Of Wiimotes and AA battery shortages
Saturday, September 29th, 2007 at 8:37am by Jack
It’s a rare day that you’ll hear me complain about my Wii, and unfortunately today is one of those days. My gripe? Batteries. More specifically, a lack of batteries.
For the past two weeks, through a combination of extra work at the office and laziness on my part, I have had no fresh AA batteries in my apartment and, therefore, I have had no fresh Wii experiences. For the first part of that period, I cannibalized no fewer than two TV remotes — one for a DVD player I hardly use (DVR and On Demand FTW!), the other a shelf top stereo that’s now neglected thanks to the gf buying a Bose Sound Dock. Those batteries, which were half depleted already, were retired to the circular file in a pathetically short amount of time.
As I awoke this morning, I realized I really wanted to play Metroid Prime 3 and I had no way whatsoever of making this happen. None. No more remotes to steal from; no lone soldiers caught between the couch cushions; nada. So, I was curious. Anyone else out there get really, really frustrated with their Wiimotes, especially if you have a few nunchuk games that suck up extra juice?
September 29th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Thats why i use rechargeable batteries. Also you can by that Wiimote charger from that 3rd party company.
September 29th, 2007 at 8:44 am
i got really frustrated for a long time. then i got one of those charging stations and its awesome. I don’t have to worry about it anymore. If the light is green everything is charged, good to go. I definitely recommend that product. Nyko Charging Station I believe.
September 29th, 2007 at 9:10 am
As I mentioned in an earlier thread, I have about 20 rechargeable batteries that I float between my Wii Remotes, Xbox controllers, PS2 controllers, DVD remotes, etc. And there’s always 4 waiting in the charger for me.
September 29th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Guess that looks like I’m biting the bullet and going Nyko
September 29th, 2007 at 9:22 am
My brother gave me a Wiimote dock and it’s great (though the LED is too bright, which is a pain).
September 29th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Again, NYCO docking station FTW!
September 29th, 2007 at 9:47 am
Yeah, I usually take my Wii over to the student union to play on their TVs, only to find that I once again forgot to check the status of my batteries. And, of course, I never ever think to bring any extras…
September 29th, 2007 at 9:57 am
i bought those rechargeable AA batt. from Radio Shack, they come with a charger and you can use them in other things if needed.
September 29th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Use the Rayovac rechargables. Once those are charged, they last forever.
September 29th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I am in the same ship as DrewMG…I have like 16 rechargeable batteries ( I was actually going to get the NYKO charging dock, but my mom got me 12 rechargeables for Christmas last year…So I just bought four more as backups) But most of the time when I put newly charged one in the Wii remote they go from 4 bars to 3 in like ten minutes, and I can usually be heard saying “What the hell I JUST FED YOU!!!” Irritating yes, but we take it one day at a time…
September 29th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Ummm, I just have the charger. It kinda takes care the problem
September 29th, 2007 at 10:45 am
I was using Energizer rechargeables when I first got my Wii, but they don’t last long and it seemed like I was always recharging them for my Wii Remotes and digital camera. Then I bought some Energizer lithium batteries for my digital camera … they last FOREVER. We had the same batteries in our camera for well over 6 months, when we used to need a recharged every 2-3 weeks. They’re a little lighter than alkaline batteries, too. I’ve had all my Wii Remotes on them for a while now, too, and do not regret the extra money they cost.
September 29th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Get a docking station thing. You can get ones for just Wiimotes, Wiimotes and slots to hold nunchucks, or a large one that the Wii sits in too
September 29th, 2007 at 11:11 am
I Use NiMH rechargeables and they last as well as any non-rechargeable battery. I have 8 - two in each Wii Wand, two in the Wavebird and two always charged on standby.
I’ve never been without batteries for both Wii Wands, though I have occasionally (only about twice) had to borrow from the Wavebird.
The system works fine and I’ve had my Wii and the same batteries since launch.
September 29th, 2007 at 11:50 am
Invest in a Nyko charger or some kind of docking charger. It’ll save you the aggravation of trying to find batteries in mid-game, you don’t have to keep taking out the batteries to charge them, and it’ll save you a lot of money.
September 29th, 2007 at 11:54 am
I to just bought up some rechargeable NIMH batteries from Harbor Freight Tools. I chose these because they don”t have as much of the memory effect. The were fairly cheap and work quite well.
If you want to get all fancy, I hear that the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries are supposed to be the hot new thing.
September 29th, 2007 at 11:58 am
I was in the middle of playing twilight princess a while back when that happened… very annoying indeed
September 29th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I don’t understand the battery complaints. Everyone should own rechargeable batteries for their portable electronics by now. I bought a 4-pack of AA’s 10 months ago for $9.99, and they’re still going strong.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
buy 2 sets of re-chargeables dumbass. If you can afford reasonably expensive videogame systems with 50-60 dollar games, you can buy batteries.
Unless you still depend on an allowance.
September 29th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I bought the Rayovac Hybrid AA rechargeables. They last much longer than most rechargeable batteries and are fairly priced. $10 gets you the charger and 4 batteries - 2AA, 2AAA. Extra AAs cost $8 for a 4-pack and they include a $5 mail in rebate. And, yes, I am a CAG.
September 29th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I bought rechargable batteries w/ my Wii. 20 bucks for 4 batts & charget. No prob whatsoever for me!
September 29th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I never run out of batteries because:
A: I am smart enough to buy rechargeable batteries.
2: I am smart enough to recharge batteries.
Seriously, with all the dozens of third party battery packs, and the invention of rechargeable batteries, I am surprised to see this bullshit on a site that claims to have intelligent love.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Rechargeable Batteries? Ever Heard of them?
September 29th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Get the Nyko Charging station it rules. Avoid the ones with little cables that plug into the back of the wii-motes, those suck.
September 29th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I wonder how long until we get a “Wavemote”?
September 29th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
yeah, nyko rules (at least the charger) you won’t regret your purchase
September 29th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
NYKO ChargeStation is all you need:
http://www.nyko.com/nyko/products/?i=102
September 30th, 2007 at 1:42 am
NYKO charge station and four battery packs=never out of Wii goodness!
September 30th, 2007 at 5:25 am
Rudeness of the last couple of comments aside, I too am baffled that after nearly a year of Wii gaming someone could still rely on regular batteries instead of rechargeables (most obvious solution) or indeed a docking station. When it comes to me, the only AA battery-operated things around me that don’t run on rechargeables are remotes since they do last close to forever anyway. But Wiimotes? Oh come on
September 30th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
I do have rechargable batteries somewhere…
but when those do die, I do have my tv remote, my reciver remote, two 360 remotes(that sometimes have batteries dependent if I have the battery pack in them, or i was to lazy to get up, my dvd remote for the 360, dvd player, But Im usually good on having new batteries somewhere around the house.
September 30th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
you know how to avoid this problem, Jack? get some solar panels on top of your house and with all that money you save on bills, get some duracells, energizers just suck rabbit balls… or get rechargables, those are cool too…
October 1st, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I actually bought a huge case of AA (the regular, old fashioned kind) at Sam’s Club. I recall it was 48 AA bateries for $29.95, so I use a new pair every now and then…
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:15 am
Consumer Reports had a report on batteries recently and the Energizer Lithiums, though expensive, are apparently worth the money rated as the best amongst 10 or 15 other alkaline batteries. The report also said that according to their tests there’s really no significant power-ouput difference between the Duracell Ultra Digitals/Coppertops, Energizer e2 Titaniums, Kirkland Signatures, Radio Shack Enercells, CVS batts, or even Rite Aid batts. This is all in the November 2007 report.