Tag: Peripherals

  • News Get A Discount On Venom's Multiformat Arcade Fight Stick With Mortal Kombat 11

    Get over here (if you're in the UK)

    Video game peripherals company Venom has a tie-in promotion celebrating the launch of Mortal Kombat 11 with UK retailer Argos. If you order the company's Multiformat Arcade FightStick, pictured above, plus the game online or in-store, you'll get £15 off the full SRP of £59.99 until 10th June. Switch gamers will...

  • News Nintendo Has Plans For More Switch Peripheral Hardware

    Nintendo Labo might be just the start

    We hope you like peripherals, because it seems like Nintendo has plenty more up its considerable sleeve.  Check out this interesting line from Takashi Mochizuki's Wall Street Journal report on Nintendo's latest good fortunes: People familiar with the development plans said new peripheral hardware devices...

  • News By The Way, The Joy-Con Grip Bundled With Nintendo Switch Won't Charge Your Joy-Cons

    You'll need the "premium" version, of course

    Just when you thought the cost of owning a Switch couldn't get any higher, allow us to bring to your attention the fact that the Joy-Con grip that ships with the console doesn't actually charge your Joy-Cons when they're attached - you'll need to invest in a more advanced grip, which costs £27.99 in the...

  • News 8Bitdo Is Bringing A Wireless Controller Option To The NES Classic Mini

    $39.99, and it ships before Christmas

    Fed up of the stupidly short controller cable on the NES Classic Mini? Fear not, because peripheral maker 8bitdo has confirmed today that it is bringing its own wireless control option to the NES Classic Mini. 8Bitdo has already performed the same trick with the standard

  • Random PC Indie Title Gives You A Reason To Dust Off Those Donkey Konga Bongos

    "It's a lot more fun with a controller you can hit really hard"

    Beat Nebula is an indie title created by TJ "Kyatt" Cordes for QaziJam8 event, and while it's unlikely to ever make it to the Wii U, 3DS or Switch, it should be of interest to Nintendo fans thanks to the controller it supports. The premise is simple - you have to destroy incoming...

  • News Nintendo Might Soon Be Hawking Its Own Smartphone Controllers

    Shut up and take my money

    We've seen a lot of retro-inspired smartphone controllers hit the market over the years, with some of our favourites being the 8Bitdo NES30, FC30 and SNES30. As Nintendo sets its sights on success in the smartphone gaming arena with

  • News Pikachu Is Getting His Very Own Pokkén Tournament Controller

    The lucky scamp

    Remember the Pokkén Tournament controller we covered a while back? A new version is being released in Japan this June, and it's clad in the signature colours of the world's most famous Pokémon. Costing 3,758 Yen, the Hori-made pad will be identical to the original in terms of form and functionality, but it's yellow. And it has a...

  • News Looks Like The Pokkén Tournament Pro Pad Was Supposed To Have LEDs And Force Feedback

    Pokémon Rumble?

    If you've had the good fortune to have played Pokkén Tournament in its arcade guise then you'll be aware that its controller is festooned with cool-looking LED lights. LED lights make everything look better - it's a fact. If you've also played the Wii U version with the exclusive Pokkén Pro Pad, then you'll know that this feature...

  • Hardware Review 8Bitdo NES30 Bluetooth Controller

    A familiar friend, reinvented

    If you're an Android user then you'll already be well aware of the operating system's native connectivity with wireless Bluetooth peripherals, including dedicated game pad controllers. Apple has recently introduced a similar protocol for its iOS platform, and Android-based micro-consoles like the Ouya, M.O.J.O. and

  • News NES30 GamePad Brings Old School Control To iOS, Android, Mac, Windows And Wii

    Let's party like it's 1985

    If you're fed up of using the Wiimote for games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns, then you might want to take a look at 8Bitdo's new NES30 GamePad controller. A near-perfect replication of the original 1985 Nintendo Entertainment System joypad, this controller brings the concept up to date by...

  • Hardware Review Wireless Super Retro 64 Controller

    Out of control

    With digital download services on the rise and HD remakes becoming more of a regular occurrence, the retro gaming scene is bigger than ever. Restore points and improved visuals — not to mention the off-TV play function offered by the Wii U GamePad — have done a good job of making older titles more suited to our modern...

  • News Nyko Power Pak Boosts Wii U GamePad Stamina By Three Times

    More power to your controller

    As great as the Wii U is, the one thing that bugs many owners is the terrible battery life of the GamePad controller. We've lost count of the number of times we've had to play with it connected to the wall charger because we forgot to top-up the battery after the previous day's session. Thankfully, peripheral...

