The big thing here I'm a fan of is the lack of wires between the Wing and the Wiimote. It's always awkward finding somewhere for the Wiimote to sit, and it frequently falls off my lap/couch/table, causing a distraction. The Wing uses a RF dongle that plugs into the bottom of the Wiimote and has a range of 10 feet. The controls generally felt as tight and responsive as the original classic controller, but did suffer the occasional glitch (Nyko attributes this to the controllers being engineering samples and assure it will not be a problem with the final product).

As far as design goes, the shape is more akin to a PS2 or Xbox 360 controller, and make the Wing fit in your hand more naturally than the classic controller. The four R buttons on top have also been adjusted and spaced so that its easier to distinguish and tap each one. The build quality is pretty decent, but not quite as nice as an official Nintendo product — which is to say that the Wing is more clicky and plastic feeling. But it's hardly a bargain bin product either.

And one of the neater additions is the mini-USB port included for charging batteries in the Wing. If you have rechargable batteries, you can plug in to a mini-USB cable and charge up the controller for another 30 hours of wireless play, making the battery process easier. As mentioned earlier, the Nyko Wing will arrive in stores around mid-October and with a $30 pricetag, it's a pretty appealing product. [Nyko on Giz]

FULLY CHARGE YOUR WII WORKOUT WITH NYKO'S ENERGY PAK - COMING SOON

Rechargeable Battery Solution for Wii Balance Board Eliminates the Need for Wasteful Batteries

LOS ANGELES, California - May 8, 2008 - Nyko Technologies®, the premier game console peripherals manufacturer, today announced that it will soon release the Energy Pak for the Wii Balance Board™, a peripheral packaged with the forthcoming title Wii Fit™. The rechargeable battery solution is expected to hit stores on May 19th.

The Energy Pak installs conveniently on the underside of the Balance Board and features a unique AC Port Relocator that allows users to easily play with the board and charge the battery simultaneously, without ever having to remove the Pak or turn the Balance Board over. An easy-to-read LED charge light indicates the charge status of the battery, letting the user know when it is time to recharge, and when the charging cycle is complete. The Energy Pak can be quickly charged with the included, detachable AC adaptor, and provides up to 20 hours of playtime per charge.

"It is difficult enough trying to keep up with a regular fitness program without the hassle of swapping out alkaline or other rechargeable batteries," said Chris Arbogast, Director of Marketing at Nyko Technologies. "Like all of our charging solutions, the Energy Pak is as easy to use as it is functional. Users will be able to recharge the Wii Balance Board while in use or in between gaming sessions, all without ever needing to flip the board over to switch out battery packs."

Nyko's Energy Pak for the Wii Balance Board is expected in stores on May 19th for the suggested retail price of $19.99. Please visit www.nyko.com for more information.

The Price: $34.99

The Verdict: Works as advertised. We spent hours going through several games, including Mario Galaxy, and the Kama plays just as well as the standard Nunchuck. It's convenient when you're playing Wii Boxing to not have the cable inbetween your two hands, but when you're playing Mario, it's not all that noticeable either way.

The downside to the Kama is having to charge yet another pair of AAs, plus the fact that you're paying a $15 premium over the standard controller. The upside is you're going entirely wireless, which looks and feels much better. It's also one or two millimeters wider than the standard Nunchuck, which is probably better for adults since the standard one is slightly too thin. Also, the trigger buttons are clear plastic.

Note: We did run into one instance when the Kama kept becoming "stuck" in one direction, always making Mario run off to the left or right. Re-sycning the two controllers didn't help, nor did taking out the batteries and rebooting them. Only shoving in a regular wired Nunchuck or resetting the Wii itself seemed to fix the problem. It probably wasn't a battery issue, since we replaced both batteries with newish ones. We only ran into this once in the entirety of our play time, however, so you shouldn't encounter this often. [Nyko]

Update: Nyko tells me that the issue might be because the unit was from an early production lot. They're sending another one for me to test and see if I can reproduce the problem.

