Nyko Products for the Wii, Part I

While I was at CES 2008 this year, I got a chance to check out the new Wii accessories from Nyko. I even got to try them out first-hand, and was very impressed with them.

The Intercooler

The Intercooler helps resolve a problem that all video game consoles have: overheating. I’m sure all of you know about the “ring of death” on the Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii has similar heating problems. I keep mine by my stereo, and notice that it feels really warm. I’ve been thinking about using it to warm my gloves and shoes.

Fortunately, the Intercooler provides increased air flow away from the Wii and allows a cooler, more ventilated environment. Installation is simple as it snaps in the back, then the AC cord just plugs right into it. Since the AC cord is always plugged in, the Intercooler will work as long as the Wii is on, and that includes the “standby” mode.

The Intercooler for the Wii is available for about $14.99 on the Nyko site. The Nyko Intercooler is also available for the Sony Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Charge Station

Of all the useful Nintendo Wii accessories, this is by far the most useful. Some of the games of the Wii require hours of constant playing, and this puts the burn on the batteries. I remember playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and found that the AAs that I put in the day before were dead the day after.

The Nyko Charge Station plugs right into the wall and is ready to work. All the user has to do is put the NiMH batteries into the Wiimotes, and then put the Wiimotes onto the charging station. I believe that the Nyko site says that it takes 8 hours for a full recharge, and it is good for 25 hours worth of playtime. However, I found that the charger did it faster, and the batteries were ready to use right out of the hard plastic box.

The Charge Station also comes with battery covers with a hole in the back, so the battery interacts with the charger. These covers have a rubberized grip for some non slip action. You don’t even have to take off the Wii-strap.

The Charge Station is available on the Nyko for about $39.99.

Perfect Shot

Ever since the Wii Blaster came out, there has been complaints that it is clumsy, and it doesn’t really work that well. The Nyko Perfect Shot is designed not to be as clumsy or random as a blaster, and is an precise weapon, for a more civilized time. Some of you might not have caught that Star Wars reference, but the facts are the trigger is smoother than other products of this type.

The Perfect Shot is set up to house the Wiimote right on top. The only inconvenience is that you have to remove the Wii-strap. The Perfect shot fits into your hand like a six-shooter, and even has a nice rubberized grip. You can then attach the Nunchuk to the bottom of the Perfect Shot.

I found that this is great for games like Resident Evil, but not so good as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, or others where the A button has to be used. You can get the Nyko Perfect shot for about $14.99 on the Nyko Site.