Pokewalker infrared

[AeitZean]

Everywhere i look all the info says that the pokewalker transfers pokemon by infrared. Has anyone else noticed that ds's dont have built in IR ports and none of the pictures have addons to the console that adds this.
It doesnt even look like the cart has anything different about it.
Could the term infrared be a misstranslation?

 

[Doctor Oak]

What exactly falls under "everywhere I look"?

Anyways, the PokeWalker uses the same Wireless technology that the DS uses. There's no infra-red involved.

 

[AeitZean]

What exactly falls under "everywhere I look"?

Anyways, the PokeWalker uses the same Wireless technology that the DS uses. There's no infra-red involved.

Both official nintendo magazine and Ngamer had previews stating that the pokewalker was infrared. I googled pokewalker and the results seemed to concour. Sounds like the media has some retranslating to do

Thanks for letting me know im not crazy

 

[Falconwing]

I thought the pokewalker used infrared connected with a small infrared port on the game cartridge. Or so I'm told.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I thought the pokewalker used infrared connected with a small infrared port on the game cartridge. Or so I'm told.

Colour me corrected, it would seem from the new pictures on the official site that this is the case. (I had presumed otherwise from the inability to spot the infra-red part at the back in the other shots).

It's a bit of an odd step, but I guess at least it will mean the PokeWalker is useless without a genuine cartridge to link with.

 

[Falconwing]

Colour me corrected, it would seem from the new pictures on the official site that this is the case. (I had presumed otherwise from the inability to spot the infra-red part at the back in the other shots).

It's a bit of an odd step, but I guess at least it will mean the PokeWalker is useless without a genuine cartridge to link with.

Heh, clever GF. Very clever. Josh is going to hate this.

 

[XD375]

I read somewhere that the weight training games for DS use a cartridge with built-in infa-red for packaged pedometers.

 

[AeitZean]

So they are right?
That seems an odd step to take adding IR To the cart when wifi works so well. They should just have encrypted the wifi traffic rather than adding infrared

Only reason i can think they didnt is the pokewalker must not be powerful enough.

This could lead to the easiest cloning yet, ive got a cheap tv remote that can record ir sequences. there better be some level of encryption or everyone will have teams of 6 ho-oh's

 

[shining-Celebi]

So they are right?
That seems an odd step to take adding IR To the cart when wifi works so well. They should just have encrypted the wifi traffic rather than adding infrared

Only reason i can think they didnt is the pokewalker must not be powerful enough.

This could lead to the easiest cloning yet, ive got a cheap tv remote that can record ir sequences. there better be some level of encryption or everyone will have teams of 6 ho-oh's

No it makes sense. Productions costs would stay low.

 

[Shinx3000]

So they are right?
That seems an odd step to take adding IR To the cart when wifi works so well. They should just have encrypted the wifi traffic rather than adding infrared

Only reason i can think they didnt is the pokewalker must not be powerful enough.

This could lead to the easiest cloning yet, ive got a cheap tv remote that can record ir sequences. there better be some level of encryption or everyone will have teams of 6 ho-oh's

The way I see it, if wireless was used, and somehow the wireless on the DS messed up, the pokemon on the pokewalker might mess up, but with infrared, if something messes up with that, your ether not connecting to it properly or something wrong with pokewalker or cartridge and a a game cartridge might last longer that an DS wireless and would signals be able to disrupt infrared? I know they can with wireless and that would be bad for transferring stuff.

 

[AeitZean]

The way I see it, if wireless was used, and somehow the wireless on the DS messed up, the pokemon on the pokewalker might mess up, but with infrared, if something messes up with that, your ether not connecting to it properly or something wrong with pokewalker or cartridge and a a game cartridge might last longer that an DS wireless and would signals be able to disrupt infrared? I know they can with wireless and that would be bad for transferring stuff.

For a start if your ds wireless dies you're in trouble, that would mean on more trading or events or anything.

Yes wireless can suffer from interfearence with 2.4GHz sources but it is quite rare. Infrared however, suffers in *strong sunlight* and im not joking. Try to switch your tv over with strong sun directly on the remote and sensor and funny things happen, up to and including it not working at all,

And since the pokewalker is a pedometer working outside is the *least* you expect of it

 

[Mostly Harmless]

The way I see it, if wireless was used, and somehow the wireless on the DS messed up, the pokemon on the pokewalker might mess up, but with infrared, if something messes up with that, your ether not connecting to it properly or something wrong with pokewalker or cartridge and a a game cartridge might last longer that an DS wireless and would signals be able to disrupt infrared? I know they can with wireless and that would be bad for transferring stuff.

I'm not sure that I follow you 100%, but essentially you're saying that infrared is more reliable, right?