Both IGN and Wii Fanboy have taken a look at the device and agree that it does its job well and the added bulk of the cord-free adapter doesn't really take away from the performance. So if you have a few controllers you would like to convert to wireless, the Cord Free is available now for $20. Nyko is also expected to release a standalone version this May. [IGN and Wii Fanboy]

Let's just make something clear: if you buy such ugly tech, don't expect your friends not to punch you in the face when they come over just to play Wii Sports. Even if it "only costs $20." [kotaku]

The big deal about the updated Front Man Wireless Guitar for the PS3 is that it is the first guitar controller that can be used with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Like the previous version for the PS2, to switch between games, all you need to do is hit the pedal—which is a nice touch. Other features include: 25 feet worth of cordless fun and an included USB play and charge cable. The device above is still a prototype, so expect a few cosmetic changes before it is released in March for $59.99.

Nyko has also released a version of Front Man for the Wii that is fully compatible with Guitar Hero III. It also features 3 interchangeable pick guards in designer colors (the tool to remove them is located in a back side compartment), and customizing stickers. Available in March for $49.99.

The updated Zero wireless controller for the PS3 features 25 hours of gameplay, wireless range of 30 feet, backlit LED buttons, metal polymer hybrid design, and full six axis motion and rumble. It played great, felt solid, and the rumble feature worked well. Plus it will be available at the end of January or early February—before the sixaxis controller rumbles its way to North America. Priced at $59.99.

The Wireless Nunchuck controller for the Wii has full accelerometer support and it offers 30 hours of gameplay on two AAA batteries—which thoroughly sucks. According to the rep, they didn't want to develop an integrated rechargeable battery until a large user base has been established. So it could become a reality sometime in the future for anyone willing to pony up the extra cash. Expect to see it on store shelves in February for $29.99.

The Charge Base for the 360 offers a convenient drop in design that makes recharging easy. It also features 2 custom NiMH batteries that provide up to 25 hours of play time. The Charge Base will be available in March for $29.99.

Nyko simply replaced the nunchuk altogether—which isn't a bad idea since Wiimotes come bundled separately anyway. This new, wireless nunchuck interfaces with the Wiimote through an adapter snapped in the Wiimote's port, which makes way for 2.4GHz communication.

But we're with Kotaku on this one. We can almost never play the Wii as it is without replacing bundles of batteries and the last thing we need is another to worry about...only because we've never encountered a game that was hindered by wire tethering. But if Nyko ends up sticking a rechargeable battery in there, we'll talk.

No price or release info yet, but we'll get our paws on it at CES along with more details then. [ign via kotaku]

The Price: $29 (includes rechargeable packs)

The Verdict: The Charge Station is super useful for charging multiple packs overnight. And since it comes with two, you can use one in your controller and charge another at the same time, swapping back and forth when necessary. And if you do a lot of multiplayer, you can charge two overnight to ensure you're always ready to go. The fact that it includes two battery packs, which cost almost as much it does when sold separately, makes this a definite buy for new 360 owners. New Xbox 360 owners should take a look. [Nyko]

Instead of using the default Microsoft wireless controller scheme, which Microsoft's still being stingy about, Nyko's gone and made their own. It requires an adapter box (included), and a wired controller (it can be a regular controller or even a wired Guitar Hero guitar) to be plugged in while in use. The good news is that all the functions, including whammy and tilt star power actually works.

Nyko's still not sure on the price or whether they want to bring it to market at all, since the official controller will be wireless and won't have the limitation of requiring a wired standard controller.

Other accessories are the PlayStation 3 controller Nyko controller [photo], which has 6-directional motion sensing, and even a removable battery pack for external charging. It also charges via miniUSB, like the original SIXAXIS.

Then there's the Nyko Cooler for the Wii [photo], that attaches to the back of your Wii in order to add another fan for cooling. It's a passthrough design, like the Xbox 360's intercooler, which means it's going to be sucking some power away from the Wii. We saw how well this worked with the Xbox 360 (it bricked some), so this may or may not be a good idea. Hard to say now.

A more useful product, we think, is their classic controller attachment grip [photo]. This hooks to the classic controller and gives you a nice DualShock/SIXAXIS-like grip on each hand. It also has a place to attach your Wiimote on the back, and a cord wrapper so you can get that out of the way.

For the PS3, there's the IR remote and adapter [photo], which we talked about before, that allows you to either use this remote or universal remotes—most of which are IR and not Bluetooth—to control your Blu-ray and DVD movie playback.

Lastly, there are the Nintendo DS travel cases [photo], which comes with the case, car power adapter, two styluses, and what looks like a belt clip.

