Newly enhanced Wiimote coming this summer?

by Blake Snow { Jan 24th 2007 at 12:55PM }

According to some obscure rumor column from Japan-based Game Lab, a newly enhanced Wiimote is in the works. The rumor, via Game Front, suggest Wiimote 2.0 will included "better grip" and rechargeable batteries out of the box, and that the revised controller will hit Japan sometime this summer. A bit early, no? And as always, this is simply internet hearsay. But rechargeable batteries are always welcome.

[Nota bene: Game Front doesn't use permalinks so you'll have to scroll down about three quarters down the homepage to find the article.]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

raging_evil @ Jan 24th 2007 1:00PM

maybe they can make a better sounding speaker as well.

fawazr @ Jan 24th 2007 1:05PM

the speaker works fine as long as you know how to turn it down to avoid the crackling.

Fred T @ Jan 24th 2007 1:06PM

Is the wiimote 1.5 going to make it fun to play those half-assed ports from Ubi?

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 1:07PM

I play with the speaker on full blast for every game but Zelda. Then I turn it down about halfway. Too bad I already have rechargeables and those controller sleeves that add grip.

Geo @ Jan 24th 2007 1:09PM

Playing excite truck this morning (incredibly underrated game by the way) while listening to Howard stern, I was reminded how much a speaker in the controller kicks ass. With the volume completely down on the TV, I was still given great audio clues via the speaker. Its not a jbl, but it sounds good enough.

As far as an updated wiimote, Im not interested. I use rechargable batteries with at 15 minute charger, and I have had no issues with holding the remote.

Geo @ Jan 24th 2007 1:12PM

Fred T, We all get it, you don't like the wii. Is it necessary to reiterate that in every nintendo related post? Your comments aren't even insightful.

Sloar @ Jan 24th 2007 1:14PM

How about some new games to go with that new remote?

mykie @ Jan 24th 2007 1:17PM

rubberized grip without having to resort to using one of those infernal Wii Remote condoms would be nice. My DirecTV remote is rubberized, and it feels nice to hold.

An internal rechargeable system, despite popular opinion, still seems impractical to me. What are you going to do if your Wii Remote's batteries are dead, and you can't replace them? Pause your game for 2-6 hours while you wait for it to recharge?

Chris @ Jan 24th 2007 1:36PM

@mykie

Come on now, you know the Wii Play 'n Charge kit will come out later with a 50' cord so as to not interrupt your gaming sessions.

Blazur @ Jan 24th 2007 1:34PM

@#8

Good point mykie. In order for this to be practical it'll need at least one backup battery for each wiimote so you can swap them out. Me, I use a 15 min. charger with a plenitude of batteries, so this doesn't really concern me. Besides, I'm holding off on purchasing another wiimote until they come packaged with Wii Play.

Revolution @ Jan 24th 2007 1:44PM

Seriously, Joystiq. Can we ban Fred T? It is really getting out of hand

lol. @ Jan 24th 2007 2:31PM

I would prefer a rechargable battery setup like the 360s. That way if it does die, you can have some backup AAs.

I hope this new wii-mote comes with a Fred T smacking capability.

Revolution @ Jan 24th 2007 1:48PM

GEO,

Did you get the ones from Duracell? I got a 15 minute charger from Duracell and it is BAD ASS. I got an additional 8 batteries for it and now my Wii remotes, Wavebirds, AND digital cameras are all hooked up

x876543 @ Jan 24th 2007 2:04PM

Geo: I'm with you. Excite Truck is a blast (working on finishing Mirror Mode) and 15 min rechargeable batteries. I need a few more of those :)

x876543 @ Jan 24th 2007 2:05PM

Geo: I'm with you. Excite Truck is a blast (working on finishing Mirror Mode) and 15 min rechargeable batteries. I need a few more of those :)

Genius @ Jan 24th 2007 5:23PM

What I find amusing is if for some reason Sony was announcing an imporved version of their control pad everybody would be complaining it should have been included in the first place. Yet, if Nintendo does it, everybody is more than anxious to bend over and spend, what, $40 more dollars for another wii remote that they probably already have at least two of. Well wow, when all is said and done you spent as much for a Wii as you would for a 360 or PS3. Nintendo fanboys are by far the funniest out of the bunch. FWIW I own a Wii, I own one game, Zelda (as if any other game is worth owning at this point that isnt a silly gimmick).

benjamin @ Jan 24th 2007 2:10PM

I bought ExciteTruck (to the surprise of many, it's really not the kind of game I'd play) and am really pleased with it.

