Is the speaker in the controller a worthy addition?
Three games made use of the Wii remote speaker at the Wii Event last week. It was the first time I was able to actually listen to the speaker without many distractions. In fact, the sound from the television wasn't even on. To understand exactly what it sounds like, imagine playing your GameCube with your DS in your lap broadcasting the sound effects.
Overall the sound quality is the pits. At times the speaker sounded as if it was being driven beyond its capabilities. Crackling and popping was prevalent. When it is used in a way that benefits the multiplayer experience it doesn't bother me. Specifically, in Wii Big Brain Academy your controller will alert you about whether or not you finish a puzzle correctly. This allows you to keep tabs on how your opponents are doing without looking at their section of the screen and adds to the fun. When it is used in a single player game, like Zelda or Mario, it is incredibly frustrating.
In Mario Galaxy, whenever Mario received something (coin, musical note, star, etc.) the chime came out of the remote. In Twilight Princess, all sword sound effects (sheathing, unsheathing, combat contact noises, etc.) came out of the speaker. The fact that the remote is directly related to Link's sword should mean this is a good idea, but why do I want to hook my Wii up to my home theater only to hear much of the sound effects coming from such a cheap speaker? The hardware may not support Dolby Digital, but Pro Logic II is good enough to position the sound effects at the focal point of the room in a way that would sound a heck of a lot better than what I experienced on Thursday.
My biggest fear when the speaker was announced appears to have been realized. If Nintendo continues to overuse this 'innovation' I will only get more frustrated. Developers, do me a favor and make using the speaker optional.