For over a decade now, Nyko has made great third-party accessories for game consoles, many better than their OEM equivalents. Nyko isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, as they have announced a brand new line of accessories at CES 2013 in Las Vegas that will make many of our complaints with the Wii U a thing of the past. Below is a roundup of all the latest accessories for the Wii U from Nyko announced at CES and will be available soon at retailers.
Charge Station U. The Wii U’s GamePad may be rechargable, but managing yet another charging cord among the dozens of other cords for your other devices can be a real pain. Like similar accessories already available for the Xbox and PS3 from Nyko, the Charge Station U offers a nice docking cradle for Wii U owners to charge their GamePad (which you will do often) upright. The Charge Station U also includes spots to charge two WiiMotes, and it includes two NiMH batteries as well as two rubberized battery compartment covers for your WiiMotes. The beauty of the Charge Station U is that one AC adapter, one cord, can easily charge three devices. It’s truly a “three birds, one stone” solution for the Wii U. The Charge Station U will be available next month for $34.99 in both white and black.
Pro Commander and Charge Base Pro. Nintendo has made no qualms about it, they want hardcore gamers playing Nintendo consoles and games again. However, the Wii’s focus on motion-controlled gaming and the design of the WiiMote with its lack of simple controls like dual analog sticks, trigger buttons, and its layout didn’t bode well for playing hardcore games such as Call Of Duty, or Assassin’s Creed. With the Wii U, Nintendo now has a controller designed for the hardcore gamer in mind, however, this “Pro Controller” doesn’t come with the Wii U and costs an extra $50. That’s a hefty price tag considering the $300 to $350, the same amount or over $100 more than its competitors’ consoles, gamers are dropping for a Wii U. Nyko has created the Pro Commander as a third-party alternative to Nintendo’s Pro Controller with all the same features of the Pro Controller but at a more manageable $34.99. Nyko is also launching the Charge Base Pro which allows Wii U owners to charge two Pro Controllers/Commanders on a charging base. The Charge Base Pro connects directly to one of the Wii U’s USB ports to draw its power for charging your Pro Controller(s) or Pro Commander(s) and the controllers are held by patented magnetic ports.
UBoost & Power Stand. One of our biggest complaints with the Wii U and the new GamePad controller is the battery life. For such a large device, the GamePad’s battery should be bigger and offers gamers more than just a few hours of game play. Wii U owners will finally get some added battery life with the UBoost, a clip on extra battery pack for the GamePad that doubles the battery life. The UBoost also acts as a nice stand for the GamePad so users can set their GamePad’s down and watch videos comfortably. The UBoost is compatible with the existing charging cord included with the Wii U. The Power Stand serves as an alternative to the Charge Station U that uses the Wii U’s stock GamePad charging cord to charge the GamePad acting more as a cradle or dock for just your GamePad.
Third-party accessory makers like Nyko are great for gamers and the industry because often they are able to offer products that overcome many of the problems not addressed by the manufacturer. They also offer great alternatives to pricey additional OEM accessories, in many cases providing a better design with more features at a lower price. Nyko has been an industry leader in third-party gaming accessories across all platforms and gaming spaces with great products like the PlayPad for mobile devices, and gamers can look forward to saving some money, and frustration, with Nyko in 2013. Check back this whole week as Mind Of The Geek will be covering all the latest happenings and product announcements from CES 2013.
