In this video, Did You Know Gaming takes a look at how motion-control gaming existed before the Wii through a forgotten platform created by former Nintendo engineers that pioneered ideas like Wii Sports-style gameplay and fitness accessories years earlier.
All the way back in 1999, Shinsedai Company started licensing out its XaviX chip tech to companies for use in plug-and-play TV games that featured motion-controls. The XaviX project was worked on by a number of devs who previously were employed by Nintendo, but had set out on their own to expand upon what games could be. The various motion-controlled titles, which came about through third party partnerships, ended up selling considerbly well.
Eventually Shinsedai looked to expand outside of Japan with their motion-controlled games, which led to the release of the XaviXPORT, which allowed players to plug in different cartridges to play multiple motion-controlled games. As you no doubt know, Nintendo released the Wii 2 years later, which also offered motion controls with a launch lineup of games that were quite similar to what XaviX had offered.
You may remember that Shinsedai eventually sued Nintendo, claiming that Nintendo saw the XaviX titles and had prior connections to some of the devs from that project, which directly influenced the creation of the Wii. Furthermore, Shinsedai said that Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Play directly infringed on patents that XaviX held for their own motion-controlled titles.
In 2015, Shinsedai dismissed the litigation against Nintendo on mutually agreeable, confidential terms. To this day, no one knows if Shinsedai ended up getting money from Nintendo or what the extent of the agreement was.