Mario Kart Wii wheel went through 30 prototypes

Get some plastic, shape it into a circle, cut out a slot for the Wii Remote, and bam, out comes a Wii Wheel. As it would turn out, Nintendo’s driving peripheral that will be integral to Mario Kart Wii required a bit more thought to get just right. Actually, a lot more thought. In Nintendo’s most recent “Ask Iwata” developer interview, Wii Wheel lead designer Kenichiro Ashida explains that the device went through around 30 iterations before finalization.

“While we were making prototypes like these, we went through a process of trial and error,” explained Ashida. “With regard to weight, we thought carefully about how many grams would best suit gameplay. When considering durability, we wanted to make something strong using thick materials, but increasing the weight by even 30 grams would have been considered too heavy for some people. We eventually designed it to be as light as possible so people could use it for a long time without getting tired too quickly.”

Weight and durability weren’t the only factors Ashida and his team grappled with in the wheels design. Concerns spanned from where it would be best to house the wheel to how to best accommodate button positioning to whether the shape should be circular or rectangular.

Miyamoto, who was also party to the “Ask Iwata” interview, succinctly summarized Ashida’s process, saying, “It costs a lot, so we needed it to do a lot of work!”

[via Gamespot]

wii wheel
14.99$ at WiiNintendo’s Online Store



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  • shanoboy

    I never felt like I needed a wheel when playing excite truck, so I wonder if this is even really necessary.

  • http://WiiNintendo.net Wishale

    Ofcourse its not necessary, but Nintendo will get money where ever they can. (I.E. The Light Gun)

    Still looks pretty cool though.

  • http://www.xanga.com/relaxing_roth Roth

    It’s just a way to make people who don’t play games (yeah, the person standing in the back only to watch because the games look so complex) want to say, “Hey, that looks easy. Can I give it a try?”
    Once they adjust, they’ll learn where all the buttons are.

    The rest of us who are already familiar with Excite Truck wouldn’t need it though.

    // Roth

  • Rob

    I have a cheap wheel, one of the ones that came out a long time ago.

    I will say that it actually makes the games a lot more interesting, playing with the wheel vs without is a complete different experience, and I think it is good.

    However, I feel that the cheap crappy wheel I have is good enough, I’m not going to spend more money (even if i didn’t already have a wheel) on an expensive wheel that went through unnecessary “testing” and prototypes 30 times…

    I think if you get this with the game okay, but if you need or want a wheel for any reason and don’t get the game buy the cheapest one possible

  • Nintenterd

    look at that brown wii wheel in the picture of the article, its like a brown gel type, it reminds me of a condom. -.-