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It used to be the case that counterfeit Wii remotes were fairly easy to spot. Unfortunately for consumers (and presumably Amazon warehouse employees as well) they’re getting harder and harder to tell apart from the real deal. See the video I’ve attached for an overview of one such would-be item and its Nintendo counterpart. It’s actually pretty convincing! Still, for anyone who’s ever actually used a Wii remote, the difference between OEM and non-OEM hardware is pretty obvious once you get through the packaging. Buyers should be aware that non-OEM Wii Remotes are currently getting mixed in with OEM hardware, as evidenced by my comparison, as well as by reviews left by others. So, in lieu of Amazon sellers uploading pictures of the products they’re offering — and especially if the order is Amazon fulfilled shipping — just be aware that it’s basically going to be a toss-up as to whether you’re going to get a genuine item or not. Your mileage may vary. Fortunately, Amazon’s customer service makes returns fairly painless in the event that you don’t receive what you were expecting.
Anyway, now that that’s out of the way, next up is a review of the product itself. Note that while the video pertains more to a discussion on the differences between legit and fake Wii remotes, the textual review that follows (and my rating) are strictly about the official version of the product. Finally, towards the end, I’ve included some emendations/clarifications/corrections pertaining to some of the things I said in the video.
THE REVIEW:
Buyers of Wii Remotes should know that not all of them are (or were) created equal. No, I’m not talking about the various third-party versions that are out there: I’m talking about the bona-fide Wii Remotes produced by Nintendo themselves.
For those unaware, the original Wii Remote came without a rubber grip/sleeve, without a wrist strap locking mechanism, without a matte/textured back, without Wii MotionPlus INSIDE, without the ability to sync the remote to a friend’s console without first having to remove the battery cover, and it was only available in white.
Yet, over time, the aforementioned revisions/additions/features were added to the Wii remote, one by one: whereas before, Wii remotes were making news headlines for being flung into television sets and walls by over-zealous Wii Sports Tennis and Bowling players, now the remotes were given a rubber sleeve designed to prevent an excess of damage in the event of a remote flying out of a player’s hand; whereas before, the ‘lark’s head’ thread (the simple looped knot that attaches the wrist strap to the body of the remote) would allegedly weaken and fray in the event of twisting — potentially breaking entirely upon being flung (accidentally, of course) into the void — now Nintendo was shipping out a more robust version that had a stronger thread (the old threads were 0.6mm in diameter; newer ones are 1.0mm); whereas before, the wrist strap had a simple piece of plastic on it that was intended to be cinched up to the player’s wrist to keep the wrist strap from slipping off, which purportedly didn’t always work as intended, now the plastic slider was replaced with a locking mechanism that prevented it from loosening up, no matter how hard you flung the remote; whereas before, the back of the Wii remote was about as smooth as a first-gen GameCube controller, now it had a pleasant textured grip; whereas before, playing “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” (among other titles) required a dedicated Wii MotionPlus accessory to be plugged into the bottom of the controller, now all of the accelerometers, gimbles, gyros, and other pieces of hardware necessary for MotionPlus functionality were all neatly bundled-up inside the remote itself; whereas before, one had to remove the rear battery cover in order to sync with a friend’s Wii console, now all one had to do was press a button right on the back of the remote itself… etc. It’s also now available in multiple colors.
In short, people voiced concerns, and Nintendo listened. Granted, in the case of the wrist band, it was in response to a class action lawsuit, and yes, sometimes it took Nintendo a while to respond, but they did respond, and the Wii Remote only improved with each iteration. This item represents the Wii Remote at its finest, in terms of both its form and its functionality.
About the only thing that could possibly make these remotes better would be a rechargeable battery. Fortunately, these are readily available, through both first- and third-party channels. One could, perhaps, criticize Nintendo for the fact that the controllers aren’t rechargable out-of-the-box, but it is this reviewer’s opinion that Nintendo’s exclusion of a hard-baked rechargeable battery was actually a long-term win for fans: by adopting the AA form-factor and ensuring that the remote was compatible with NiMH cells for those who opted to use them, Nintendo effectively ensured (whether intentionally or not) that the highly unique Wii Remote (and Wii Remote Plus) peripheral will remain serviceable by consumers — humble players, not only collectors/specialists/tinkers — for many years to come.
REVIEW SUMMARY:
Pros:
- Comes with sleeve, matte/textured backing, revision 4 (latest, so far as I know) wrist-strap, and battery cover with the push-through sync button
- Has the Wii MotionPlus feature built right in — no need for yet another accessory!
- Best version/iteration of the controller and its accessories ever produced
Cons:
- Not rechargeable out-of-the-box (though I’d say this is more of a nit-pick than a real design flaw)
VIDEO COMPARISON ADDENDUM/ERRATA:
I stated that I purchased two of these remotes six months ago, received real ones, and that I only just recently purchased two more, and received… different ones. I was mistaken: According to my Amazon purchase history, I purchased the first set over 18 months ago! I now recall that after their initial unboxing, I let them sit unused in their boxes in a closet for about a year. I only started using them around six months ago. So I’m not sure how long the mix-ups have been happening. It could just be that I got lucky the first time. Unfortunately, it’s been long enough that the seller that I originally purchased from no longer seems to deal in very many Nintendo products. Oh well.
I also realized that I kind of implied that if a Wii Remote has Wii MotionPlus built into it, if it doesn’t have EXACTLY the style of back and wrist strap shown, it should set off alarm bells in a potential buyer’s mind, but this is probably unfair: as I understand it, the back wasn’t redesigned until the Wii U came out, and the wrist strap went through more iterations than the remote itself (if you’re buying used, the owner might simply have lost the newer wrist strap and substituted in an older one), so it’s not impossible to find these with an older battery cover or wrist strap (although the wrist strap should still have a thicker thread than the first versions did, provided it’s the same one that shipped with the remote).
Finally, I said in the video that Nintendo recalled the thin-stranded wrist-straps, but I later learned that this was actually a false rumor: A class-action lawsuit WAS filed over wrist-straps that were allegedly breaking under normal use, however Nintendo never actually conceded to this allegation, nor did they ever recall the first variant of the wrist straps that were released. Rather, they maintained that under normal use, the original wrist straps would function exactly as intended, and that only under extremely exceptional circumstances/abuse might the thread break. In keeping with good faith, they still went ahead and increased the thickness of the thread, and allowed consumers the option of requesting revised straps be shipped to them, at no charge. Way to go, Nintendo.
Hope that helps. Good luck, and happy hunting!
