Wii U Branded Remotes Feature External Sync Button

Thank god. Those internal, hard to reach sync buttons were awful.

The Wii Motion Plus controllers already have the external sync button.

This seems like a bad idea. It's not often that you need to sync the controller, so having the button tucked away where you can't press it accidentally was better.

that grip looks cool

@Angel792 I've read numerous comments on other sites referring to this since writing the story. It appears to have been a rather stealthy revision that has happened at some point this year. Either way, at least we know that this will be the case moving forward!

The annoying thing about the old sync location was rechargeable packs needed to leave access to them, which meant you had to get a paper-clip or precision screwdriver or something to press the button.

Whilst evaluating this small design change, I'm surprised they didn't consider adding native charging.

I think they already have this. I bought one a few months ago, and I kind of remember seeing that and thinking it was a nice improvement.

Because we need that button so often... What was wrong with putting it out of the way? Looks ugly with that red blob sticking out

@BenAV
I leave the sleeves on... :-/
In fact, if I take them off, I think the remotes feel weird without them.

Still no rechargeable batteries out of the box... ? Still a decade with that new Wii U and no rechargeable batteries. Sigh. 21st century Nintendo... 21st century...

My only question left is will my extra long wiimote and motion plus attachment fit into the inevitable Mario Kart Wheel, Gamepad Zapper, etc.?

Or should I start cashing in my white wiimotes and getting black ones from ebay....?

or should I get coloured ones to avoid player confusion.

@Angel792
Not all of them, have yet to see a single one with an external sync button. If it's a revision, when exactly did it start appearing?

@Akera099
....We still are in the 21st century you know....

@Koto, the implication @Akera099 is making is that we are in the 21st century, but the Wii remotes are not.

i want one of these things to happen. 1: my old wiimotes will work on the wii-u, 2: my wiimotes rechargable charge induction batteries will work in wii-u wiimotes, and 3: the speaker on the wiimotes won't die out from player sweat falling into it anymore

I also leave the sleeves on. What's wrong with this idea (sync button outiside)? I think it's great. I would like to know if the current black Wii Remote Plus have this design already.

@Mahe It's difficult to press, the only way to do it, is using something like a pen or the wiimote's strip like in this picture:
http://snag.gy/lBKFZ.jpg

"I would like to know if the current black Wii Remote Plus have this design already."

Like I said earlier, I'm pretty sure the more recently marketed ones do.

@Burning_Spear I read your comment before but you say 'I bought one a few months ago, and I kind of remember seeing that and thinking it was a nice improvement'. So you bought it and you don't know if it features the new design??

@Sun
I'm at work now and can't check. But I'm almost certain the Sync button is on the back.

Great
Having to take out the plastic glove, the strap and the cover was a pain.

There will probably be people buying a Wii U who will use their old Wii in a kids room so the Wiimotes could go back and forth on a daily basis so the external button could conceivably get a lot of use.

We have 4 Wiimotes - 2 old blue and pink ones with the Plus attachment running on AA batteries, and 2 newer black ones with Plus built in running on induction batteries under the cover. We bring 2 of them to my parents alot b/c they only have 2 Wiimotes, syncing them both when we get there and when we get back home at night is a pain, so an external sync button would help.

Question... Do these wiimotes use AA or proprietary batteries?

Cool I guess. I never had problems syncing the older models, but this helps people I guess, and makes it more accessable for anyone not too familar with syncing devices. They probably just packaged the older models in the Wii U branded ones, and then once their last supply of those ran out, released the newer model.

I'd RATHER have rechargable battery packs, but I just use Rayovac rechargables($14inc. tax/Walmart) w/ an Energizer 15-min. charger($30 w/ 2 AA/2 AAA). Rayovac batteries work better than Energizer, and are cheaper bu the way, at least from my experience. So no complaints. Xbox still uses AA standard batteries, and Wii Remotes don't have a charge input, so you would have to buy rechargable docks and all that if they did anyway, like the Xbox 360. They make those already, just not Nintendo brand versions.

Rayvac rechargable batteries=$14 for 8 vs. Energizer for $23 for 8. The energizer rechargables I ever used, always stopped holding a charge before a year, so I stopped buying them.

@Angel792 No they don't...

Don't know why they would do this, you use the sync button only a few times a year, if that. You change the batteries more than you sync(at least, for most people).

I totally agree with @FiveDigitLP. I can't use a WiiMote w/o a jacket it just feels wierd.

I could understand them doing this if the new controllers use an internal battery/charging cradle system, but otherwise this seems ridiculous.

@SCAR392 I bought the 15 min Energizer charger when it was released, at 90€. I assure you that the fast cycle charges end up killing any brand of batteries. Years later I bought a regular Energizer charger (model Compact) and it works good on the batteries.

