The bloggers over at joystiq have raised an interesting point, what does the Wiis optical sensor do, and is it really needed?

The Wiimote's motion-sensing chip detects x-, y- and z-axis movements, along with acceleration, and then transmits the data to the console in real time via Bluetooth.

Is this data not enough to determine where the pointer is positioned on screen?

They point out that there is a correlation between the optical sensor and the Wiimote's pointer because games that don't utilize pointing functionality aren't limited by the sensor's range.

Their main point is why couldnt Nintendo develop the technology to exclude the optical sensor altogether?

Im also confused at why the motion bar had to be wired. I think that an unnofficial wireless one might be developed.

My thought: motion isn't the same as orientation, you can point at the same spot on a screen from anywhere in a room and the controller will be positioned differently and thus have to move differently to point at any other spot on the screen

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you got it, the controller can tell when it's moving and how it's moving from the gyro sensors, but all it knows is that it's moving. It needs the sensor bar to know where it is in relation to the screen. I would assume that you have to calibrate the sensor based on the screen size and location from the screen