  • News Nintendo Said Unto the Patent Office: Let There Be Wii Light

    Another wacky peripheral gets uncovered

    Nintendo's always been one for experimenting with peripheral accessories designed to boost the functionality of its hardware. From football controllers, to inflatable horseback saddles, Nintendo's patented them all. A recent uncovering by Siliconera

  • News Epic Mickey Paintbrush Controller and Charging Station

    PDP gets into the Epic Mickey spirit

    For those looking to get a little more into the Mickey spirit when they sit down to play Disney's upcoming Wii release Epic Mickey, PDP has just the item for you. Performance Designed Products has created an Epic Mickey-themed Wii Remote Charge Station and an Epic Mickey Paintbrush controller to launch right...

  • News This is the Greatest Wii Controller You'll See Today

    Dragon Quest kicks it up a notch

    Versatile though it is, the Wii Remote sometimes just doesn't – excuse the pun – cut it when it comes to game input. Monster Hunter Tri was built around the Classic Controller Pro and Wii Sports Resort obviously revolved around MotionPlus, but neither of those add-ons were anywhere near as outlandish as this...

  • News Nintendo Beaten to the Punch on Wii Football Controller

    And the world is now a better place

    What was once just a glimmer of Nintendo patent tomfoolery has all of a sudden turned itself into a real product, but not by the hands of The Big N. Seems somebody else has beaten them to it! That someone is CTA Digital, who are also notably behind the Wii Bowling Ball controller and a skate/snowboard shell for...

  • News EA Tees Up Golf Club Peripherals for Wii

    Living rooms, beware

    With Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 due out in June, EA have announced that they are releasing a line of sports accessories for the Nintendo Wii, including realistic golf clubs for its Tiger Woods PGA Tour series. These golf clubs will stretch out to 36 inches, so if you're playing the Wii in your bedroom this may not be such a...

  • News EA to Release NFL Training Game?

    To be used with yet another attachment...

    Not too long ago here at Nintendo Life, we reported the patent of an odd looking American Football peripheral. Well it appears that this strange contraption may come to market with a rumour that EA Sports are to announce an NFL training game this month. Unlike a traditional Madden game, it is said that NFL...

  • News Don't Toss Those Old Controllers Yet

    Adapter announced that will allow you to use your old Nintendo pads on Wii

    Sometimes, you come across a Virtual Console game that you just don't think fits snugly onto a Classic controller or a GameCube pad. I've had this problem with Sin and Punishment myself; I hate the Cube controller for it, and the Classic feels weird to me with it's too-close...

  • News You're Gonna Need Wii MotionPlus To Enjoy Red Steel 2

    Ubisoft makes its high-profile sequel dependant on the new add-on

    The original Red Steel was a great idea that was sadly let down by a terrible control system. While people were quick to blame Ubisoft for coming up with such a half-baked concept, the latest news regarding the sequel might shed some light on why the previous game was so poor: the...

  • News Gun-shaped Wiimote Announced

    Soon you can play all your games gangsta-style

    Peripherals! Between the Wii Wheel, Balance Board, Perfect Shot and those useless plastic bits you snap onto the Wiimote to make playing Wii Sports even more embarrassing in front of a crowd, Nintendo's casual-friendly console can't seem to get enough. For those big into lightgun games and that arcade...

  • News 20 Years On, The Power Glove is Still Awesomely Bad

    “I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad.”

    When Lucas Barton uttered those immortal words in the 1989 movie The Wizard it made every single Nintendo fan on the face of the planet want one. The reality was a little less impressive, but thankfully modder Matt Mechtley is ensuring that this iconic peripheral isn’t forgotten; he’s tinkered around...

  • News DJ Hero launches website

    The long awaited DJ hero sets up shop with a mostly naked website.

    DJ hero has been in development for almost 2 years and there are few details, still, but they recently launched a website at www.djhero.com. There's not much to see there yet, but an area to sign up for updates and the platforms it will cover: Wii, PS3, Xbox360. Slated for release...

  • News Japan to get the Classic Controller Pro

    In an interesting move, Nintendo of Japan today announced that they are planning to release an updated version of the Classic Controller, called the Classic Controller Pro.

    It mostly seems to be a design change - The cord connecting it to the Wii remote is now on the top instead of the bottom, there are now two grips to make holding the controller...

  • News Hands on with SnakeByte's XS Starter Pack

    It’s always struck us as rather strange that Nintendo held off allowing third party manufacturers to produce controllers for the Wii for such a long time. It’s only recently that we’ve seen ‘unofficial’ Wiimotes and Nunchuks hitting the marketplace, and considering the relatively high price of Nintendo’s own brand of peripherals, it’s a welcome move.

    SnakeByte – the company behind the Retro Controllers we reviewed recently – has now pushed its own interpretation of Nintendo’s Wiimote and Nunchuk combo onto shop...

