A Guide to Wii Input, Part 2

OK, so somehow, despite the endless possibilities, you’re board of the Wiimote and the Nunchuk. Well no problem, Nintendo is way ahead of you and you’ve got quite a few options.

The Classic Controller:

The Classic Controller is just that, a traditional gaming controller. Its cord (which comes from the bottom) connects to the expansion port of the Wiimote. It was made specifically for Virtual Console games, but nothing is stopping normal Wii games from using it. For some reason, you can’t use it to play old GameCube games. For those you have to have an actual GameCube controller (which hooks to the top of the Wii).

There is a mysterious square port in the back of the controller whose function has yet to be revealed. It has been speculated that the port will attach to the Wimote, giving it motion sensitivity. If that were the case, the Classic Controller would become almost the same thing as the Sony Sixaxis controller. This sound cool to me, so I hope it is the case. If it were, possible game developers would find it easier to port between the two systems.

In any case, not all our other options are this traditional.

The Wii Zapper:

This is a gun attachment for both the Wiimote and the Nunchuk. The Wiimote fits on top of the barrel area, and the Nunchuk fits into a back handle. The trigger of the gun replaces the normal “B” trigger on the back of the Wiimote.

The gun is not like the old Nintendo Duck Hunt gun, which could somehow actually see where you were pointing (of course it could be easily tricked). So in order to have real ‘line of site’ capabilities, you have to calibrate the gun in the game. The calibration process is usually fairly error proof and once you’ve done it, it has quite a smooth feel and leads to very natural game play. For me, there is a little bit of confusion about whether to put my right or left hand forward, but I find I like pulling the trigger with my right hand, which is how I normally hold the Wiimote and Nunchuk anyway.

So far, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicle, Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 and Ghost Squad and Links Crossbow Training have been designed for use with the Wii Zapper, but it isn’t required for any of them.

The Wii Wheel:

This isn’t out yet, but it is a simple steering wheel with the Wiimote smack in the center. There is a button on the for the trigger. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to use it so I don’t know how intuitive it’ll be. I have some fundamental question about how the controls will work that just haven’t been answered, first among them: “Will this really add to game play?” I guess we’ll find out, but until then, we can speculate about how much use it’ll be.

Third Part Accessories:

A ton a third party accessories have been released, but most of them are just shells, and do not add any functionality. From swords and shields for Zelda to golf clubs for Wii Sports, it is clear that the possibilities of the Wiimote are still being explored. During this experimentation phase, we’re going to have a lot of failed designs and a lot of failed game control schemes. But once a more unified theme starts emerging, I think the potential for games everywhere will be much higher.