I can only dream of a Burnout version with Wii controls that are similar.

IslandLife @ Jan 24th 2007 2:12PM

@Revolution

If you ban him, shouldn't you also ban all the Nintendo fanboys that make similar absurd comments about the PS3 & Xbox360 articles. Or should only those who don't like Nintendo be banned. JUST ASKING!

Revolution @ Jan 24th 2007 2:20PM

IslandLife,

I think we should ban anyone that makes unintelligent, fanboy comments on EVERY SINGLE THREAD INVOLVING THE SYSTEM THEY DISLIKE. I don't care what system it is. I am somewhat of a Wii60 fanboy but hearing the same shit from the same person gets old (fast) regardless of what it is they are bitching about.

IslandLife @ Jan 24th 2007 2:25PM

I agree, but we both know that'll never happen, so just ignore them.

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 2:27PM

Let's not ban anybody. I think Fred T.'s annoying, but I think that if he dreams hard enough he might some day aspire to the awesomeness that is Shagi. I miss Shagi, he post anything recently?

I got a battery charger too, but mine takes a couple hours. It was about $10 cheaper than the one that takes only 15 minutes. But I figure it was worth it, because there's no way all 4 remotes are going to run out of batteries at once.

Revolution @ Jan 24th 2007 2:33PM

Islandlife & Rubang B,

Alright, I'm with you. I guess I'm being kind of a bitch because I'm having a bad day at work. I'll try harder to not let it get to me. Thanks.

On another note. For my DS people...

Diddy Kong Racing is coming out on February 5th (in the states). I look forward to beating the ass out of the 5 other people that I play Kart with. Woohoo!

Finally, I already said it but this new commenting system kicks all ass.

bsm0f0 @ Jan 24th 2007 4:50PM

The day I got my Wii (launch day), I stopped on the way home and picked up a battery charging kit ... lucky me, it was priced incorrectly for $7.99 (normally $79.99) . I have enough batteries for my 4 wiimotes, my av remote (takes 4 AA), my htpc remote, and a few left over for other random electronics throughout the house. Full charge in 15 min.

I'll pass on the wii condoms and the built-in "cyberskin" ... now if there were to partner with Nerf ... yeah, i'd drop $50 on a nerfwiimote.

mykie @ Jan 24th 2007 2:40PM

@#9: Also a good point...so instead of using ubiquitous AA's that you have to swap out, you'd be using proprietary batteries that you have to swap out, only now your batteries might have the Nintendo logo on them. :P

#10: Haha :)

NES8bit @ Jan 24th 2007 3:11PM

Great.

And bring back the old comment system.

kiswa @ Jan 24th 2007 3:17PM

Why wouldn't Nintendo simply release a rechargeable battery pack that includes a rubberized battery compartment cover.

Then they make money off everyone with a Wii Remote, and no issue with a v2 so soon.

Yoshi Likes Boys @ Jan 24th 2007 3:40PM

Shagi....psh. The greatest troll this site ever had was darryl.

I can't imagine the use of complaining about Nintendo trying to make the end user experience better, I'm sure the normal Wiimote will still be available. I LOVE being able to bring my own rechargables.

Farseer @ Jan 24th 2007 3:57PM

Fred T, you're awesome!
LOL
I bet you wander around mumbling to yourself, scaring small children...

Karen @ Jan 24th 2007 4:20PM

I have to agree, Darryl was the best troll on Joystiq. It was actually entertaining reading his spin on what console was the best and why. The problem with trolls like Fred T is that they are predictable. They don't try to be unique. Saying Gamecube 1.5 over and over again is not even worth me reading they're posts.

Anyway, the controller I don't care. I own a recharger and batteries already. Also I bought a 48 pack of AA for $10.

OldElvis @ Jan 24th 2007 4:28PM

Any way I can read it in English?

Windmill @ Jan 24th 2007 4:29PM

Hmmmm. I'm thinking that this might actually be true. Its possible that they'll include it with the price drop in June, as kinda a double whammy.

