Curious Wii accessory of the week #2 - an ice hockey stick

paul · **Joined:** Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:43 pm **Posts:** 547

With the release of the ice-hockey game NHL Slapshot, EA are also including the first ever Nintendo approved third party accessory for a Wii game in the shape of a hockey-stick controller, shown here with the game's front man Wayne Gretzky...

Attachment:

File comment: A very happy Wayne Gretzky and his controller, or is it a vacuum cleaner attachment?

hockey_stick.jpeg [ 11.63 KiB | Viewed 176 times ]

Unusually, Nintendo have actually approved this, suggesting that this is not just a random bit of plastic shaped like a hockey-stick, as so many of these Wii accessories are, but actually helps add something to the gameplay.

The Wii Remote fits near the head, and the nunchuck up at the handle, and sounds like it will add something to the gaming experiance...

Quote:

The stick is the key differentiator... Just the motions of the wrist shot and the slapshot and checking somebody, to be able to actually do those in your living room, it’s hockey in your living room as opposed to just playing with a controller.
- David Littman, the game's creative directory

I think Littman sums up why good Wii games work, and bad ones flop, if the control system feels natural then they are so much fun to play, but get it wrong and they feel forced. It's good to see that at least some developers are still trying hard to find new and interesting ways to use the Wii's controls.

NHL Slapstick should be out in September 2010.