Wii Remotes eat batteries. It's a fact we've long granted as simple, stark truth -- but what to do about it? Wii owners have a lot of solutions at hand, from simply sucking it up to elaborate rituals with charge stations, rechargeables, and even voodoo rituals (or so we heard). Got a Balance Board? There's a whole new battery dilemma for you ... and with Wii MotionPlus on the horizon, and its battery-destroying potential, if you don't already have a plan in place for handling the coming battery power crisis, it might be time to consider some options.
Don't worry -- we're here to help. We've explored several solutions in the past, and now we're back with a look at an all new charging apparatus: Penguin United's 4X Quad Charge Station. PU is so proud of being able to charge four remotes at once that they boasted of the ability twice in its name!
Jokes aside, it's a solid option that comes at a price some might consider hefty. But hey! It charges four remotes at once.
At least, the prototype Wii MotionPlus accessory sucks down batteries, according to Siliconera's Spencer Yip. After a talk with an unnamed Nintendo representative, Siliconera is reporting that the early versions of the add-on deliver an underwhelming nine hours of battery life on a fresh pair of AAs. Considering that Wii owners have been struggling to find solutions to battery-eating remotes since the console debuted, this could be bad news indeed. Luckily, Yip says the Nintendo rep assured him that these are only prototypes and, by the time the add-on is ready, they hope to have the issue fixed. But don't be surprised if they follow up with Wii MotionPlus 2 six months after the initial accessory is released.
When I first looked at the Nyko Energy Pack, a rechargeable battery pack designed for the Balance Board, I was dubious. I had no problem believing that the thing could function (as in be charged and make the balance board work), but I thought the form factor indicated a hack job. As it turns out, that was dumb and wrong of me. Though it may look unmistakably kludgey (involving a battery pack to which a cord is attached, which is then attached to another cord, which then goes to the wall), the Energy Pack is smartly designed, unobtrusive, and easy to use.
Update: Sorry, got our dates confused. The post has been fixed.
Nyko wants you to know they've come up with a solution for the Balance Board's power consumption, making sure they get in on the cash cow others think it will be. It's a rechargeable battery pack that will release on May 19th, for a MSRP of $19.99. The cool thing about this rechargeable battery pack is that, in order to recharge it, you won't even need to unplug it from the Balance Board. You can charge and play at the same time.
Hit up the gallery below for some screens of the accessory at work.
Up until the death of what we hoped would be the accessory to end all accessories, there hasn'tbeenmuch in the way of docks or storage solutions for the person with 4 Wiimotes. Now, thanks to the React Recharge Dock, we can charge up four Wiimotes simultaneously and still keep the clean aesthetic of the Wii.
With a fitting color scheme and its space-saving design, React's rechargeable solution for your Wiimote needs is not only shaping up to be the best solution for those who want a rechargeable pack for their Wiimotes that matches their Wii, but also about the most expensive choice for gamers. This accessory demands a hefty $50 entrance fee before you can enjoy it. However, the pack does include four 550 mAh batteries for your Wiimotes, so in the end, it just might not be such a bad deal after all.
If you've owned a Wii for more than a day, you've probably discovered something: those cute little Wii remotes eat batteries for lunch (and breakfast, and dinner, and perhaps for an evening snack). What have you done to counteract the problem? Using rechargeables? A charging station? Prayer and hope? Cursing while you pick up yet another pack of AAs? We've gone with rechargeables around here, but even then, they can really suck up the juice.
If you're looking for a cheap, simple way to recharge your Wiimote, it would appear that Psyclone's Nintendo Wii Recharge Station is not it. While it may look like a convenient battery recharging system, its primary function actually seems to be irreversibly destroying Wii controllers. If that's what you're looking for, you could just smash the things with your shoe and save some money.
According to most of the Amazon reviewers who turned in low ratings, the thing doesn't know when to stop charging its batteries, causing it to overheat and fry the attached remote. Reports of "incredibly hot" Wiimotes, "burn marks," and "killed Wii Motes" are widespread (among Amazon reviewers), lending us enough reason to avoid the product, especially with non-destructive alternatives on the market.
Amusingly, Amazon sellers seem to be trying to capitalize on the sudden notoriety of the product. Two Marketplace sellers are offering Wii Recharge Stations starting at $174.44.
There are a lot of solutions to power needs for your Wiimote (or Wiimotes). For us, some generic rechargeable AA batteries you see above get the job done and only set us back about $13 for the charger and 8 AAs. But, maybe you're into some of the USB-based solutions? Did you go with the dual charger, or did you pick up one that merely charges a single Wiimote? Maybe you rock some rechargeable batteries like us?
We've had some laughs over Dragon Electronics' ill-conceived accessories in the past, but the Chinese manufacturer really seemed to hit all the right notes with its latest charging dock. Taking more into account than just bundling battery covers and rechargeable AAA batteries, the cradle has every feature we're looking for in a budget solution -- USB adapter, unobtrusive design, room to charge two controllers simultaneously, and LED status indicators.
