Wiimote

The most revolutionary (pun intended) part of the Wii is the unique controller, the Wiimote. Nintendo designed the controller deliberately to look much like a TV remote with a slim rectangular case. The remote feels comfortable when held in the hand and allows the fingers and thumb to have easy access to the Wiimote’s various buttons and triggers. On top, there is a power button for turning the controller on and off which also puts the Wii in standby mode. The small D-pad is next followed down by three small buttons which have – and + signs along with a “home” button icon. A large “A” button is next followed by 1 and 2 buttons. The Wiimote’s B button is actually the controller’s trigger located on the bottom of the remote.



The Wii also includes one of their Nunchuk add-ons for the Wiimote that attaches to the bottom of the main remote and is connected by a small cord. The Nunchuk, which is required for playing many Wii games, has an analog stick and two more trigger buttons. One other feature of the Wiimote is the wrist strap that is located in the same place as the add-on port and which people are supposed to use to keep the Wii from flying across their room. As you might know, many people have complained that the wrist strip is not strong enough (Nintendo has apparently shipped new Wii consoles with a more sturdy strap) and there have been plenty of YouTube videos showing people who don’t use the wrist strap encountering self-induced problems like seeing the remote fly in the air and hit TV screens and other household items.

One problem with the Wiimote is its default use of 2 AA batteries to power it up. The Xbox 360 wireless controller has the best solution with Microsoft offering rechargeable battery packs that can be charged via the Xbox 360’s USB port. Nintendo doesn’t seem to be interested in offering a similar option for the Wiimote although we know that third party companies will likely offer their own solutions. We think they will be popular.

Because of the Wiimote’s unique nature, an outside addition is needed to make it work. That would be the Wii sensor bar, a long thin rectangular object that connects to the back of the Wii via a long cord. You are supposed to place the sensor bar either on top of your television or beneath it. You get used to the sensor bar's look after a while although at first you might think it's something of an eyesore. It’s a small price to pay, however, for the Wiimote’s unique motion sensing features.