Nyko does what Ninten-didn't with the introduction of the Nyko Wand+, a Wii remote alternative with Motion Plus support built right in.

Debuting today at CES in Las Vegas, the Nyko Wand+ features Full Motion Technology, offering the same 1:1 movement tracking capability as the regular Nintendo remote with the Wii Motion Plus add-on attached. In the official announcement, Nyko takes a subtle swipe at Nintendo for not creating an all-in-one controller of its own.

By building the technology into the controller, the Wand + provides all the functionality Wii gamers expect, plus the versatility and convenience they deserve; no more dongles, no more custom sleeves or incompatibility with docks and other accessories not able to accommodate attached dongles.

Ouch. If I were Nintendo, I'd be a bit embarrassed.

The Wand+ also includes Nyko's Trans-Port Technology, which allows action buttons to be replicated electronically on attached accessories, as opposed to Nintendo's analog connector.

All this for $39.99 when the Nyko Wand+ ships this March.

I'm surprised that Nintendo hasn't created this peripheral. Why not? From the comments the thing seems to work fine. 

" @Claude: I know, and no one could design better than them. "

" @Claude: It looks REALLY cool.  Although D-Pad looks.... iffy.  Whats with the little circles? "

God, that controller looks fucking ugly.

That controller looks ugly as hell!

" @demontium said:

" @Claude: It looks REALLY cool.  Although D-Pad looks.... iffy.  Whats with the little circles? "

That would be the speaker. I've always been wary of off-brand products, but that's just me being a wimp. "

I'm betting Nintendo didn't do this yet because of difficulties of phacing out the old controller. I think eventually they probably will do the same thing but they probably want to move more of the old controller first. Just my idea.

@demontium
 
I think the d-pad looks good personally.  I like the rounded edges on the diagonals as I think it might make it easier to effect diagonal movement.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the only reason Nintendo hasn't is because they'd be leaving the millions upon millions of people who already bought a system and a full set of controllers out to dry. Much cheaper to make the little add-on parts than it is to buy a full new set. I personally only own two Wii Remotes and one nunchuck, so I wouldn't have minded.

" @demontium  I think the d-pad looks good personally.  I like the rounded edges on the diagonals as I think it might make it easier to effect diagonal movement. "

" @demontium:   Thanks for the tip. :)  I don't know if that's as typical as you make it sound.  I think it's just that people like Madcatz and cheaper brands have been giving 3rd party controllers a bad name. "

Not much of a threat (compared to what I was expecting when I read the thread title), but the Nyko wand is a tech marvel. Nintendo is already bundling Motion Plus with every Wiimote, but they are still seperate things.

The price isn't that much lower than the M+ remote bundles (depending on where and when you shop), and to me this is just a wasted opportunity to address a few minor issues the official remote has with certain games, like putting + and - closer to the A button, or even placing the d-pad's directions themselves around the A button for easier access in the games that use them prominently (though that could screw up the NES style use obviously, but everyone would have at least one official remote for that kind of use). Anyway, wouldn't they have to licence things from Nintendo for it to be fully compatible? So, Nintendo still gains something maybe, plus, I imagine most people already have a remote or more so will be more inclined to buy the much cheaper upgrade (especially if they buy a game bundle) than a whole new remote like this one.

" Not much of a threat (compared to what I was expecting when I read the thread title), but the Nyko wand is a tech marvel. Nintendo is already bundling Motion Plus with every Wiimote, but they are still seperate things. "