  • News Hands On With SnakeByte's Wireless Retro Controller

    Mine's a snakebyte and black!

    For those of you that don’t know SnakeByte is a European peripheral manufacturer that is making some serious waves at the moment. The company has unleashed a whole host of Wii-related controllers, including their own version of the Wii Remote – which is quite a significant product as you’ll remember that Nintendo...

  • News Hori Announces New Classic Controller For Japan

    We've already seen a wealth of third-party classic controller offerings, but for those who love auto-fire capabilities on their controllers, Hori has just what you're looking for in their creatively titled new classic controller called the Classic Controller. There's really no telling how much marketing money was thrown at coming up with just the right name for this unique controller, but those funds were obviously well spent.

    Not only does the controller mimic the original Gamecube controller in form and function, but it also offers up three different autofire...

  • Feature Hands-on with Datel's Wireless Retro Controller

    Going wireless

    The Classic Controller is a great peripheral, modelled on the humble SNES controller of yesteryear with two analogue sticks and a few extra buttons thrown in for good measure to support N64 games - it is all you need to enjoy most of the retro games on the Virtual Console. The only downside is that it isn’t completely wireless...

  • News Nyko Set To Release Wireless Classic Controller

    Ooh fancy!

    For those of you out there who have been searching for an alternative to Nintendo's Wii Classic Controller, you're search is over. Nyko is getting set to release their new Wing wireless classic controller this fall for the Nintendo Wii console. Not only does the Wing feature an ergonomic grip, it also features full wireless support for...

  • News Mega Man 9 To Support Classic And Gamecube Controllers

    Here's another tiny snippet of Mega Man 9 news for those of you out there who can't seem to get enough of it.

    According to Nintendojo, Capcom has confirmed that Mega Man 9 will indeed support not only the Wii Remote held sideways, but also the Classic and Gamecube controllers. What this also means is that if you're lucky enough to own one of the Wii...

  • News Datel Release Retro Controllers for Virtual Console

    The Classic Controller is a lovely one-for-all controller for playing Virtual Console games, but if you’re like me you probably long for a small square edged controller to enjoy NES goodness. Seemingly reading my mind, Datel are releasing some retro style controllers for the Wii. We’d assume these will work on any VC games that support the Wiimote as a controller, but would be best suited for NES, Master System and TG-16 gaming.

    ...

  • News N64 Controller Mod For Virtual Console

    Although the Classic Controller is enough for most retro-loving Wii owners, there are some that crave a rather more authentic experience. There’s nothing like experiencing Virtual Console games on the controllers they were intended to be played on, and while Nintendo’s limited production of the Club Nintendo SNES pad will have satisfied a few, it’s going to leave a certain demographic out in the cold – namely those who love the N64 controller.

    But fear not. A talented hacker called Raphaël Assénat and been tink...

  • News Nyko Wireless Nunchuk - OBJECTION!

    Nintendo isn't best pleased with "rip-off" design

    We covered Nyko’s innovative wireless Nunchuk controller in a news piece some time ago and were generally pleased by the fact that a peripheral manufacturer had decided to fix one of the key problems with the Wii’s control setup – the pesky wire that keeps hitting you in the face as you...

  • News WiiWare needs a storage solution NOW!

    Now that the WiiWare service has launched it is ever more apparent how easy it is to fill up your Wii’s internal memory to full capacity. After all you just get a measly 2,163 blocks of internal memory, that’s the equivalent of just about 512MB! This has been just about bearable on the Virtual Console, it isn’t until you go crazy downloading large Neo Geo, N64 and TurboGrafx-CD games that you are going to run into problems!

    The situation is intensified with the event of the W...

  • Feature Playtest: The Shaft Virtual Console joystick

    As old school gamers on Wii the only thing we missed was a joystick peripheral for that authentic arcade feel

    . Back in the days anyone who was serious about Street Fighter II on the SNES would have owned a Super Advantage joystick. The NEO GEO was famed for the quality of its joystick – indeed it was almost as big as the console itself. Why...

  • News Wii SNES Controller Hits Japan

    We don’t get jealous often here at Virtual Console Reviews – we don’t need to, being the famous international playboys that we are – but when we spotted some shots of one particularly lucky chap unpacking his limited edition Wii Super Famicom (SNES in the West) controller, we couldn’t help but go a little green with envy.

    It was reported...

  • News First Official Images of the New Neo-Geo Stick for Wii

    SNK has published official images of the forthcoming Neo-Geo stick, and the good news is that it looks exactly the same as the original AES joystick we all know and love.

    The classic design, first seen with SNK's Neo-Geo home system almost 20 years ago, arguably ranks as one of the most iconic controllers in the history of videogaming. Back in the...

