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Hot New Accessories for the Nintendo Wii

by Tim Stevens on July 13, 2007 at 12:47 PM

Nintendo Launching Wiimote Accessories

Since the Wii's launch and meteoric success, dozens of companies have released odd little accessories for the console's motion-sensing controller, the Wiimote. Things like silly plastic golf clubs and kitchen utensils are all over store shelves, but they tend to share one thing in common: they all feel cheap. Nintendo's hoping to get in on the action with a pair of Wiimote accessories that feel a whole lot nicer than the competition, as you should expect given the source.

The first is called the Wii Zapper, named to invoke memories of the NES and its fabled Zapper light gun. This Zapper, though, bears no resemblance at all to the old one,either in terms of form or function. It's basically a big clip that holds a Wiimote and Nunchuck attachment together, requiring you to hold them like a two-handed submachine gun. By using the thumb-stick on the Nunchuck and aiming at the screen, you can navigate through first-person shooters like the upcoming 'Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles.' It adds a new sort of feel to shooters like this, but the ergonomics are a bit lacking, forcing you to hold the contraption a bit too close and hunch over a bit as you play. The Zapper will be $19.99 and will come with some games, ala 'Wii Play.'

The other new peripheral is the simply called the Wheel, which is predictably a plastic wheel that your Wiimote clips into, enabling you to play tilt-sensing racing games a little more realistically. While this one isn't available for hands-on groping, it certainly looks a bit more solid and impressive than the other plastic wheels that have been released thus far. The Wheel will be a free bonus included with the Wii release of 'Mario Kart,' due out early 2008.

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Tags: e3, Wii Zapper, WiiZapper

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