Third-party modifications add fun, frustration for Wii gamers
The Nintendo Wii’s controller interface is already unlike any of the other new-generation consoles, but some simple modifications and add-ons can help to separate the Wii from the pack even further.
Detailed here is a short list of Wii modifications, both professional and independent. Some have been met with good reviews, others with bad. Some are very simple modifications, while others involve a higher degree of complexity.
Wii Remote and Console Skins – www.decalgirl.com
DecalGirl offers a very simple solution to modifying Wii controllers as well as the Wii consoles themselves. The solution is simple decals that apply directly to the controllers. They can be removed just as easily as they are put on and don’t require as much money as buying a more complicated modification would.
“With the Wii remote and nunchucks flying around living rooms all across the country, we felt it was important to give them a little variety when you get some multiplayer action going,” DecalGirl’s Decal said.
DecalGirl’s featured skin is called “Retro” and makes Wii components look as though they were classic NES pieces. The Web site has 143 options to choose from.
Examples of other decals that can be bought off of DecalGirl include “Abduction,” which features a black background with a green alien placed in the large blank spaces, or World Killer, which features a picture of a meteor slamming into the Earth.
Wii console decals can also be bought. Although the selection is lowered to only 24 decals, the designs are more elaborate because the actual console provides more surface area for the artwork. Many of the same themes from controller decals carry over to console decals, such as “Retro” and “Abduction.” Users can also pick more elaborate designs, such as the geometric menagerie of “Cobalt Nexus.”
The decals are cheap and are printed on glossy, high-resolution vinyl. The adhesive is not made of conventional glue and thus provides easy application and removal.
Cost:
Controller + nunchuck = $4.99
Wii console = $14.99
The Joytech Sharp Shooter
This product is basically a piece of plastic that connects the Wii nunchuck to the Wii remote in order to form a gun. This kind of modification would be most useful for games like “Call of Duty 3,” the soon-to-be-released Wii sequel to “Duck Hunt,” or pretty much any first-person shooter game.
This is similar to Core Gamer’s Wii Blaster, or at least the prototype Wii Blaster. Official pictures of the Wii Blaster have not been released, but previews of the Blaster from the Electronics Entertainment Expo show that it is essentially the same as the Sharp Shooter, although the plastic casing is a little more elaborate.
A potential problem with the Sharp Shooter and the Blaster deals with the accelerometers in each piece of the controller. The nunchuck and the remote were originally designed to be held in two hands and operated independently, but the configuration of these gun modifications will force both pieces to move identically.
Another potential problem deals with the accessibility of the buttons on the remote. If held like a pistol, the user would only be able to access the nunchuck controls easily. This problem, though, could potentially be solved by holding the gun as though it were a rifle.
This product has not yet been released, and Joytech’s Web site does not give a release date, nor does it give a price.
This Wii controller modification is actually a three-piece set. Included are a sword, a knife and a shield that bears some resemblance to the Hylian shield from the Zelda series.
This particular modification has been met with some skepticism among Wii owners.
Shadi Murib, a sophomore political science major and Wii owner, is one of these skeptics.
“That’s too much. I’m not sure I’d buy it,” Murib said.
More skepticism can be found in the “comments” sections of many Web sites displaying this product.
The package sells for $27.51 and can be purchased online at DealExtreme’s Web site.
This is an independent modification illustrated by a man simply known as Zaiten on theZogdog.com message boards. It is a combination of the Mattel Power Glove, a modification for the original NES controller made in 1989 by Grant Goddard and Sam Davis.
The Wii Power Glove modification essentially allows users to control characters on the Wii by simply pointing at the screen with their hands. This video demonstrates the Power Glove’s usability.
The glove is wired so that the A and B buttons on the Wii remote can be activated by pressing either the thumb or the index finger. The video does not display how a user could manipulate other buttons on the controller, nor does it offer any insight as to how a user could use a nunchuck in combination with the glove. The Wii remote located on the wrist of the glove still retains the proper plug for the nunchuck, though.
“They’re treating this as a prototype and already have plans for the next version — including different, more flexible materials for the glove, and relocating the Bluetooth chip,” SlashGear.com said of the Wii Power Glove and its unnamed creators.
This product is only a prototype of unnamed Japanese hackers and is not up for sale as of yet. The glove is not an invention of Nintendo, but neither was the original Power Glove, which was designed for Abrams/Gentile Entertainment and licensed by Nintendo.
The original Power Glove was not a success for the NES and only two games were officially created for its specific use. The games were Super Glove Ball and Ball Street Brawler.
Wrap-Up
The previous modifications are not necessities for playing any Wii games currently on the market. They are simply modifications made by both professional and independent sources.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Jon Swihart at jonathan.swihart@thecampuspress.com.
