There's a Wiimote in my pocket (Wii annoyance #005)

by James Ransom-Wiley { Nov 20th 2006 at 8:30PM }

The Classic Controller hid the awkward lap placement shown on the packaging insert

Dangling from the end of the Classic Controller is the Wiimote. What are we supposed to do with this thing?

Some have speculated that Nintendo will release a device (a separate purchase?) that will allow the Wiimote to be clipped to the back of the Classic Controller; however, this still wouldn't eliminate that pesky cable connecting the two controllers. For now, we're forced to rest the Wiimote awkwardly on our laps or stuff it into our pockets -- we suppose duct tape is an option too. Our advice: stick with GameCube's wireless Wavebird for all your Virtual Console needs (it's only about $10 more than the Classic Controller and it's more compatible to boot!).

Wii delights vs. Wii annoyances
PS3 delights vs. PS3 annoyances
Xbox 360 delights vs. Xbox 360 annoyances

Tags: Classic Controller, ClassicController, VC, Virtual Console, VirtualConsole, Wavebird, Wii Remote, wiiannoy, Wiimote, WiiRemote

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

josh @ Nov 20th 2006 8:36PM

The wavebird works? SWEET. No need for a classic controller for me, then.

Matt Naylor @ Nov 20th 2006 8:36PM

Uh, when I use mine, it rests comfortably on the couch beside me. Why would you put it in your pocket?

mr. bob @ Nov 20th 2006 8:37PM

man...you guys can fret about the littlest things...who gives a crap....i personly don't care if I have to put it on my lap or in my pocket...learn to grow up joystiqers.....

Abhinav @ Nov 20th 2006 8:37PM

You guys are usually good about this sorta thing but comon... boo hoo you cant find a place to sit the wiimote.

Perri @ Nov 20th 2006 8:39PM

I thought you could snap the remote into some slots on the back?? I hope so anyways...

Matt Naylor @ Nov 20th 2006 8:41PM

Joystiq: Sounds like Nit-pick.

Jose Pagan @ Nov 20th 2006 8:49PM

if the wii anoyiance is that important the Wii must be a near-perfection system.

Splinter @ Nov 20th 2006 8:51PM

Someone call the Wahhambulance.

Vlad @ Nov 20th 2006 8:51PM

while the Wavebird does have better compatibility with most things, I heard that non-Nintendo old-school games don't work with the Wavebird. any truth to this? if not, I'm buying myself a couple 'birds, even though I really like the look of that classic controller...

FeistyGirl @ Nov 20th 2006 8:52PM

If Nintendo is smart, they could go the extra mile and release replica controllers for all of their retro consoles that will work with the Wii. Playing with the respective controllers is half the experience IMO.

Miles @ Nov 20th 2006 8:55PM

Seriously, for the people calling Joystiq lazy and nit pickers...shut up. Its part of the "Wii Annoyance" articles, and Im pretty sure having a controller dangling from the controller your using is pretty much an annoyance, so shut up.

Theres a line between liking a console and fanboyism.

JohnQAnonymous @ Nov 20th 2006 8:55PM

Dude, this is WAY more legit than "The Xbox 360 isn't made of chocolate."

On top of that, it DOES look really stupid plugged into the remote.

Would it really have cost that much more just to make the Classic Controller wireless? You're already charging $60 for a full controller.

IggyChaotix @ Nov 20th 2006 9:06PM

That girl has a very nice dongle.

Yoshi Likes Boys @ Nov 20th 2006 9:10PM

Except the D-Pad on the wavebird is useless, and the D-Pad on the Classic is the best 4-way D-pad ever made. Yeah, go ahead, play Zelda 1 with a thumbstick. I dare you. It's like all those goons who play emulators on modded Xboxes with the Xbox pad. You're only hurting yourself.

corn_fest @ Nov 20th 2006 9:11PM

Why don't you place it on the floor or next to you?
ALSO
that chart is not accurate at all.