  • News Wii "Nerf" Blaster

    EA have teamed up with Hasbro to create a new Wii and DS game called "Nerf N-Strike".

    Nerf N-Strike claims to be "the first Nerf blaster action game" whereby "players can wreak havoc and perfect their blasting skills or challenge friends to clashes with both single and multi-player game modes". Not very exciting then? Wrong...

  • News Wii Neo Geo Joystick Coming in April

    It had to happen. With SNK supporting the Virtual Console and consequently making some of its wonderful 2D fighting games available for download, it was almost inevitable that someone, somewhere would look at producing a more ‘suitable’ control method than is currently offered by the Wiimote, Cube pad and Classic Controller.

    Japanese retailer...

  • Competition Win a Classic Controller! - Caption competition

    At 'Virtual Console Reviews' from time to time we like to give a little back to our readers. This is your opportunity to win a brand new Classic Controller from PlayAsia which we will send directly to your door (Anywhere in EU, North America, Australia, etc)

    The Classic Controller is a must have peripheral for anyone who is serious about gaming on...

  • News Family Trainer - The Next Wii Craze You Won't Be Able To Avoid

    Looks a bit like a dance mat to us, but what do we know?

    Namco Bandai has released promotional shots for the latest 'must have' Wii item. To our untrained eyes it looks more than a little like a traditional dance mat, a revolutionary accessory that first saw the light of day back in the Playstation era. Here's the scoop from Kotaku: Taking a page...

  • News Feel The Force With New Lightsaber Holsters

    The legal team of Lucasarts may have something to say about these

    Cheap plastic holsters for your Wiimote are nothing new and third party peripheral manufacturers are practically falling over themselves to produce even more outlandish (and ultimately pointless) pieces of ‘controller clothing’. However, one item that did impress us in a...

  • News Oh Noes! Wavebird Discontinued

    Wave goodbye to the Wavebird

    The Gamecube may be old news now but for many of us the memory of this much-maligned machine lives on through the excellent Wavebird controller, which comes in very handy when indulging in Virtual Console gaming. The controller is also an excellent alternative for Wii games that are difficult to play using the Wiimote...

  • News SNES CD Prototype Pad On Ebay

    Totally useless but historically interesting all the same!

    We don’t usually get too excited about ‘prototype’ items but this caught our attention here at NintendoLife Towers. Some lucky chap is currently selling a SNES CD joypad prototype on eBay. For those of you that don’t know, the SNES CD never actually existed; it was supposed to be a...

  • News Japan gets Wii SNES Pad

    We're not jealous types here at VC Reviews but the news that Japanese Club Nintendo owners will be getting their hands on a Wii version of the classic SNES control pad has made us green with envy. Nintendo of Japan's 'Club' service is clearly head and shoulders above its Western counterparts! Why can't we get fantastic goodies like this over here?

    C...

  • News The Shaft - Virtual Console joystick

    Much like people had a little chuckle at the name of the Wii the trend continues with the upcoming release of a new joystick for the Virtual Console from Overline Gaming. It is amusingly named The Shaft. We like to think this is a reference to the cool private detective John Shaft however it could be taken in different ways!

    Designed as a Virtual...

  • Feature A Brief History Of The Light Gun On Nintendo

    With the imminent launch of the Wii Zapper here at NintendoLife we've gotten a little nostalgic as memories of the NES Zapper and Super Scope are brought flooding back.

    Light guns were around in the 1930’s beginning with Seeburg’s Ray-O-Light arcade shooter all the way back in 1936. The game involved a moving duck which must be shot in order to...

  • News Dress up your Wii remote, for free!

    Due to the many complaints over the past months about how Wii remotes slip out of hands easily, Nintendo will soon start packing "Wii remote jackets" with Wii systems and additional remotes. If you already have a Wii though, you can order them free! Simply head to your region's Nintendo site and fill in the form to receive your free remote jackets starting mid-October.

    Here's the links to each region's request form: Europe (Select your country, click Consumer Service, Safety Information, and then...

  • News Wii Will Be Zapping Before The Year's Out

    The latest in a long line of Wii peripherals (although this one is Nintendo made) is set to hit shops around the UK and Europe this year.

    The hardware which allows a docking centre for your Wii Remote and Nunchuck is already confirmed to come bundled with "Link's Crossbow Training" as some exclusive software to help you get used to playing with the...

  • News Zelda Game Accompanying Zapper

    Details emerge on the software bundled with the Wii Zapper peripheral.

    Remember when the 'Wii Zapper' was announced at E3? The attachment for the Wiimote that transforms it in to gun, similar to the Zapper made for NES. It was said there would be a training game of sorts bundled with it to introduce players to how to use the piece of plastic. Many...