Wii Controller Update
Devs gain access to the speaker and internal memory.
September 7, 2006 - Nintendo has supplied updated Wii developer documentation to third parties making games for the new console, providing studios a means to access the controller's internal memory and speaker. This marks the first time that widespread documentation for these features has become available to third parties.
Studios tell us that the latest update further clarifies the functionality of the internal speaker, which was demonstrated by Nintendo for games like Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess at E3 2006. Apparently the Wii-mote provides a paltry 4,000 byte storage capacity that can be used to store controller settings and preferences. However, the Wii-mote's internal memory can only store saves for one game at a time. So, in practice, if a user saved their play style preferences for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption to the device, the information would be overwritten when they attempted to do the same thing for Excite Truck.
Nintendo warns developers not to disconnect or attach the nunchuck peripheral while data is being saved to the Wii-mote's internal memory, as it may become corrupted.
Doesn't sound like much, but the latest feed to studios arrives as good news because it means that third parties formerly unable to use the internal speaker and memory can access it now, which only bodes well for Wii's launch lineup and beyond.