Well it's true that the wireless signal can get interrupted and disturbed by other signals, I'm pretty sure that generally, wireless signals would be more reliable for stuff like this. You're not going to be at opposite ends of your house connecting the two, and you don't need to constantly connect. You'd just come home at the end of the, take off the walker and place it/hold it (which ever you prefer ^_^) next to your DS, and I assume that there'd be an option in the main menu similar to migrating Pokemon from Gen 3 games to D/P/Pt.
It's pretty difficult to disrupt a wireless signal at that close range, unless you have something like 30 baby monitors, 5 other DSs doing the same thing and an untamed ostrich in your room. (I'm just assuming that an untamed ostrich would make things much more difficult, unless you have Ostrich-Whisperer powers).

But for infrared, that's much more complicated for this kind of thing, isn't it? Infrared is most used in TV remotes and what-not, which are doing much more simple things than the Pokewalker. With remotes, you just push a button and tells the TV that you pushed that button. The Pokewalker will be doing much more complicated things. It'll be telling your game how many steps you walked that day, the any battles you had, "Watts" gained, items found and items used, and all in a supposedly short amount of time.

To be honest, I don't know what I'm talking about too much, so if I'm way off, I'm sorry, but that's just what I think about it.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Working outside (as a pedometer), yes - but that's not a problem. Transferring outside, not as much of an issue. Most people still only play handheld games indoors, and often not even anywhere other than their own house.

Besides, I don't think strong sunlight is going to be much of a worry those of us here in the UK.

 

[AeitZean]

Working outside (as a pedometer), yes - but that's not a problem. Transferring outside, not as much of an issue. Most people still only play handheld games indoors, and often not even anywhere other than their own house.

Besides, I don't think strong sunlight is going to be much of a worry those of us here in the UK.

What is the point of a portable console if you have to stay home to play it ? ;D

I dont know if you live near london, but we have had brilliant sunshine all day, and whatever you can say about the uk, you cant say we never ever have sun

 

[Falconwing]

Hey, I live in Western Washington. Only in late summer/early fall do we ever have a lot of sun. Intrared won't be a problem.

 

[Mr. Pokemon]

I thought the pokewalker used infrared connected with a small infrared port on the game cartridge. Or so I'm told.

I think that's how the pedometers for Personal Trainer: Walking connect to the DS. I guess Nintendo is just being consistent.

I bet using infrared is cheaper than incorporating a small Wi-Fi chip into the pedometer, so that's probably why it uses infrared.

When I was watching the "teaser trailer" for HGSS (the one with the glimpse of Pallet at the end), the clip of the PokeWalker showed the PokeWalker making sounds. I hope you can mute it, or just have the PokeWalker track my steps instead of making me tend to my Pikachu throughout the day.

 

[AeitZean]

I hope you can mute it, or just have the PokeWalker track my steps instead of making me tend to my Pikachu throughout the day.

I sure hope its not a tamagochi type pet, and just tracks steps or that would be so annoying

Also you just know most kids will just sit it on the washing machine to add loads of steps

 

[Mr. Pokemon]

Also you just know most kids will just sit it on the washing machine to add loads of steps

And why would someone do that? We all know that putting the pedometer in the washing machine would add a lot more steps than just putting it on top. I bet dear ol' Pikachu would enjoy the bath.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I think that's how the pedometers for Personal Trainer: Walking connect to the DS. I guess Nintendo is just being consistent.

More likely it's GameFreak being handed the exact same technology and simply having a new peripheral made around it.

I bet using infrared is cheaper than incorporating a small Wi-Fi chip into the pedometer, so that's probably why it uses infrared.

While this is undoubtedly true - I find it hard to believe that the pretty small and weak wireless receptor in the DS costs enough to have been a huge obstacle to this. Like I said though, since it's borrowed technology, it's probably not a question of weighing up the costs as much as "this is what we've got, let's use it".

When I was watching the "teaser trailer" for HGSS (the one with the glimpse of Pallet at the end), the clip of the PokeWalker showed the PokeWalker making sounds. I hope you can mute it, or just have the PokeWalker track my steps instead of making me tend to my Pikachu throughout the day.

I think it's pretty much certain that one of those buttons cluttering up the front of the peripheral is a mute button. It's probably also unlikely that it will be anything other than optional to play around with all the extra stuff within it.

 

[VeggiePopper]

So they are right?
That seems an odd step to take adding IR To the cart when wifi works so well. They should just have encrypted the wifi traffic rather than adding infrared

Only reason i can think they didnt is the pokewalker must not be powerful enough.

Considering its graphics and sound capabilities are far below those of Pokémon Pikachu 2, that might be the case.

Still, I havent' seen yet any picture showing the cartridge's IR port.