Wii-mote Touch Charge Station

The Touch Charge wireless charging kit is made in versions for use with such game controllers as the Wii remote—Wii-mote is an unofficial nickname for the device—and controllers for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (PS3). The usual price for the Wii version is $60; this is higher than the PS3 version (as is the Xbox 360 version, which is $70) because the kit is actually a battery you can use instead of the defaults.

The Touch Charge includes a magnetic charging pad on which you put the entire Wii remote, and a small built-in LED light stops flashing when the charge is complete. The pad is approximately half the size of an average mouse pad, features magnetic charging strips, and forces the remote to stay in place until the charge is finished.

Reviewers initially praised the Touch Charge kits for convenience and for relatively shorter charging times (four hours or less for a Wii remote), but question whether it makes sense to pay extra for a wireless charger unless a player has other devices compatible to the Wildcharge system. Some reviewers also complained that the size of the pad makes it impossible to charge more than two or three controllers at once.

Users have found it a mixed bag likewise since the product first appeared in 2008. Complaints on Amazon.com’s review pages ran rampant between the unit’s basic failure to operate properly and complaints that it actually melted the remote devices. Other complaints included that the Wii and other remotes would be “very warm” even when taken off the charger within reasonable time, whether or not the battery actually did melt.

Psyclone includes a lengthy warning against leaving remote controllers on the pad unattended for long periods—this applied to the Wii and the Xbox and PS3 versions—but some users actually found fault with the warning, asking why the company did not simply recall and remake the Touch Charge.