Shinobii Xcross Remote for Wii Touts Wide D-pad

By Geoff Duncan February 2, 2010

If, in the course of flailing about the living room trying to kill zombies, race a cart, or win a bowling tournament, you somehow damaged your Wii remote…well, you wouldn’t be alone. When the Wii introduced its motion-sensitive wand-like technology for video gaming, it also introduced a whole new form of hardware hazard: throwing, knocking, and tossing a game controller to parts of a house that were never intended for gaming.

Shinobii Xcross Remote for Wii — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Shinobii is looking to address the market for replacement Wii controllers with the Shinobii Xcross Remote for Nintendo Wii. The Xcross Remote features the same motion-sensitive technology includes in Nintendo’s Wii remote, so it’s a drop-in replacement for the standard Wii controller: it also works with Wii remote accessories like the Nunchuck and MotionPlus. But the Xcross Remote features a wide D-pad for better control—particularly when playing virtual console games from previous generations of Nintendo hardware.

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The Shinobii Xcross Remove comes with a wrist strap and silicon sleeve; Shinobii says those extras are “free,” but you’ll still have to pay $29.95 for the remote. It should be available in stores this month.

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Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

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