessory, MotionPlus, could be delayed past its expected June launch window.  Nintendo seems to think otherwise.

A Nintendo representative told CVG that "No date was ever announced for MotionPlus - so technically it can't be delayed."  While some gaming sites seem to think otherwise, no argument seems to penetrate Nintendo's technicality.  Of course, we now have free reign to speculate that this is another way of saying there are development delays, and Nintendo doesn't want to comment on it.

High Voltage Clarification

In related news, High Voltage CEO Eric Nofsinger commented on his previous announcement that MotionPlus will not be supported in The Conduit.  In an email to 1Up, Nofsinger says:

"We could have included support for Wii MotionPlus as Nintendo provided us with early hardware and good developer support... However when we actually implemented it for the Conduit, it didn't really add anything for our primarily ranged combat. We had hoped that it would allow for better off screen IR tracking, but the device seems to lend itself more naturally for hand to hand combat where the player can calibrate in-between bouts. And that just doesn't feel like an optimal fit for how we had designed our moment to moment gameplay."

According to the email, High Voltage worked on prototype melee weapons specifically tailored to MotionPlus, to find them promising.  Eventually, they were tossed out since there wouldn't be enough time to polish them up prior to the game's June release.

To set more minds at ease, Nofsinger also spent a bit of time discussing the use of Wii Speak, admitting that "it did take a colossal amount of effort from our audio engineers, it has really paid off and made for [a] great online multiplayer feature."

While he claims Wii Speak to be a "fantastic fit," Nofsinger says MotionPlus is not fit for The Conduit's moment to moment gameplay.  Anyone else surprised?

More interestingly, and the source of this MotionPlus delay rumor, is that Nofsinger seems to confirm our worst fears:

"...the device seems to lend itself more naturally for hand to hand combat where the player can calibrate in-between bouts."  If one of High Voltage's issues in working with MotionPlus was the requirement to calibrate between "bouts," that seems to validate IGN's concerns as well.  Which means... we expect MotionPlus delays.

Source: CVG (via Kotaku) and 1Up