Wii Sports Pack offers trio of Wiimote extensions

In what's likely to go down as the most heavily accessorized (and harmful) controller ever, Nintendo's Wiimote sure is garnering a lot of attention from accessory makers. Sure, those Wii Gloves may keep butterfinger disasters from ever occurring, but they really don't give you any sort of competitive advantage when throwing down in Wii Sports. While we knew JoyTech was planning its own barrage of controller add-ons, it looks like Brando is offering up a sweet trio of Wiimote extensions to presumably improve your Wii Sports play. For just $22, you'll get a tennis racket, golf grip, and a baseball bat, which could arguably pull double duty as a sword in Red Steel. Of course, you'll still need to pick up that foam donut separately (or bundled in with another game) for the ultimate Excite Truck experience, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

[humpty @ Jan 5th 2007 3:02PM]

Nah, the wiimote isnt a gimmick at all, not at all.

lol

[Wonderboy @ Jan 5th 2007 3:27PM]

If these attachments could provide a more realistic feel to, say, your tennis swing then I could see the usefulness. Unfortunately, the Wii swing and real swing don't feel at all the same... speed and weight are completely different, so these are really just gimmicks.

Speaking of which, I've gotta disagree with humpty... the wii-mote is as much of a gimmick as the original scroll-wheel of the ipod. i.e. not a gimmick, but a whole new way to make usage more intuitive and universally understandable.

"Product gimmicks are considered mere novelties, and NOT REALLY THAT RELEVANT to the product's functioning" - Wikipedia

[wow. @ Jan 5th 2007 4:03PM]

Moron.
Branding something as a gimmick based on its 3rd party peripherals, are we? That would make every system in existence a gimmick. EVERY system has has a useless or pointless peripheral that existed for nothing more than novelty.

Every good addition is first viewed as a gimmick. Rubmle? Gimmick, right? Except game developers have spent time to integrate the rumble into games in more intuitive ways.

By your logic, blu-ray is a gimmick for selling PS3s, and Xbox Live is a gimmick to sell 360s. Oh, and software is a PCs gimmick. Those clever bastards, we've all been duped.

[I, Robot @ Jan 5th 2007 10:46PM]

@humpty

So... What if it is. How does it make the games any less fun? The bigger question is, how many people are going to hit themselves in the face with it?

$10 bucks on the tennis racket.

[GJP303 @ Jan 5th 2007 3:12PM]

Now not only can you accidently let go of your wiimote hurting someone, you can add the bat attachment and do some serious cold blooded killing. Not a good idea. Not. At. All.

[Shadyman @ Jan 5th 2007 7:07PM]

Well, they could have come out with a dagger or a sword or something.

[TodG @ Jan 5th 2007 3:26PM]

Maybe they should make these out of low-impact foam or something else really soft...

[chaosrain @ Jan 5th 2007 3:28PM]

FYI...in Excite Truck you hold the remote flat (B-button facing down) and then turn it side to side to make a turn. The wheel is designed for games where you hold the remote on edge (B-button facing out). You'd have to make a foam wheel with the Wii-mote holder turned at a 90deg angle to have a wheel for Excite Truck.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jan 5th 2007 3:36PM]

I saw $22 and I thought that that would be the price for "each" accessory. Nintendo is making some great steps.
With PS3 being out of most peoples financial bracket of disposable income and the XBOX 360 causing people to be discontent with their "old" hardware, nintendo will once again be a top seller.

[Yaya @ Jan 5th 2007 3:39PM]

Lightsabers.

[Loban @ Jan 5th 2007 3:46PM]

humpty, you've not actually played the Wii have you? Maybe you should give it a try and after hours and hours of having a blast playing with friends and family, then you can decide whether the wiimote is a gimmick or not. If having non-stop fun is gimmicky, then I guess you're right.

[Brandon @ Jan 5th 2007 5:44PM]

Humpty is just mad he paid 3k+ on ebay for a nice DvD player instead of waiting. Ps3 will be the best of the bunch just not right now with the game play being so fun on the wii. When Sony and game developers start to really roll in the punches Playstation will again be the champ. The accessories are a great ideal at a good price by the way.

[John @ Jan 5th 2007 3:55PM]

Wait. Where is the stainless-steel blade attachment and the gladiator-style spiked ball and chain attachment? This is an incomplete set.

[Dave @ Jan 5th 2007 4:01PM]

That attachment at the bottom looks similar to an attachment for a vacuum cleaner.

[Brian @ Jan 5th 2007 4:03PM]

Great! Now I'll look like even more of an idiot playing my Wii!

In all seriousness, is JoyTech ready to pay out for all the lawsuits when those nice little "add-ons" accidentally detach turning them, or the Wii-mote, into a flying projectile?