Matt Naylor @ Nov 20th 2006 9:12PM

@12

Unless you stand while playing games (like most people do, lol), or have a midsection about four feet longer than anyone elses, the wiimote is dangling anywhere.

If they had made the classic controller wireless itself, everyone would be bitching about using an extra set of batteries to power it.

wstrinz @ Nov 20th 2006 9:16PM

What? Velcro? Never heard of it, guess ill have to go buy a holder for my wiimote. Velcro with one sticky side?! That's just nuts!

Shadow Hog @ Nov 20th 2006 9:18PM

"the D-Pad on the Classic is the best 4-way D-pad ever made."
Nah, the Saturn pad still has the best D-Pad, bar none. That is, the later one based on the Japanese pad, not the bulky first generation Saturn pad.

Assuming that qualifies as "4-way" and not, say, "8-way" or something (it does have plastic where the diagonals are - one of the reasons it's so good).

Liquid @ Nov 20th 2006 9:39PM

This is by no means a nit pick. I do not have a classic controller but this REALLY turns me off from getting one in the future. I have to imagine that it takes alot away from the comfort of going wireless. Would you buy a wireless mouse or keyboard that needs a wired receiver attached? I must be one of the few commenters to actually move my controller a bit when I play. Thanks for the heads up Joystiq, keep up the good work.

urgay2day @ Nov 20th 2006 10:01PM

That chic can put the Wiimote between her lap for all I care!

I wonder if the Wiimote vibrates too? hmmm... ;>

rokobungi @ Nov 20th 2006 9:56PM

one of the first things I got (actually BEFORE I got the console itself) were an extra wiimote and nunchuck (I knew they were probably going to be harder to find than the console) and a pair of wavebirds (can't play smash bros. melee with a classic or wiimote) while I did have a gamecube (unfortunatly past tense) I still like the 360's controller better if that should ever be hacked (like maybe replacing the chips and circuitboard parts of the guts of a 360 controller)

moominsean @ Nov 20th 2006 9:54PM

no one around here even got the classic controller...

Lansing @ Nov 20th 2006 9:56PM

I like the Wii and all (I have had tons of fun with it so far) but a problem is a problem regardless of how good the system is. The classic controller should be wireless on its own, this was a bad move on behalf of Nintendo. But hell, I don't really care since I own a wavebird allready so problem solved. One con + one pro = no problem!

comradetrotskii @ Nov 20th 2006 10:03PM

- You know when someone lays with
their back to you and you lay behind and throw one arm over 'em?

- It's called "spooning".

- Where does the other arm go? You can lay on it
or shove it between your bodies. The only other option
is to stretch it above your head.But sometimes my arm pops outof the socket when I sleep like that. I was always searching for someplace to keep my arm, while still laying close to her.

- And?

-What do you mean "and"? That's like
a metaphor for our whole relationship.

Pixelbox @ Nov 20th 2006 10:37PM

yeah, it's not a nit-pick for me, either, and I fully support Nintendo and their Blue Ocean/retro-gaming strategy. The dangling Wiimote totally negates a wireless controller.

But at least the Wavebird works great. That'll work for me just fine.

SkyCroc @ Nov 20th 2006 10:42PM

At least you'll know where the wiimote is when you'll want to just go back to the wiimenu or just shut off the console.

Picklesworth @ Nov 20th 2006 10:54PM

This here is by no means a bad thing; it is an excellent decision on Nintendo's part to keep the price down on additional controllers.

With the VC controller plugging straight into the regular controller, I only need to worry about one set of batteries and there only needs to be one wireless device; the VC controller does not need expensive(ish) wireless hardware, and the Wii doesn't need to be freaked out by a vastly increased number of associated wireless controllers to worry about.

That cord there is quite long enough to put the Wii Remote somewhere and forget about it, but since it's not fastened to the console (and the Wii Remote is a sturdy enough controller to break a TV and come out looking fine) it stays pretty wireless feeling.