@shinesprite It just makes synchronization much easier. Is that ridiculous?

@3Dash @Koto @MegaWatts I bought the Wii plus controller controller in July and my brother Zelda Wii mote plus haves the sync button on the outside, so i though that all Wii+ controller had it. Maybe they add it on may or june.

I agree with some people here, in that the Wii U branded motes should have rechargeable batteries built in.

@Angel792 I have my gold Zelda 25th Motion+ controller in front of me and I can safely say that it does not have a sync button the outside.

@Moshugan Join the petition

OK, I checked, and yes, this feature is present on a remote I purchased a few months ago.

This is useless. The only time you have to get the Wiimote synced is when you first get it. guess what else you have to do then? Put in batteries. Real useful. I actually don't put on the Wiimote jacket for the sole purpose of easy battery change. So rechargeable batteries built in? I'm all for. Sign me up. Then I won't think this is getting one stilt. (You do something, but it doesn't matter until you do something else that you don't see you have to do, but everyone else can quite easily.)

First world problems...

@Burning_Spear Same for me. Also I have a Red Wii Remote Plus from Japan that has the sync button too!

Sorry Nintendo life, but this is old news. I goth both red and pink with sync button for months, and am gonna upgrade to a blue sync button remote some time in the future.

Too bad my Zelda remote doesn't have this feature.

@Grodus Some people go to their parents's or friends's place and they use their Wii Remotes there. @Burning_Spear Thanks for checking. Do you remember when you bought it?

@EvisceratorX - We're on a gaming site. That's kinda implied...

Oh god, not external sync buttons! I haven't had a problem with them myself but thrown a couple of gaming nights with friends and they had real trouble not pressing them! For some reason they just couldn't help accidently pressing them in every single game. We'd be playing a sports game or Mario Kart and one player would always say "it's stopped working" with their remote lights flashing. Sigh.

@Sun

My best estimate is about five months ago.

I REALLY don't like this. It ruins aesthetics of the Wii Remote...

i actually like it when you need it is there easy to press the button and get on with your gaming the other way was kinda annoying but didnt bother me to much so eh in short its good (:

Rejoice.

Good news for all (in North America at least) it's clear that Nintendo is just repackaging the existing stock of wii remote plus into new Wii U branded boxes, so if you prefer the internal sync, they're still available and if you prefer the external sync you know they are available too. At Best Buy (in Canada, at least - which gets their stock from the US bacsically) I have noticed that there are two versions of the Wii U branded wii remote plus packaging.

The Wii U branding artwork is identical on these two versions and they are the same size box (which is not as "long" as the regular Wii branded remotes) however the box packaging material itself differs in that some of them have a glossy finish that is the same as the existing wii remote packaging and some have more of a matte finish. Again, the artwork and shape of the boxes are identical so you have to look closely, but up close it is an obvious difference. I bought both versions of the Wii U branded wii remote packages to compare out of curiousity, I noticed when I opened them up, the glossy version of the packaging has this "newer" style remote plus with the external sync as pictured in the article with sync button hole in the jacket and comes with the standard warranty insert with Wii U branding on it, however the matte finish packaging has the traditional Wii remote plus with internal sync button and full jacket on the back and comes with a warranty insert that is still branded as the old Wii (ie there is no Wii U branding on the insert) it is as if they literally gut the box with the standard Wii branding and just re-wrap it in this matte finish Wii U branded box.
I prefer the external sync myself so I returned the matte finish box version of the Wii U remote. Just look closely at the finish on the boxes to see if the store you're at has a combination of both or if they are all the same to determine if you want external or internal sync button.

One more thing: A quick way to tell the difference between these two packaging versions of the remote (other than glossy finish vs. matte finish) is if you just look at the top flap of the box (with the blue "U" logo on it) ..

GLOSSY FINISH Wii U-branded Box:
In the far corner to the top-right of that "U" logo on the top flap in small printing are the letters "USZ" on the glossy version of the packaging that feature the external sync button remote and Wii U branded warranty/instruction insert.

MATTE FINISH Wii U-branded Box:
The matte finish boxes that are identical in every other way do NOT have those letters "USZ" printed on the top flap to the top right of that "U" logo. Those versions of the packaging appear to have the traditional Wii Remote Plus with internal sync and even though the box is branded Wii U on the outside, the warranty insert is the same standard "wii" branding on the instructions.

To Recap, if you want:
EXTERNAL SYNC VERSION = Glossy finish box with tiny "USZ" printed to the top right of the "U" logo on the top flap.
INTERNAL SYNC VERSION = Matte finish box without any printing on the top flap next to the "U" logo.