If shots from the barrel of Mr. Blurrycam just aren't legitimate enough for you, how's about corroboration from The Wall Street Journal? A breaking report has confirmed that Microsoft is indeed "developing a new videocamera for its Xbox 360 videogame console that will allow players to control games with the movement of their bodies," or at least that's the good word from the all-too-supposing "people familiar with the matter." It's noted that unlike Nintendo's Wii, the Microsoft camera won't require gamers to "hold any hardware in their hands to control in-game action," but in the same vein as The Big N, it seems as if the device will debut at E3 only to sit around in a lab for a year before shipping to consumers. Boo.

[Thanks, Chuck]

Here's a wild one. We just got a tip from someone who purports to be in the know on Microsoft's efforts to beat the Wii at its own motion-sensing game, with some of the details lining up with what we were hearing last year along these lines. The word is that Microsoft is building a "sensor bar" of sorts, but instead of detecting the waggles of Wiimote-like controllers, it detects full body movement and sound, sans controllers. There are two sensors on the bar, along with a mic and a camera, and while our tipster has "no idea" how it actually works, it sounds pretty impressive. Here's a quick rundown of capabilities mentioned:

• Full body and hand gesture control of games / characters.
• In fighting games you kick, punch, duck, dive, jump and so forth with your body.
• It also picks up small hand gestures like pinching, grabbing and scrolling.
• There will also be video conferencing and games with video.
• Trivia game over the internet with live images of each person playing. When a question pops up, they can clap to buzz in.
• You can "move objects on your screen" and the other party can see what you're doing in real time.
• Sensor detects only the person playing, not folks observing on the couch.

We're rather curious as to what those two mystery sensors on the bar are doing, since there's specific mention of a lack of controllers. Perhaps they add depth perception to whatever the camera is picking up on video, but we guess we'll have to wait and find out. Of course, this could all be an elaborate hoax, but for what it's worth the picture appears undoctored, and the story is plausible. Either way, it's only natural for Microsoft to be looking to duplicate -- and expand upon -- the wild success Nintendo has enjoyed with motion-controlled gaming. And if they don't, Sony sure will.

So, your Wii sensor bar has slid down the back of your TV for the umpteenth time and you just aren't up for diving into the rats nest of cables this time, maybe this time you should just leave it there. You can pick up this Wireless Sensor Bar for a mere $4, a quarter of what you'll pay for most competing products. Of course, they're using the term "wireless" liberally here, and the bit about being "detected automatically by your Wii console" is pure rubbish -- all it takes is a pair of IR emitters, or even a couple candles to make a sensor bar replacement -- but we'll let it slide for this kind of price.

[Via Wii News]

We can't definitively say that a travel-friendly sensor bar is undoubtedly superior to a wireless sensor bar, but for those who can in fact say that, Talismoon has you covered. The Sensor Wiire is nothing more than an ultra-compact Wii sensor bar that features a pair of sensing blocks on a retractable spool, but it'll serve as a satisfactory replacement for your factory bar when hittin' the road with your console. Click on through for a couple more pics, and be sure to hit the read link if you're looking to snag your own for $24.95.

[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]

It's no secret that the candles can serve as a substitute for the Wii's sensor bar in a pinch, but our pals at Joystiq decided to push the console's candlelight-capabilities to the limit and see if a menorah would help their Wii Sports game at all. While the gameplay advantage is still in question, as video after the break shows, the menorah backed up the Wiimote just fine, with only the occasional hiccup in movement. Sadly, our Festivus-related experiments have proved to be less effective.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

Looking to cut that pesky cord off your Wii's sensor bar but unwilling to mod it, build one from scratch, or make do with candles or TV remotes? Well, it looks like the inevitable has finally happened, with the first pre-built wireless sensor bars now available for sale for the low, low price of $24.99 (plus $5.99 shipping and handling). Supposedly, it'll give you the same range as the standard Wii sensor bar and run for a full 48 hours on a single 9V battery, with an on/off switch to conserve battery life. Of course, WirelessSensorBar.com isn't exactly the most well-known video game accessory maker, so we can't vouch for their legitimacy but, for the time being at least, it looks like they're the only game in town.

