Microsoft Files Patent for "Magic Wand"
Is the Magic Wand the answer to the Nintendo Wii?
Ever since Nintendo came out with the Wii Remote control system, which took the mass market by storm allowing anyone to flail wildly in an effort to control a video game, both Sony and Microsoft have been rumored to be working on something to that effect.
Could it be a Microsoft Magic Wand? Maybe. A patent application from 2007 surfaced recently describes a device that sounds similar to the Wii Remote.
The architecture can exist in whole or in part in a housing that can resemble a wand or similar object. The architecture can utilize one or more sensor from a collection of sensors to determine an orientation or gesture in connection with the wand, and can further issue an instruction to update a state of an environmental component based upon the orientation.
Of course, a patent application is just one way of Microsoft to protect something it may choose to explore, but that doesn’t mean that it’ll every become anything. In fact, the evidence right now points to Microsoft utilizing some advanced motion tracking software in conjunction with video cameras for motion sensing rather than a “Magic Wand.”
Still, you can bet that Microsoft is working towards an answer to those who like waggle, and hopefully we’ll know at E3.

using a different technology for it makes it ok, plus wimote only has 1 sensor. they said a collection of them
middle finger, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_(gesture)
i'd give a link if could find it, but i remember several patent apps with almost the exact same line as the above. Including one before the wii ever came out.... HMMMMMMMM the industry trying to catch up to the top sellers in the US? go figure. oh wait, i guess this is just a repeat of history with anyone that's seen "Pirates of the Silicon Vally"
:-p
Actually, the Wiimote has not only the camera to determine its orientation relative to the sensor bar of the Wii, but also internal accelerometers to determine its path through space.
"Of course, a patent application is just one way of Microsoft to protect something it may choose to explore"
That's exactly the problem with SW patents - just to hamper others to create something new, by patenting some empty wording, without any substantiations.
You can't patent a word. You can trade mark them though, and it's not cut and dry. For example, Microsoft is trademarked, but a sponge company can legally say that their sponge has "microsoft air pockets". On the other hand, Logitech can't say that their new computer mouse features a "microsoft ergonomic grip".