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A History of Wii Peripherals
After Reggie Fils-Aime reported no new Wii add-ons would come about, we here at TechViva think its a good time to look back on the history of Wii peripherals you may or may not have bought into. Back then, and even now, we all wanted our Wii remotes to emulate something close to a lightsaber, or a glock or a baseball bat. Who knew that over priced plastic casing would invade the market so fast and in such great numbers to extend the life of games such as Wii Sports, Ghost Squad, Mario Kart and any other games that actually played well with the plastic, and heartless, shells.
The Wii Zapper - 2006
Retails: $24.99
Back in 2006, this screen cap right here got the attention of gamers everywhere. I mean, look how slick and how refined this early model of the Wii Zapper appeared. It gave rise to topic discussions regarding arcade shooters, ported favourites (i.e. Goldeneye), and original shooters - finally - that didn’t have the tags House of the Dead “insert series number here” and Time Crisis sixty-seven. Unfortunately, this bad boy never hit the market - and the actual Wii Zapper looks much less impressive and handles pretty poorly.
Released in November of 2007, the Wii Zapper as we know it came bundled with Link’s Crossbow Training - another subpar Wii game that has us wondering what could have been.
The Classic Controller - 2006
MSRP: $24.99 (If you can find it.)
Another great idea gone terribly wrong is Nintendo’s development of the Classic Controller. This SNES-esque controller was supposed to, essentially, phase out all remaining GameCube controllers and allow players to relive timeless memories playing old favourites on the Virtual Console. This add-on plugs into the Wii remote from the bottom and gives users, who want to play SNES games, SNES-style control. In theory, it was a great idea. Once more critical SNES titles start appearing, the Classic Controller will take flight. It’s too difficult, in my opinion, to play Super Mario RPG with a GameCube controller. It just doesn’t work. Unfortunately, Nintendo ran into some legal troubles and was ordered to stop selling them. Sorry Big N, better luck next time.
The Wii Wheel - April 2008
MSRP: $9.99
One of the newer remote add-ons, that you actually won’t be so disappointed in, was the Wii Wheel. Released with Mario Kart Wii earlier this year, the wheel actually gives another gameplay dynamic to those using it. It’s a completely different feel playing Mario Kart with the remote versus playing with the wheel - it’s a lot harder. Nintendo also took some time and developed an in-game trophy that would reward users with a golden Wii Wheel icon to racers who used it extensively. “A” for effort Nintendo. Finally an add-on that does everything you want it to: gives users a different feel, extends the life of a game and doesn’t cost a dime. Extra wheels sold separately, though.
Wii Motion Plus - TBD
MSRP: TBD
The last, and certainly least, Wii peripheral you will ever see is somewhat of a mysterious one. It’s the last, because Reggie says so, and its mysterious because the public really doesn’t know what it does - as of yet. At E3 earlier this year, Nintendo unveiled the Wii Motion Plus accessory as an add-on that would allow the Wii remote to more accurately capture motion control. Wait, what? Wasn’t the Wii remote already supposed to do that? Wasn’t the big hoopla about the Wii its ability to capture player motion accurately? Excuse me if I sound a bit cynic but this is a steaming pile of garbage. How can you market something that is already supposed to have been, well, marketed!
The E3 demo of the Wii Motion Plus didn’t look that impressive either. We saw a non-lightsaber, lightsaber, battle. We saw a dog chase a frisbee. And, finally, we saw Reggie’s inability to steer a jet ski. So what exactly will the Wii Motion Plus accessory give you in terms of gameplay? We don’t know. What games will use it? We don’t know. Will newer Wii games demand its use? We don’t know.
What I do know is when it’ll release! Oh wait, I don’t know that either. Sorry Nintendo, this fails until you let me into the Chamber of Secrets.
Final Thoughts
In addition to the add-ons listed above, there have been many third-party accessories that I don’t think I could list, mainly out of sheer frustration. I don’t know why developers are still making Wii Sports kits, Wii starter kits, or anything of that nature. Doesn’t anyone realize that the plastic casing doesn’t add anything? Wake up and smell the whatever it is you wake up and smell. These third-party developers are milking you for $19.99 at a time (plus tax) for, what seems like, $0.99 worth of plastic. Please, stop buying them - it’s just not worth the time or the hassle.
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