Wii launches funky accessories from third party manufacturers for US launch

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 20 November 2006 17:01

Entertainment

Nintendo wants you to hold the motion sensing controller, lovingly dubbed the ‘Wii-mote’, in your hands to control your bat, racquet, club, steering wheel or more. But along with the launch of the Wii in the US has come a range of Wii-mote add-ons that are so cool and affordable, you’ll want them for the novelty value if nothing else.

There’s a Sports Pack, a Racing Wheel, a Controller Grip and Silicon covers for the Wii-mote to simulate real sports action, protect your Wii-mote and hold it more comfortably, all while retaining access to the rear trigger button.

No doubt starting to become available in stores all over the world, essentially wherever you’re reading this, it’s clearly the start of a new wave of accessories for Nintendo’s new Wii games console.

The Sports Pack costs AUD $39.95 (probably under US $25), and comes with plastic holders to transform your Wii-mote into a tennis racquet, glof club and baseball bat. Obvious these devices are not to scale, but nevertheless enhance the feeling of actually playing the game.

The Racing Wheel is AUD $19.95 (probably around US $10) and offers a comfortable steering wheel plastic moulding that maintains the Wii’s motion sensing but lets you feel like you’re really hold a wheel with which to drive.

The Controller Grip at AUD $16.95 (less than US $10) gives you the ‘handles’ that your palms grip on when holding a standard Xbox 360, PS3 or Nintendo GameCube controller.

The Silicon Gloves are AUD $14.95 (way less than US $10) and are similar to the silicon skins available for iPods.

These products were on display at the eGames Expo in Melbourne, Australia this past weekend, where the Nintendo Wii displayed was jam-packed with consumers all eager to play and fascinated by how simple and fun the system is.

A nearby stand from Futuretronics had the Wii accessories on display and on sale. Their website  does not yet show the accessories but they will on the site soon. Local games stores in the US that sell the Wii will either already have these accessories or they will be coming soon.
We’re looking forward to seeing what else Nintendo and other third party manufacturers can come up for the very cool Nintendo Wii.