UPDATE: Nintendo denies reports of internal Wii Remote upgrade.
Sales of the Wii, and the Wii Remote controller, are through the roof. That means good times for the companies that manufacture the microchip accelerometers that allow them to detect motion. However, Nikkei Microdevices reports that Nintendo has been measuring their options by considering other companies that can supply motion sensing chips.
Currently, the accelerometers that are integral to the Wii Remote and Nunchuk are supplied by the US company Analog Devices and French-Italian STMicroelectronics. However, Nintendo is reported to be evaluating samples from other companies that produce accelerometers. The Nikkei Microdevices report singles out US-based Kionix Inc. as having made a big splash due to its reputation of reliability and a MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) motion sensor that is thicker and potentially more sensitive than the current sensors from Analog Devices.
The report states that Nintendo has not yet made any decisions to change suppliers. But however difficult it will be to secure a contract, the high-stakes battle to supply Nintendo and be a part of the Wii success story is sure to go on.
UPDATE:
Responding to an inquiry by Edge, Nintendo has denied that the Wii Remote would see internal upgrades via new motion sensing chips. A spokesperson told Edge that reports such as those published by Nikkei Microdevices via Tech-On! were "purely rumor and speculation."