Play-Asia has the charging station listed for $14.90 ($6.70 s/h), while eBay auctions have it priced a few dollars higher. To compare, Nyko's dock sells for about $30. Check past the post break for the full fact sheet.
We didn't even know that acessories manufacturer Intec was working on a Wii remote charging station until we saw one listed for sale earlier today. Much like Nyko's cradle, Intec's dock comes with two rechargeable battery packs and a base that lights up to signal when it's in use. That's about where the similarities between the two end.
Intec's dock does away with the AC plug and allows you to conveniently charge the battery packs via USB instead. Adding onto its appeal, at $25.00, the dock comes in $5.00 cheaper than Nyko's. Sounds like an easy choice between the two, right?
Where Intec's dock fails is its inability to charge both battery packs at the same time. You can't even charge the packs while they're in locked in the controllers! Those two slots for the remotes? Just for display! If you want to recharge a battery pack, you have to remove it from the controller and plant it into the dock.
This sort of half-assed setup might have flown back in November, but months after competitors have already put out more advanced solutions? Even with the five-dollar savings, you'd be wise to avoid this dock. That said, jump past the post break anyway, and check out the strange blurb we spotted on Intec's packaging.
Fire Bird's rechargeable grip combines the functions of a Wii remote charging dock and a controller frame accessory. The product seemed silly to us at first, but we suppose that something like this could be useful when we're playing Virtual Console releases or games that require us to hold the remote sideways like Excite Truck. Having a convenient way to recharge the battery via USB will also come in handy for future marathon sessions with Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn when Nintendo brings the time-consuming SRPG stateside.
SuccessHK no longer has the rechargeable controller grip in stock, but there are still a few listed on eBay for about $9.99 ($8.00 shipping). One strange thing to note about the packaging is its Wii Sports branding. Having your remote locked into the plastic frame would make playing any of the Wii Sports' games awkward. Check out that Wii logo too! The last two letters look more like a u-umlaut than lowercase i's. Head past the post break for a larger shot of the grip!
We played the "What if?" game with our friends a lot during our younger years. Our school playground was a montessori arena for cartwheels and slow motion kicks as we acted out, "What if we were Power Rangers?" Tired from our recess shenanigans, we would brood over notes we passed in class, wondering, "What if it rained candy? Seriously, wouldn't that be rad?" We eventually put the childish pastime behind us, realizing that it wasn't appropriate to ask our best friends, "What if I was a guy who wanted to date your sister?"
Buzz Beamer from Sports Illustrated Kids hasn't given up on the "What if?" game yet. In the magazine's latest comic, Buzz ruminates over the possibilities of an over-sized Wii remote. He comes up with some entertaining ideas like Virtual Log Riding and Tossing the Caber. Our favorite is the one where he has a "realistic" wrestling match with the giant remote. That's way cooler than the Hulk Hogan pillow we used to grapple with when we were kids!
The above picture surfaced over at Go Nintendo yesterday, revealing what many in the comments section are calling the Wii's internal clock battery, which allows the Wii to keep accurate time even when it is not plugged into a wall socket. We're surprised to see the battery revealed so late in the game, as we know Nintendo fanboys always go over every inch of their console.
Nintendo of Japan has long supported a "Club Nintendo" program by which ridiculous fanboys (like us) get to register their purchased consoles and software for various rewards. Of course, we have a similar "registering" procedure at MyNintendo.com, but we rarely have anything to show for it ... we got a Metroid Prime 2 demo disc, once. Woo-hoo.
It turns out that platinum members (a status obtained by magically accruing four hundred points in a year) of Club Nintendo get to choose between two wonderful prizes: Tingle's Balloon Fight, for the DS, or a custom battery pack cover with your very own Mii imprinted on the back. Such a difficult decision! Whilst they ponder, perhaps we may spirit away these prizes in the night. Who's in?
MTV.com's Stephen Totilo recently sat down with Nintendo's one-and-only, ass-kicking, name-taking man in charge Reggie Fils-Aime, where the problem of battery life came up. Reggie seems to think that any kind of rechargeable solution to the problem will have to come from third-parties.
This comes as a surprise to us, given that Microsoft's rechargeable solutions for their controllers were, and are, such a hit. Why would Nintendo deny themselves the money from selling rechargeable packs for their Wiimotes?
Wii Remotes eat batteries. It's a fact we've long granted as simple, stark truth -- but what to do about it? Wii owners have a lot of solutions at hand, from simply sucking it up to elaborate rituals with charge stations, rechargeables, and even voodoo rituals (or so we heard). Got a Balance Board? There's a whole new battery dilemma for you ... and with Wii MotionPlus on the horizon, and its battery-destroying potential, if you don't already have a plan in place for handling the coming battery power crisis, it might be time to consider some options.
If you've owned a Wii for more than a day, you've probably discovered something: those cute little Wii remotes 
