Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Teknocreations has unveiled their InCharge battery pack and charge stand for Wiimotes. The new stand uses a set of lithium polymer batteries, which, according to the press release, are half as heavy as other rechargeables and work over hundreds of charges. Each charge provides 25 hours of gameplay. The stand can charge two Wiimotes side-by-side.

But all of that is just a leadup to the real magic trick that separates this thing from other chargers: it charges without any metal contacts, and will charge a battery through a silicone cover. If you actually use your Wii Remote Jackets, you can leave them on when you dock your Wiimotes to charge. That is really, really cool. No word on whether or not this charger will melt your controllers.

There are certain things that we, as gamers, just need to have. Wavebird controllers, Classic controllers and a rechargeable battery solution for our Wiimotes are just a few of these things. What would you say is essential equipment for your Wii? What peripherals and other equipment can you not live without? Your Zapper? Your Wavebirds, like us? Your Wiimote jackets? What is it?

We did send away for our Wiimote jackets back when it was first revealed Nintendo would be giving customers free protective sleeves, but our freebies never arrived. It's just as well, because we're pretty sure we would've never put on the damn thing anyway.

What about you all? Did you send away for one, or multiple, jackets? Do you find you need it? Can't stand it? What say you all?

NEWS FLASH: Nintendo's hit minigame collection Wii Sports can still be played, even after the addition of a squishy silicone sleeve to the Wii Remote. That's the message that Nintendo hopes to get out with these new videos, which depict normal, everyday families and friends enjoying Wii Sports. The three videos (the top three on the list, with the "new" labels) are all captioned with "Played using the Wii Remote jacket."

We know we were worried that making the Wiimote more comfortable to hold would ruin our baseball swing, but this is apparently not the case! We're happy to spread the cheerful news that the remote jacket in no way seems to hamper the ability of these Wii fans to bowl, box, or be shrill.

[Via NeoGAF]

Nintendo announced that all new Wii systems, Wii Remotes and Wii Play bundles will now come packaged with one of these cushy-looking Wii Remote Jackets. The new bundles are shipping out today, and expected in stores by the 15th. (Side note: expect Wiis in stores on the 15th?) The design of the things completely kills the simple aesthetic Nintendo was going for with the Wiimote, while really driving home the feeling of safety with the enormous padded helmet on the top of the controller.

If you don't want to buy a new Wii or Wiimote just for one of these, then you can get up to four free from Nintendo. North American customers can order them online or call 1-866-431-8367; Japanese customers fill out the form here; and Australian Wii owners call (03) 9730 9822. We're sure there will be an option for Europe as well, but Nintendo of Europe has yet to provide the information.

This news comes just three days before the release date of the NERF Wiimote sleeve. That's a shame. A shame that results in big savings for you!