The Wii Shaft controller

Ditch your Nunchuck

By James Sherwood • Get more from this author

13th November 2007 07:02 GMT

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.

wii_shaft
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.

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).