"Now you can get the Wii for $200 (price drop is historically $50) AND get a new and improved Wiimote"

Kinda to help push those people who are still wary over the fence.

Or, more likely, they'll sell this separately, like they did with the wavebird controller.

some person @ Jan 24th 2007 4:59PM

That sounds nice, I hope they add customizable LED colors, BTW, what's a permalink?

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 5:39PM

Buying a Wavebird made sense. But I already have 4 wireless Wii remotes, so I'll probably never buy another one ever.

RedCrake @ Jan 24th 2007 5:51PM

I already have two Wiimotes with rubber "Wii Condoms" and I also have the 15 minute recharger from Energizer. I love it! I will have another Wiimote once WiiPlay comes out. However, I will be getting one of these if available in June. Then I'll have 3 for random multiplayer action when I have people over and I'll have a fancy WiiMote v2.0 for myself. Sounds great!

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 6:00PM

Man I'm having a hard time believing anybody could've been better than Shagi. Who was this legendary Darryl you speak of and what was he like? I also agree that Fred T. is too predictable and lame to be paid attention to.

Khan @ Jan 24th 2007 6:19PM

Darryl, as far as i can remember, commented on this site under that monicker until August 2006 (i only started here in June of 2006)

But i think he was beaten by AzN 1080p, that dude's name was a friggin advertisement, you can't beat that level of devotion

I'd personally be kind of pissed about this, but such is the fate of us Early adopters

PS, my rechargable batteries suck major ass, i use them as batteries for my 2nd player controller, that way, whenever i know someone's coming over, i have 2 player capability in 15 minutes

I went back to throwaways, not as convinient, but that battery life was so bad...

Marc Leveille @ Jan 24th 2007 6:43PM

A rubberized controller would be nice. Whoever thought it'd be a great idea to design a motion sensor with a slick finish and no friction surfaces should be shot.

daniel @ Jan 24th 2007 7:04PM

i dont have any problems with the current controller got my rechargeable aa's and i dont find the plastic hard to hold on to

Rubang B @ Jan 24th 2007 7:23PM

Every time somebody lets go of a Wii remote I get a little stronger. Watch out world.

NeverSage @ Jan 24th 2007 7:25PM

Genius, you have too much negative energy. You need a wii. The wii makes people happy. I won't even bash the PS3 in this response. But really $40 isn't that bad. I mean, instead of getting a PS3 I could get a Wii and 8 more wiimotes.

csc @ Jan 24th 2007 8:11PM

Khan bbagged it, that Azn fellow put took over from daryll, back in the glory days after E3 when sony fanboys were at their most defensive........good times.

Nowdays its been worn down by the accusations of bias every three seconds, makes em predictable and scares away the big fish.

Grog @ Jan 24th 2007 9:43PM

This is as good of a post as any to test the new login system...

Oh yeah, and I'll only buy new version remotes if I don't have 4 by them (2 right now), it has significantly improved functionality (i.e. more than anything mentioned in this rumor), or I can sell my old remotes on Craigslist to give a minimal cost to upgrade.

jaysins @ Jan 24th 2007 10:10PM

I want three things from the wiimote. *clears thought* Ahem :)
1) A gun wiimote with recoil, preferably a shotgun.
2) A big ass sword like the one cloud has. You think there has been a lot of damage reports from wiimotes, you haven't seen anything... wooo ya!
3) A chainsaw remote with a rip chord and gas powered that comes with a copy of "The Crazy Adventures of Paul Bunyan vs The Alien Zombies From the Center of The Earth." Or some other classic like Army of Darkness. OOOO Than I could use the Sword, Chainsaw AND the Shotty in one Super Gaming experience. Gaming Nirvana. You listening Nintendo, I have ideas and they're only mildy retarded :)

Sly @ Jan 25th 2007 2:13AM

Reposition the D pad and A button. D pad needs to be closer to the center where the A button is because it's to high up harder to use. The A button or any other button should be located on the controller's left side or left underside access by the middle finger. Right now, you have to constantly slide the controller up or down in your hand to reach one or the other.

Rocketboy @ Jan 25th 2007 6:16PM

Is it just mine, or does anyone elses wiimotes look like they have stress fractures from the button/speaker holes? I always use the rubbers with mine, so I'm not sure if they are just flow lines that I didn't spot on christmas morn, or if they are new...