Nyko Wand+ for Wii Integrates MotionPlus

Gaming peripheral maker Nyko is probably best known in the Nintendo Wii universe for its Action Pak peripherals, which offered a decent pistol-style grip for action games and enabled players to customize controls to an extent. Now, Nyko has lapped Nintendo itself a bit with the Wand+ controller, a replacement for the standard Wii controller that incorporates MotionPlus technology. The result is a svelte, lightweight controller with all the functionality of Nintendo’s bulky add-on.

The Wand+ (which will be available in black, white, purple, and pink) has all the features of the standard Wiimote—including full motion control, vibratio, and an integrated speaker—and also rolls in Nyko’s Trans-Port Technologies that enables accessories (you know, like gun grips) to pass through key buttons. The Wand+ also faetures a rubberized trigger, what the company claims is a more comfortable d-pad, and larger 1 and 2 buttons.

The Nyko Wand+ should be available in March for around $30; however, maybe by then Nintendo will realize that rolling the MotionPlus technology into a single remote might not be a bad idea after all.