Review: Mad Catz Wiimote

Ever since the Wii made its launch in 2007, people have been wondering whether there would be third-party accessories. Now I'm not usually the type to go around third-party accessories but I took a punt with the Mad Catz Wiimote when it went on sale for $30 at Mighty Ape. And here are my thoughts:

Design
First off, the Mad Catz Wiimote looks and feels like the original Nintendo Wiimote. Well, pretty much. I even swapped the battery covers to see if they would fit into each other. I can say, nice click. The D-pad is a little different - it's enclosed in a circle. I would say however, the plastic finishing is a bit rough around the edges (no, literally - I found this random piece of plastic that was sticking out the side which I pulled off) compared to the ever smooth and well-defined original Wiimote. I never thought that I'd ever say that about a remote. And I guess I took the workmanship quality of the original Wiimote for granted. Although there's this piece that says that there are no differences in weight between the two makes, I would say that the Mad Catz Wiimote feels lighter and somewhat slimmer.

Winner: Original Wiimote

Compatibility
On the package, it states that the Mad Catz Wiimote is compatible with all Nunchuks and controllers, as well as Wii Motion Plus. I was able to fit my original Nunchuk into the Mad Catz Wiimote to do play some boxing in Wii Sports, as well as go wakeboarding and whatnot on the Wii Sports Resort Island. So, I can say, it seems to work well. Oh, and even though I said that the Mad Catz Wiimote feels lighter and smaller, it fits into the original Wiimote silicone sleeve perfectly. It didn't seem to have any weird tracking/communication issues at all.

Winner: Tie

Sound
I guess I might've forgotten to mention the fact that the Mad Catz Wiimote has 5 rows of 3 speaker holes as opposed to 6 on the original Wiimote. And I think this is the difference between sound quality. I'm not exactly sure whether the Mad Catz Wiimote gives out sounds that are more louder or just muffled, but to me, it just sounds more muffled.

Winner: Original Wiimote

Conclusion
So, really, I guess this all comes down to is price. The 'normal' price difference between the original Wiimote and the Mad Catz one is a mere $10. At that price, I would normally go for the original Wiimote but at $30, I'd go pick up a Mad Catz one instead for a spare remote and some multi-player fun.