[Frankenstein Black @ Jan 5th 2007 4:05PM]

WILL SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME AGAIN WHY THE Wii IS SO INNOVATIVE?

I see this stuff (URL below) and even cheaper knock-offs all over the Malls constantly!
http://www.xavix.com/products/index.htm
http://www.mansionselect.com/xavixport-xavixgamesystem-xavixtennis.html
And this well before the Wii even launched!

Sorry, but I just can stop think that the Wii-mote is simply an accessory that can be duplicated on any console and not this "innovative" platform that everyone seem to be buying in to. Please help me to understand, please!


----------
LDM
Water-bending Master
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/ldm_master_builder!.jpg

[J @ Jan 5th 2007 4:30PM]

Frankenstein, you're right, this technology has been used before in the consoles you pointed out. The problem with those consoles is that they had very limited games and no brand name associated with them. Who wants to sit down and play a XaviX? The designers of the Wii must have realized that XaviX etc. make a more interactive game than Game Cube, so they use this technology. Although I've never played XaviX, I'm willing to bet that Nintendo does it better with the Wii. Additionally, unlike XaviX, Nintendo has games like Zelda that keep you entertained for weeks (months?) unlike some stupid bass fishing game. As far as I can tell, XaviX is like getting a Wii and locking it to only play Wii Sports. Cool? Hell yeah! But not nearly as awesome as the Wii overall.

The really innovative part about the Wii is that they're managing to bring this technology into classic gaming, like Madden and FPS to make a better experience. It's so cool because it merges the best parts of Xbox and PS (pretty good graphics) with the best parts of XaviX that make the system easy to pick up. At the same point -- they're merging into some really cool titles like Zelda and a FPS.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Nintendo Fanboy but I have owned most of the consoles for Zelda. I actually spend my time on Xbox360 because of it's home media capabilities. I did get a chance to experience Wii over Christmas though -- and it's very fun. The truth is, mostly because people wanted to play. It's not like my family really got together and hung out over a Xbox360 anytime recently.

[Michael Chastain @ Jan 5th 2007 6:05PM]

You're right to claim there is nothing revolutionary about the technology in the Wii. Certainly motion sensing has been done before, and even the pointer functionality of the Wiimote (not supported by the XaviX)has been done before. Of course to buy baseball, tennis, boxing, golf, and bowling for the XaviX you'd spend more than you would for the far more capable and versatile Wii. People joke about the Wii's graphics, but they're still light years ahead of the XaviX.

People get too caught up in the word innovative. Groundbreaking innovation is rare, and most progress is evolutionary. Take the iPod--there's no great technological innovation there. They took existing technologies, tweaked and improved them, and stuffed them into a package that was greater than the sum of its parts.

Companies like XaviX will never be supported by mainstream developers. Sony and Microsoft could develop controllers but accessories never receive significant support, and it would make the consoles even more expensive. Nintendo has succeeded because they are offering gamers a fresh, fun experience in an attractive console that will be well supported. The bottom line is the Wii is a lot of fun and a great value, and that's all that matters.

[Alex Shalman @ Jan 5th 2007 4:30PM]

These extensions look really fun. The thing I like about the Wii is that you could actually get a little bit of exercise while playing instead of being a complete couch potato. Someone into personal development can see the benefits of this. =)

[Bucket @ Jan 5th 2007 4:47PM]

Yeah. I saw this coming a mile away. Am I the only one who thinks this is horribly kitschy?

[Kauz @ Jan 5th 2007 5:31PM]

define... "kickhd;kahsy" or whatever... sorry i was just to lazy to look back to see how it was spelled... or look it up in the first place.

[Ken @ Jan 5th 2007 5:02PM]

how come Hasbro's Nerf brand didn't get in on this?

[Joyrex @ Jan 5th 2007 5:03PM]

Wait until they release the Wii Fleshlight attachment...

[Zhe Ma @ Jan 5th 2007 5:07PM]

if you really aren't stupid.....you cannot possibly in the whole wide history of the freaking universe let go that wiimote

once again we see a case of IDIOTS making the news and making a fine product ridiculed by more IDIOTS

[jonoo @ Jan 5th 2007 5:20PM]

I have them... They completely suck. That handle that you put the remote into is slightly too small for the whole wii remote and you slide the attachments on the end which causes the attachment to scrape along the top of the remote (the IR pointer thing) and when that gets scratched then it screws up the pointing function...

[Joseph @ Jan 5th 2007 7:14PM]

jonoo-
the bottom is spring loaded, so you can put in the bottom of the remote first and avoid scratching it. But i can use it on super swing golf since it blocks the sensor.

