Despite the Wii’s innovative motion controls, Nintendo’s Wii Remote is nothing special to hold, especially compared to the elaborate design of an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 controller. That makes fertile ground for Nyko, whose third-party Wii Remotes, or Wands, feel just as mediocre for $10 less.
At CES, Nyko is showing off the Wand+, which is the same size as a regular Wii Remote, but includes the functionality of Nintendo’s accuracy-boosting Wii MotionPlus dongle, no attachments required. Best of all, the Wand+ will sell for $40 when it goes on sale in late February — the same price Nintendo charges for a standalone Wii Remote (Nintendo’s MotionPlus attachment costs another $20).
There are some other nice design flourishes, too, like a soft coating and rubber backing that includes comfortable grooves over the rear battery pack. And it comes in partial or all black.
