Don’t let its name throw you, because the Wii Shaft has nothing to do with 1970s private detectives. It’s actually an arcade-style joystick for the Nintendo console.

The Shaft lets gamers ditch the unique style of play that’s helped catapult the console up the sales charts.

The Wii Shaft controller

Instead, the accessory harks back to the classic days of arcade gaming by twiddling a small joystick with one hand and furiously tapping big buttons with the other to control on-screen action.

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Individual buttons can be customised to act as turbo function buttons, but the console isn’t wireless – so you may want to consider how you use it to play, say, Wii Sports.

The Shaft's being offered in a choice of three colours: pink and black and Wii white.

Unfortunately, it’s only available for pre-order online, shipping to the US in the middle of December. It costs $40 (£20/€30).