[squazimo @ Jan 5th 2007 5:38PM]

What next a Wii vibrator?

[ky @ Jan 5th 2007 5:42PM]

Fry's has had these (or similar) for a few weeks now...

[bishopsyn @ Jan 5th 2007 6:01PM]

maybe people should learn to HOLD ON to the wii mote instead of letting it go and breaking things. If you're not coordinated enough to keep from getting injured, then you shouldn't be buying the console or toy.

[nVidiot @ Jan 5th 2007 7:01PM]

The "innovation" of the Wii is taking the broad step of making a popular home gaming platform that is supported by tons of talented 3rd party developers only controllable through the motion sensing/pointer device that is the wii-mote plus nuncheck.

It's sort of like Xbox Live. Not exactly "innovative".. people had been playing online games on PC's.. using headsets.. using various programs for cross game "friends lists"... but building a console where everyone that bought it had an ethernet port, and anyone who bought the live pack had the same friends list + headset made Live what it was. I think the headset was a HUGE deal.

My PC only gaming friends (I love PC gaming) would always bash me saying "dude I have a headset on my PC".. but the percentage of people in any given random PC game using a headset is a FRACTION of what you find on Live where almost everyone uses when and virtually everyone at least owns one.

Am I a fan of the Wii? No.. but I can see the "innovation" in the step that Nintendo took with it. Personally I think it's rather strange.. I don't wish to play games with motion sensing.. I think people will tire of it (or they won't, what do I really know?) and I do think that the lack of a true dual-analog controller will limit the gameplay of certain games to an extent.

[Joseph @ Jan 5th 2007 7:12PM]

I OWN THESE!!!

THEY SUCK! they block the sensor-reciever at the top of the wii-mote.

got them for xmas, so i cant return them...

[v_dogg @ Jan 5th 2007 7:38PM]

now instead of little wiimotes going through tv's, the whole baseball bat can!

[Evan @ Jan 5th 2007 9:18PM]

What about the IR sensor? The handle (on the right) appears to be solid plastic where the sensor is, so you can't just pop the attachable head off to use the sensor. And the handle has a hole for the wrist strap, so it would be annoying to take off every time you want to point at the screen.

These accessories are gimmicky, but I would not call the Wiimote a gimmick. I was pleased when I disovered that Super Swing Golf really detects hooks and slices. The Wiimote can actually detect subtle variations in your motion, it's not just big random motions like some people think.

[Luke @ Jan 5th 2007 11:19PM]

People are being stupid. I own a Wii and im not that big of an idiot to chuck the controller across the room and throw it at my TV. And I don't know how much these attachments are going to improve anyones gameplay ether?

[YoshiG3 @ Jan 6th 2007 12:24AM]

See, the problem is...all the PS3 fanboys are mad that their oh so beloved PS3 is a failure, seeing as it is about equal to a failing 360. Too bad for you fanboys, I'm sorry that you believed in a company that sells the same thing over and over. If you want a gaming experience nowadays, buy the 360 for graphics and the Wii for fun. Sorry PS3, please quit selling the same thing over and over.

[ozone @ Jan 6th 2007 10:51AM]

While these extensions are cool it seems the golf extension is wrong. In Wii Sports golf the side of the wiimote is the part you hit the ball with. The way they have it here the front would be. Maybe it will still work...just not as intended.

[onesojourner @ Jan 6th 2007 11:07AM]

I think the bat will come in handy if rockstar ever gives us what we want.... come over here old man...

[SR_G@m3r @ Jan 6th 2007 6:08PM]

you know what would really be funny? if one of those accessories detached from the handle and broke a TV! HA HA HA! more wiimotes breaking things!

[RichAndMark @ Jan 7th 2007 4:08AM]

Is anyone else suffering from Ennuii? Check out http://www.richandmark.com

[VR @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:00PM]

Well, my family has played our Wii more than any single gaming ssytem in years.

It is no gimmick. It is fun.

Every store in our area has PS3s in stock, but Wii is sold out within minutes. This is almost two weeks AFTER Christmas...

And good luck finding extra controllers (Wii Remotes)... I should have bought stock in Nintendo before the holidays...

[Steve @ Feb 24th 2007 4:08PM]

Attachments???? Just get the damn Wii in there to buy in the first place!

And to the guy that stated: "Lightsabers", I'm with ya on that one....how about a game from lucasarts .....two lightsabers ala darthmaul........wooooooooooooo, freakin cool man! Nintendo would sell another million of those things (wii) w/ the help of Vader and company.

[Bob @ Jul 3rd 2008 10:56AM]

The WII sports pack are ok but, don't put the bat together, you won't get it apart. They need to have a release button to get it apart. Taking mine back for a refund.