The only reason it's teetering on that person's thigh is because they have to show it somewhere in the picture and they at the same time want to try 'humanizing' their stuff. As anyone who isn't blind can see, the cord even in that picture is clearly long enough to put the controller on the floor, under the couch, behind a pillow, under the cushion, on the other side of the couch, and in many other comfortable places.

nick @ Nov 20th 2006 11:16PM

this is far from an annoyance. When i use the classic controller i just have it off to the side, its really not a big deal. I guess you guys are playing standing up....

Optimus Prime @ Nov 20th 2006 11:04PM

lol.. Nintendo fanboys are extra sensitive; you can't dis' anything about their precious Wii. First Zelda turns out to be OoT1.5, RedSteel is bombing, and ExciteTruck is exciting for half an hour.

Sony fanboys, on the other hand, having been dealing with this for over a year..

samfish @ Nov 20th 2006 11:09PM

It WOULD be nice if they'd just release a wireless classic controller (that also works with GCN games...). I appreciate the effort by Nintendo to keep the price down, but having a...dongle...or whatever is just kinda dumb.

Actually, what I'd REALLY love to see is some madman 3rd party developers release a device that enables to to plug in your old controllers to the Wii so you can use those. Give us a plug port like device and maybe something to install on the Wii's flash memory and we can be using those old Genesis, SNES and N64 controllers.
...lord knows I myself have about 5 N64 controllers.

But I'm sure we'll get that just as soon as we get a firmware update that enables DVD playback!

Double H @ Nov 20th 2006 11:11PM

Say it with me everyone... "Wii remote".

bobeotm @ Nov 20th 2006 11:23PM

Can anyone tell my why the Classic controller's cord comes out of the bottom instead of the top? It seems a bit strange, and it sucks that you have to have a wiimote for every classic controller.

Optimus Prime @ Nov 20th 2006 11:44PM

Zelda Retro 6 is out ...

http://www.gametrailers.com/

bill pullman @ Nov 21st 2006 12:02AM

"Say it with me everyone... 'Wii remote'."

bless you, Double H. i much prefer the official name over the jackass "wiimote" i keep hearing. makes people sound like they're missing teeth.

Tal3n @ Nov 21st 2006 12:07AM

I think this is a nitpick. I bought the classic controller, I was unsure about it at first. But after playing F-Zero and Mario64 with it. I must say the controller feels really nice. Controls one of the better controllers I have ever used. I agree with someone above who said its one of the best d-pads. Its super comfortable. For 24.99 I think its almost too cheap compared to the nunchuk at the same price. The remote resting on the couch to your side is something so minor you hardly notice it.

chenry @ Nov 21st 2006 12:10AM

I bought a used wavebird, so it was only $5 more than a classic controller.

Yoshi Likes Boys @ Nov 21st 2006 12:40AM

"Nah, the Saturn pad still has the best D-Pad, bar none. That is, the later one based on the Japanese pad, not the bulky first generation Saturn pad.

Assuming that qualifies as "4-way" and not, say, "8-way" or something (it does have plastic where the diagonals are - one of the reasons it's so good)."

That's EXACTLY why I said 4-way. The 2nd Gen Saturn pad is the ALL TIME KING. I recently paid $50 for a Darkstalkers PS2 Saturn pad. But in terms of the 4-way style, I've been playing around with the classic controller since I got it, and it's just a bigger version of the AWESOME D-pad that the GBM and DS Lite have. So no, we're on the same page on the Saturn pad. This CC D-pad is world class, though.

FSK405K @ Nov 21st 2006 12:48AM

Woa? The classic controller is not wireless? Are you serious? No way. . . . and you have to plug it in...to the WIIMOTE? You're on crack. Nintendo isn't that stupid.

FSK405K @ Nov 21st 2006 12:51AM

I thought the blog title, "There's a Wiimote in my pocket," had something to do with the sexual inuendo implied in the Wiimote's placement in the photo at the top of the entry. It makes it look like Nintendo's new accessory packaging strategy is to dildo-ify the Wiimote.