[Via Joystiq]

For those Wii owners with abnormally large living rooms, projector TV setups, or a particular penchant for tricking out their console just 'cause, take heed. Without the need for candles, IR hacks, PCBs, soldering, or even (visibly) voiding your warranty, you to can hack that Wii sensor bar to make it wireless for $8 (or less). Simply head to Radio Shack and snag:

1. Five-pack of 9V battery snap connectors (~$2, part #270-325)
2. Twenty four-pack (single pack) of 22-26 gauge wire butt connectors (part #64-3073)
3. 9V battery

Now just strip your 9V battery connector wires, crimp those to the power pins of your Sensor bar with the butt connectors (battery red to Wii red, battery black to Wii orange). We have no idea how long it'll last -- nor do we make guarantees that it'll work or won't fry your bar -- but peep AVS for some more details on this and other Wii hacks.

Well that was fun. Hardly a week ago we still believed in Santa Clause and that magickal properties lay within the Wii sensor bar. Now it turns out that not only was NORAD lying to us all this time, but the Wii sensor bar can be replaced by a couple of candles without throwing off our Zelda spin attack one bit. Those brave souls over at Joystiq dusted off their candelabra to give it a shot, after rumors of such doings emerged on the internets, and it appears that those rumors were not exaggerated. Of course, having a couple of candles obstructing the screen isn't quite an optimal Wii-ing situation, but it's always good to know that instead of reading a book by candlelight when the power goes out, we can just fire up our Wii and... wait. Damn. Well, it's kind of cool anyways. Peep the video after the break.

As some early Wii adopters have discovered, the Wii's sensor bar turns out to be far less complicated than it seems at first glance, consisting of nothing more than a couple of standard IR emitters, with that lengthy cord cluttering up your living room supplying nothing but a trickle of power to the device. While even a couple of standard TV remotes can serve as a substitute in a pinch, for a more workable wireless solution you'll have to bring your DIY skills to bear. Thankfully, as Brian "DoctaBu" Moore explains on his LiveJournal, the process is about as simple as homebrew projects get, requiring only an inexpensive trip to Radio Shack and some minimal soldiering abilities. While it ain't pretty, the contraption pictured above will let you enjoy a game of Wii Sports bowling (at your own risk) and rid one more wire from your life at the same time. Of course, if you're still hesitant to get your hands dirty, you can bet that there'll be more than a few third-party (if not first-party) options finding their way to store shelves before too long.

We're sure most of you Wii users are too busy Googling Zelda walkthroughs or chucking your Wiimote at the TV right now to give this hack much notice, but if you're the type that just has to know how something works and then destroy it utterly (you know who you are), then you might want to have a looksee at this one. Apparently some enterprising hax0rs tore apart their Wii sensor bar, only to find a couple of standard IR emitters. It turns out the "sensor" bar doesn't actually sense at all, it just sends out a pair of IR beams which can then be triangulated by the Wiimote. This of course opens up the possibility of DIY sensor bars and other related (performance enhancing?) hacks, but it still won't do much to help you through that extended "intro" phase in Twilight Princess, so sorry. Click on to view the vid of a custom-rigged sensor bar in action.

[Via Joystiq]

It's hard to think of that cute little Wii box harboring vampiric tendencies, but beyond its Nintendo-confirmed aversion to halogen lights, the Wii sensor bar apparently can't handle your garden variety sunlight either. This little "quirk" was discovered by OMBRENOIR17, an official Warpstar Knight over at the Nintendo NSider Forums, who experienced an hour of downtime at a recent Wii demonstration at Nintendo World when the Sun hit the showroom and shrouded the display units in light. According to trusty ol' Wikipedia, "sunlight" is apparently quite commonly encountered by the Earth's surface dwellers, and might even pose a problem to the console's casual target market, but we don't foresee it posing much of a threat to Engadget HQ bunkers. Threat averted.

[Via digg]