Crossfire Pistol Elegantly Designed, but Misfires

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 4:20pm by Sean Buckley
crossfire
Wii owners are long since familiar with the “Plastic Plague” of crappy gaming peripherals that have come our way.  Even Nintendo themselves are guilty, creating a plastic wheel, and the infamous “zapper,” both little more than plastic molds to cram your remote into.  For me, the former always left something to be desired – the official plastic shell places the trigger at the front of the weapon, and moves most of the remote’s buttons out of the player’s reach. Why didn’t they do a better job? Why doesn’t somebody else do a better job?

Well, somebody did.  Sort of.

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E3: Nyko Wand Zapper dissapointing, but okay

Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 10:24pm by Sean Buckley

nykogun

Nyko is well known among third party controller manufacturers – so it was no surprise when details about the Nyko “wand” alternative Wii-Remote started to surface.  What was surprising was the “trans-port” features the wand boasted over the traditional Wii remote, series of electrical contacts that would allow Nyko to transfer any button on the wand-remote to any new location on a Nyko branded peripheral.  What was even more of a surprise was how disappointing the final result was.

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Wii AccessoryPlus? A rumination on white plastic with Jack & David

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 10:20am by David

David: Wii MotionPlus = $20? Yeesh.

Jack: when people actually use it, that’s going to become a sweet spot price point
my prediction anyway

David: yeah, but is it just another zapper?
an afterthought for devs?
games won’t ever require the damn thing.

Jack: all i can say is it will be different this time. and that Nintendo might counter that trend by having publishers include it with games as a bundle
voila, problem solved

David: I think they’re going to treat it like their other accessories.
the Nunchuk is the only successful Wii add-on.
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Nyko Promises Superior, Uglier Wii Remote

Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 1:36am by Sean Buckley

Nyko is a Wii accessory juggernaut. After giving us a zapper alternative that actually looks like a real gun, a wireless nunchuk, and a wireless Classic Controller, Nyko finishes their off brand accessory lineup with a Wii Remote alternative – “The Wand.”

In addition to the speaker, motoin control, and standard button layout of the official Wii-Remote controller, the Wand boasts larger buttons, and what Nyko calls “Trans-Port” technology.  The “trans-port” allows you to “transport” Wii Remote button presses to other accessories.  The pun sure is lame, but end result may give the Wand a leg-up over the offical controller – it means a Zapper accessory with a electronic button behind the trigger rather then a physical lever designed to press the “B button.”   Any button on the Wand can be re-mapped to a corresponding button on compatable accessories – it could mean some interesting accessories in the future. It sure looks weird though.  “The Wand” will hit store shelves in April.

Head past the break for a photo of the Wand’s “zapper” accessory and a press release.

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