Exciting new Wii controllers!

Nintendo has announced a slew of new controllers and attachments to enhance our user experience with the Wii. Nintendo seems to be interested in extending it's ecosystem of products being built around it's current generation console.

First, is the Wii Zapper, which is pictured on the right. Imagine playing your FPS games with that thing. It should be easier to handle than the holding the controllers in two hands. For hardly a pound of molded plastic, Nintendo is happy to charge you US$ 20 for it. It will come free with the new Resident Evil game though, which would probably benefit from the Zapper.

Second, is the Wii Wheel, which as it's name implies, is a steering wheel for driving. It's being launched along with the new Mario Kart game. I guess that you would attach the controller to the centre of the wheel.

Finally, we have the Wii Fit. From this article: The hardware consists of a flat, board-like object that rests on the floor and is touch-sensitive. Miyamoto showed off a number of exercises and games, including a game where you have to bend to hit soccer balls with your head while avoiding objects like shoes also being kicked at you. There was also a step-aerobics game that looked very much like a Dance Dance Revolution-like experience. They also showed a man using the Wii Fit board to do pushups and then showed him toweling sweat off his face. The point was clear: this is something that will actually give you a workout. Nintendo also promises yoga, aerobics, and other workouts via the Wii. The company also showed off a way to keep track of your progress and find our your BMI using the board and the Fit software.

All this is very cool indeed. Too bad the Silver Slimline PS2 is only selling for 55 quid now at Boots. If I'm really interested in gaming, I might spend that little bit of extra money to get a PS2, with it's huge library of existing games. However, this is fairly unlikely at the moment.