There are a lot of Nintendo Wii accessories out there that claim to be absolute necessities. But who really needs a lightsaber-shaped extension for a Wiimote or a set of boxing gloves that you can attach your Wiimote and Nunchuck to? Some accessories look cool, but aren't really that functional, while others don't seem that necessary, but improve the Wii gaming experience immensely.
Our guide will help you sort through them all by providing a set of recommendations for great accessories and a list of useless items to avoid.
First, the good:
The Nintendo Wii is a fantastic multiplayer gaming system. That is, unless you've only got one controller. Anyone planning to enjoy the Wii's multiplayer offerings is going to need a second Wiimote controller and a second Nunchuck add on. Passing the controller is not an option for most of the Wii's games, so you're going to need a second setup for your buddies to use.
The Wiimote retails for about 40 bucks, and the Nunchuck will set you back another 20, but you can't really put a price on multiplayer bliss, can you?
Once you've picked up that second controller, you're going to want some way to power them both. Sure, you can go to Costco and buy a 100 pack of AA batteries, but that's expensive (not to mention annoying). The best bet in the long run is to pick up a charging station for your controllers.
Most of these units come with the charging station itself and a pair of replacement batteries for your Wiimote controllers. Simply place the Wiimotes on the base when you're not playing and you'll always have fully-charged controllers for when you want to jump into a game of Mario Kart with a friend.
Most of the charge stations plug directly into the Wii via a USB port, requiring the system to be in standby mode to charge them. If standby is not for you, try and find a charge station that plugs directly into the wall.
Check out page two for Virtual Console necessities and some Wii accessories that are completely worthless.