Let me just get this out of the way from the beginning: I wish I had one of these for my first child when he started gaming on the the Wii. Now that we do have a snakebyte MiniMote for the Wii, my second son is benefiting greatly from the reduced size and weight. So do you have a Wii? Do you have younger children that really want to play the Wii? Okay, well, if you do, you should really look into the MiniMote for the Wii. The MiniMote is a fully functioning Wii controller that is a reduced size and weight (about 25%) that allows those younger children with smaller hands to still participate in family gaming sessions. The ability for your younger children to game with their larger siblings gives them a bit of confidence that they might not have with a larger frustrating controller.
While the snakebyte is not made with the same quality of plastic as a Ninendo Wii Controller, I found it to function well. It has a external sync button that works flawlessly and an eco mode for extended battery life. While I found the B button shape a little weird at first, my children did not. My just-turned-5-year-old now has claimed the MiniMote to be his, and it is his preferred controller for gaming on the Wii. I will say that it slips out of his hand far less than the regular controller did, and it seems that his control with this MiniMote is improved, as well.
That being said, I felt as if I myself needed to really test it out to see how it functioned. The first thing of note is to make sure you use fresh batteries, as I had it drop signal at first–I realized right away that I had put some older batties in the device. After inserting fresh batteries, I was off and ready to go. I decided to test it with a bunch of rounds of Excitebike for the Wii. The controller really performed well. For a smaller hand, having the 1 and 2 buttons positioned like that when using the controller sideways was great. I played for a while, and the controller performed as intended. No complaints on my end at all. This MiniMote might also be a wife/mother controller for the lady with smaller hands, as well (a theory that we have not been able to test just yet, but seems like it will hold up).
So, if you have a Wii, have some children that play with you, a wife with smaller hands, or just need another Nintendo Wii controller, check out the snakebyte MiniMote that is being destributed by Sunflex USA.
Sunflex USA, the exclusive U.S. distributor of the video gaming brand snakebyte™ and FINAL FANTASY® XIV controller, announced today that they will distribute the new snakebyte™ MiniMote for Wii®. The snakebyte™ MiniMote offers the same functionality of a regular Wii Remote but provides a sleek and miniature controller designed for a more comfortable grip while playing games. The smaller size, 25% smaller than the original Wii Remote, makes the MiniMote the ideal controller for kids and adults with smaller hands.
“Gaming for kids is made easy with the snakebyte™ MiniMote since their little hands will no longer have to struggle to grasp onto the controller,” said Mitch Perliss, Vice President of Sunflex USA. “While the smaller device works especially well for children and adults with smaller hands, the MiniMote is ergonomically designed to provide a more comfortable grip for players of all ages, resulting in better control and a more enjoyable gaming experience.”
The snakebyte™ MiniMote features:
- ECO Mode for extended battery life
- Convenient console synchronization through external SYNC button
- Improved button layout that makes it easier to operate.
- Available in Red and Blue
The snakebyte™ MiniMote will retail for $24.99 and will be available January 2011 at www.snakebyte-usa.com and other e-tailers.