Only after reading many of the comments did it occur to me that the classic controller isn't wireless.

FSK405K @ Nov 21st 2006 12:53AM

or, what would have been simpler, to plug into the Gamecube Controller slots. That is what I first thought the controllers would do when they were announced.

Blank @ Nov 21st 2006 1:58AM

There are some very annoying things about the Wii. This isn't one of them. Your first two articles have much truth, the rest, not so much. Focus more on the Wii's flaws and less on your failings as human beings.

hippie pieces @ Nov 21st 2006 2:51AM

"Dangling from the end of the Classic Controller is the Wiimote. What are we supposed to do with this thing?"

I think your supposed to deep throat it....

Wii Annoyance #006(with two 0's cause we all know your going to need to go into the hundreds) Now that all three systems are out Bloggers are running of stuff to write about. So they are going to start poorly thought out Wii threads about nothing.

Soop @ Nov 21st 2006 4:55AM

The pad looks sweet. Good point about the wavebird, but I heard the Classic controller comes with 5000 Wii points - that's worth getting it for alone!

bluto @ Nov 21st 2006 7:29AM

the Ransom(dash)Wiley creature is being paid by Microsoft to influence opinion, and smeer the Wiiii with his obvious fanboy-baiting blogs to increase 360 sells!!! Its a conspiracy, must fight the bias..were all gonna die!!!

Skwurl @ Nov 21st 2006 8:33AM

This is quite possibly the lamest article I've read on Joystiq.

Oh Noes!!! Teh remote hasta stay on your couch!!! WTF?!

The fact this made an official 'wii annoyance' is absolutely ridiculous. If you're going to critique the console then at least choose your battles wisely.

Paul P. @ Nov 21st 2006 9:33AM

I have to say, and don't take offense to this, but your Wii annoyances list so far has been extremely shallow and pedantic(as Peter Griffin might say after watching a television show with smart people).

I'm not trying to be a fanboy here, but the list you guys have is just laughable. There are several legitimate Wii annoyances, and you don't have those listed. How about the inordinate wait times to get in the shop channel? What about the fact that the shop channel only takes Visa or Mastercard? How about the annoyance that Nintendo didn't put out nearly enough nunchucks or points cards? Or the difficulty in getting online for many people? The lack of an ethernet port?(Nobody has HDTV, everyone has wireless internet HAHA says Nintendo) The impossibility of getting component cables unless you ordered them online by Wednesday morning last week?

Instead the list you have is niggling things that aren't even annoyances. You put the controller in your lap? Really? How is that even annoying? It doesn't come with component cables? That's ridiculous, you have to buy component for everything else. DVDs, X-box, PS2 and PS3. I think 360 may come with component, but it is the only one. And PS3 comes with HDMI, but the number of people with HDMI input is incredibly small. The cursor thing? That was just moronic, and pardon my insults please. Having the cursor stay on the edge of the screen would be very bad design. You do not need a point of reference when the idea is the cursor appears anywhere you point. The remote is NOT a mouse.

The MP3 thing, and the thing about room, those are valid annoyances(well except the part in MP3s where you want a custom soundtrack in EVERY game). And there are plenty of valid complaints on the Wii, but the other three things you've selected are very shallow and meaningless. My own annoyance list would probably be longer than yours even. I'm not trying to be some Wii defender here. I just want to be a defender of coherent argument in writing.

And I know posts critical of the site usually get deleted, but maybe someone will delete it. Personally I think this kind of criticism is a lot more acceptable than half of the fanboy knee-jerk reaction comments you'll get on the page when you say anything positive or negative about any system or game.

Scott Winston @ Nov 21st 2006 10:21AM

Yeah, just adding my two cents that this is really stupid. The classic controller has a considerably sized cord on it, its not like the Wii Remote is dangling from your hands in the air or weighing you down. You just sit it next to you on the chair or couch or whatever. Looks like some Joystiq blogger needed to increase their post count or something.