The Wii "Laser Sword": Great Idea or Instant Fail?

Kris Erickson • Jul 27, 2008 • Comments (0)

Maybe French peripheral maker Subsonic didn't get the memo, but it doesn't look as though lightsaber combat will feature very heavily in the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Nevertheless, the company felt that this would be a good time to unveil their "Laser Sword" attachment for the Wii console. The sword appears to be nothing more than a stubby rod lit by LEDs that attaches to a regular Wiimote. According to the company's website, the laser sword does illuminate when it senses motion on the part of the player, but unfortunately the "powerful light effects" also require a fair amount of electrical power of their own: the Laser Sword needs a whopping 3 AA batteries (not included) in order to work.

Another potential problem is that the device does not seem to be capable of accomodating the new Motion Plus peripheral attachment. This is actually a major issue, since Nintendo is claiming that the peripheral will add much needed sensitivity for different activities like, say, sword-fighting.

We applaud third-party accessory makers for their wishful thinking, but it seems like we will have a little bit longer to wait for perfect 1:1 lighsaber combat on the Wii.