But the best part is, of course, the chip holder. Nyko told us that they were going to re-evaluate the design and increase the size (making it deeper and wider) to accommodate more chips. The amount in there is enough for one person, but as a party tray it's fairly under-stocked. But the idea is great.

There are LCD scoreboards (so you can keep track of which one of the four of you is winning), Wiimote holders, a drawer for Nunchucks, a fan (like the bowling alley) for sweaty gamers, four freezable soda cup holders (with built-in gels to maintain coldness), and a chip and dip holder for, obviously, chips and dip. We didn't eat any of their chips, because they were presumably sitting out all day getting poked at by sweaty journalists.

The soda holders were nice and solid, and has the gels on the inside so it keeps your soda cold for a while longer outside the fridge. The tray holds two Nunchucks, which is usually enough for most four-player games. The LCD scoreboard works by manually adding or subtracting a point depending on whoever won a game (works for every game, obviously). The fan's definitely a great touch for everyone who's throwing the Wiimote thanks to sweaty palm syndrome.

The current version's still just a prototype, but they plan to release a final version in the next couple months. [Wii Party Station]

•Wii remote storage
•A drawer to store things like memory cards or manuals

[Jerry's IGN]

As a DualShock veteran of DVD playback on the Playstation 2, controlling the menus with a Sixaxis isn't a big deal for me. However, this remote is perfect for people who have made attempts at Bluetooth workarounds to try to get the Playstation 3 to recognize a programmable remote and find it too much trouble. Just plug the adapter into any USB port on the Playstation 3, put two AAA batteries in the remote, and keep within 25 feet.

Product page [Nyko via CEPro]

However, beyond stating that it makes the PS3 noticeably louder and that it moves "dramatically more air" through the PS3, there's not much information. What's the temperature reading before and after you add this on? While playing a movie? While using Folding @ Home? While gaming? We'll try and get a hands on and see for ourselves. – Jason Chen

Nyko Intercooler PlayStation 3 Review [IGN]

For $34.99, you can get a combo set with a charger, a stand, and a couple silicone protectors, but since that only comes with one charging station, we still prefer the two-station version from Nyko more. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Thrustmaster via Joystiq]

Nyko Product Page [Amazon]

As far as the Wii and Xbox 360 go...

Once again, Nyko has come up with several charging solutions. The Wii gets the Charge Station ($30), which charges the Wiimote. Since Nintendo has all but ruled out making a "charging solution," this certainly fills a void. Nyko's also got their own sensor bar for the Wii ($20) with a 25-foot radius. It's wireless, too, so setting it atop a wall-mounted TV is a little easier. They're also coming out with their own component cable given that the Nintendo one is damn near impossible to find.

Lastly, Nyko was demoing Zero, its newest line of wireless controllers for the PS3 and 360. Nyko's trying to get rid of the notion that third party controllers are on the cheap side with Zero. Available sometime this quarter for around $50, the controllers all have backlit buttons and are made out of an aluminum that helps dissipate heat. They were also damn light. I believe I said something along the lines of, "it's like I'm walking on air!" Pretty sure that's when they kicked us out. – Nicholas Deleon

Nyko

Let's see, a guitar that kinda looks like a Gibson Explorer (seen here) and controls Guitar Hero 2... for the win! – Nicholas Deleon

Nyko's New Guitar Controllers [1UP.com via CrunchGear]

The box will connect to your PS3 "3 using patent-pending technology that works with the systems power port and vent system", meaning it'll attach to the unit itself, making the PS3 even more bulky. – Jason Chen

Press Release [Nyko via i4u]

Product Page [Via Playlist]

Nyko has a USB hub/memory card coming this summer. It supports Smart Media, Compact Flash, Sony Memory Stick and Secure Digital. Also it has 3 additional USB ports for plugging in an other peripherals.

Also up is a Xbox 360 Intelligent Remote. This is a self-programming remote for the Xbox 360 that will learn the functions of your TV, also. It uses IR learning for all of your home entertainment devices. It will be available for around $37.

Product Page [Pinpoint Consumer Electronics]

Product Page [Via DesignTechnica]

Nyko nano Sound Stage [Chip Chick]

Nyko Intros Xbox 360 Cooling Solution [Extremetech]

Nyko Charger Grip for PSP [MobileWhack]