The Wii Remote API

The Wii Remote API

As well as responding to normal JavaScript key and mouse events, the Internet Channel on Wii provides an API that allows you to access some of the motion sensitivity information for the Wii Remotes. This allows you to build interactive pages that respond to up to four Wii Remotes at a time.

( Read the article )

Great article, but how would I access the Wiimote API from within a Flash Movie? Nearly all web games are Flash based. I have tried JavaScript to Flash communication (through the SetVariable, TCallLabel technique), but that doesn't seem to work on the Wii. Any thoughts?

Why am I getting "Access Denied" when trying to load the article?

I posted a thread asking where it went, and a moderator directed me to the google cache. He didn't say why it's gone but if you'd like to read it you can: http://209.85.135.104/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=cache:http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/the-wii-remote-api/&sourceid=opera

I specifically joined this forum for information on how to develop better web applications for the Wii.

If this is the kind of support I can expect, maybe I shouldn't have bothered.

My take on the disappearance:
Web applications of sufficient sophistication become competitors to the software Nintendo sells via the Wii, like the classic games. However, Nintendo needs that functionality in the Opera browser because they use the browser for some of their own applications. I believe the store uses it. So they obfuscate it, which of course has worked so well in the past.

Dang, the Cache says Access Denied now too. Please fix this soon!

~DtD

Any word on the missing articles? We barely had time to glance over them...

I saved the cached version while it was still working. Here's a link to it... if there's some bizarre coverup going on to prevent people from accessing this -- which I can't imagine why there would be, but OTOH I can't fathom why we get "Access Denied" on the article either, so go figure -- then someone can just edit out the link I guess.

http://www.keepmyfile.com/download/bc37681802958

Dunno what's up with the whole cover up thing, but the example files that were in the article are still up. Perhaps you could do some reverse engineering, etc:
http://devfiles.myopera.com/articles/149/wiicanvasgame.html
http://devfiles.myopera.com/articles/149/browsingbuttons.html
http://devfiles.myopera.com/articles/149/buttonlist.html
http://devfiles.myopera.com/articles/149/remotedata.html

There is a new Wii system update available, which struck me as odd because it appears just days after the last update. Supposedly it fixes opera "lockup issues". The conspiracy theorist in me is telling me to hold off on applying that "fix".

Has anyone out there applied the latest patch. If so, did it also kill the remote api?

I'll check it out this evening.

Wow. What a disappointment...I am really keen to develop web applications for the Wii. I have been searching for the past hour or so, looking at all of the now expired 'cache' links regarding the Wii API. Opera, could you please tell us what's going on?

~ D

Interested in Wiimote API.

Opera, what's up?

I wrote a simple program to test the Wii Remote API. It's pretty easy to use. The thing I have an issue with is that the tilt data stops updating when the cursor is off of the screen. This severely limits the types of programs I can write. Curiously, when the remote is pointed directly away from the TV, the tilt data resumes updating. I would also like to have access to the accelerometer data.

I'm guessing that Opera had to dumb down the API at Nintendo's request. Sadly, this limits the creative potential of many developers who are anxious to program for this novel controller setup.

For the love of God, give us at least an answer!

Thanks for the answer - looking forward to getting it back... I bought a Wii remote purely so I could do some interesting things with websites - please could you reinstate it as soon as possible!

I'm glad I implemented the Wii Remote functionality in the Wii Opera SDK before the article was removed.

So last post was the 15th it is now the 29th and the article is still access denied. whats up?

I'm going to have to say that for various reasons, I'm not happy with the current WiiMote API's out there. So, I decided to sign up and make my own. But, look what I found. The API docs pulled. Not only that, but according to the FAQ linked above, we have the A and B buttons "unavailable" after 10/10/07.

Is Opera and Nintendo working at sabotaging any chance to see devs and there users happy? Because I gotta say, I'm certainly not happy at this point.

@chrismills:

Thank you for your reply.

There's the rub. Once it's published it's published... period. In fact, I've already downloaded and read this article (and Nintendo's FAQ entry).

A couple points based on my reading while you're discussing with Nintendo i.e. please fix the API.

One serious shortcoming, which rather irritates me (and I imagine others) is that different methods are REQUIRED for getting the info from the primary WiiMote and the others. I have no idea who's idea this was, but it's absolutely ridiculous to REQUIRE two different methods for getting the info from the WiiMotes.

So, why? Why was/is it not possible to get the info for ALL WiiMotes through a single method? I'm *not* saying that the javascript events for the primary should be axed. But, to artificially complicate (and artificially cripple - Nunchuk disabled on primary) the interface to the WiiMotes is insane. I have to say that having certain buttons unavailable on one WiiMote, yet available on others is ridiculous enough never mind that this unavailability can change from one WiiMote to another under certain circumstances. etc

Another shortcoming is that the WiiMote state is not updated when the WiiMote is not pointed at (around) the screen. How exactly are people supposed to use the WiiMote like a "NES" controller if this is the case? Now I KNOW that it is possible to still get info from the WiiMote while it is *not* pointed at the screen because I've played NES games through the Virtual Console and there is already a game out that uses the WiiMote as a steering wheel. To disable this usage by crippling the interface is not exactly helping developers make use of this tech.

All the above does is make things more difficult for developers which is *never* a good idea regardless if it /could/ be considered just a "inconvenience" (which it certainly isn't just) i.e. API's are *not* there to be programmed around because of poor design. In other words, though I have no doubts that you guys at Opera are (as you say) NOT intent on sabotaging efforts, because of the deliberate crippling of features, the situation doesn't exactly seem to have ended up that way.

As a developer that is keen on making some Opera/Wii only stuff, I'm requesting that the same method for polling the WiiMotes be included for the primary WiiMote as well and please enable updates that can be done as long as the WiiMote is Enabled. After all, such things just make sense.

For anyone who's interested:

http://www.nintendo.com/wii/what/faq#section3_sub1

Wii have no Web.

The ONLY web browser that is available on the platform has received a "Cease and Desist" letter from Nintendo.

The Wii friendly portals (http://www.yuwii.com/ for example) out there turn up more dead links than live ones.

A search for "Wii" at http://www.FreshMeat.Net, the nexus of all things open source, gets a grand total of ONE Wii Web project.

There is no Web for Wii.