Third-party Wiimote comes in GameCube purple

We've no idea whether or not Snakebyte's third-party Wii remote is a tribute to Nintendo's lunchbox, but we ask you: is there any other earthly reason to use that fruity shade? We'd also like to know the story behind that peculiar, rounded d-pad, or the tacky, clashing battery cover.
Most of all, however, we're keen to hear why Snakebyte has chosen to charge €39.99 for one of these, when the official model from Nintendo costs more or less the same? We're not going to criticize the ergonomic qualities of this Wiimote before we've held it in our own hands, but lower pricing is typically the greatest attraction of third-party peripherals. Perhaps Snakebyte is gambling on shortages of the official Wiimote continuing?
If your own Wiimote lacks sufficient amounts of purple, these will be appearing from February 8th.
[Via Go Nintendo]









Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonathan Tran @ Jan 25th 2008 11:34AM
What an eyesore.
Zack W. @ Jan 25th 2008 11:48AM
blegh...
But at least they are attempting to make a 3rd party Wiimote.
MountainLionLink @ Jan 25th 2008 11:49AM
I just do not comprehend why companies just release different controller mods. Hell the Nintendo Wii-mote isn't that hard to put back together, my controller is modded with a see-thur case now and works fine.
worm @ Jan 25th 2008 12:00PM
This is hideous and probably doesn't even work the same as Nintendo's remote. Why would anyone buy that?
JAH75157 @ Jan 25th 2008 12:02PM
what an ugly piece of crap.
James @ Jan 25th 2008 12:05PM
I could understand the motive behind releasing such a thing if it were either cheaper, or redesigned. I wouldn't mind having the +/- buttons much closer to the A button, maybe even to either side as in [ - (A) + ]. That would make Metroid Prime a bit easier to deal with. But the exact same layout for the same price? Pass.
P.S.: every time I see a price in pounds, I'm reminded of how much it sucks to be a UK gamer. Sorry, lads.
gorecki @ Jan 25th 2008 12:47PM
€ are Euros, not £ pounds.
But yeah we do get ripped off.
mian @ Jan 25th 2008 12:23PM
I'd love to have a wiimote/nunchuck hybrid that's basically a Wiimote with an analog joystick. Someday, some FPS dev is going to have the decency to put dual weild with independent aiming into a free-moving (no rails) FPS, and a d-pad isn't going to cut it.
hansning @ Jan 25th 2008 2:20PM
you know what i'm waiting for? a wiimote lightgun. not just a case for the wiimote, but a wiimote that's made in a shape of a gun. that way, i can access all the buttons that's necessary with just one hand. think how much more fun Metroid would be.
Perverted @ Jan 26th 2008 8:50AM
I like the colour.
metallic purple....
I also like the look of the d pad.
But i hate the price and I'm poor.
WIIBOY101GEZZAUK @ Jan 26th 2008 4:00PM
i wonder if the motion stinks like 3rd party anolog sticks stink those 3rd party pads have dire anolog sticks im guessing the 3d motion on a 3rd party wiimote allso smell of poo
TVGenius @ Jan 26th 2008 11:45PM
I thought the issue was that Ninty 'owns' the D-pad design, hence the different styles on PS's and Xbox's, as well as the 3rd party Gamecube controllers I've owned.
stibbons @ Jan 27th 2008 1:44AM
The first thing I did with my GH3 controller was pull that bland white faceplate off and spray it purple. I've been meaning to paint my controller to match, but now I might just get one of these instead.
Abscissa @ Jan 27th 2008 9:31PM
I normally don't like 3rd party controllers, but I actually really like this one a lot. The color, I think, looks really nice, the grip on the battery cover would be a big improvement, and the D-Pad looks like it might actually be better (I personally HATE the Wii's D-Pad. Not nearly as much as I hate the GC's, XBox1's and 360's D-Pads, but it's still not very good - and not nearly as good as the PS*, SNES, or DSPhat.) I'm actually really tempted to get this one, even though I don't actually need another Wiimote.
Abscissa @ Jan 27th 2008 9:40PM
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh!!! Follow the link! There's also a black one there that looks absolutely GREAT. Oh man, me want :) Too bad having it shipped to the US (if they'll even do that) would probably increase the price quite a bit :(.