Memorex Wii Racing Wheel Review

I had the opportunity to test out the Memorex Racing Wheel for Wii. I saw this recently at the PEPCOM Holiday Spectacular and asked Memorex if I could put it though the paces.

There are a couple of differences between this wheel and the official Nintendo Wii Wheel. The Memorex wheel is a little thicker around for grip, and the Memorex wheel is a glossy which plastic vs the Wii Wheel which has a matte finish. Also, the Memorex wheel features colored grips on the sides, and are availble in red, green, blue and purple. Also, the right side of the Memorex wheel slides open so that you can slip the Wii Remote in and the lock it in place as the Memorex wheel plugs into the port on the bottom of the Wii Remote. There is a reason for this I will discuss in a moment.

What I like: they look nice. I like the color-coded grips. I also like the fact that the grips are textured, which makes the wheel easier to grip, especially after a couple of hours of white-knuckled Mario Kart racing. Also, the B button on the back of the wheel is spring-returned, which makes the button action more obvious. I often found that on the Wii Wheel, I was not sure if I had pressed the B button hard enough to activate, as the button is less responsive.

Because of the above mentioned lock-in feature, your also less likely to have the Wii Remote become dislodged from the wheel, although this is a minimal issue unless you plan on throwing it like a discus-- something that is not recommended.

The coolest feature by far is the that plug I mentioned before. The Memorex wheel plugs into the Wii Remote so that you can then plug your Wii Motion Plus dongle into a special port in the back, which is contained inside the center part of the wheel housing. While there are no games out yet that require it, should a game publisher decide to create a racing game using the Wii Motion Plus, this is the only wheel currently on the market that incorporates that compatibility. The plug for the dongle is oriented correctly so that is remains properly aligned with the Wii Remote. I hope somebody decides to utilize this feature for a game.

So what don't I like? I would have looked for the colored grips to be more rubberized than they are. As it is, they are matte finished, but they are still made out of hard plastic. So while it does have a grooved texture to help prevent slipping, I still think that it could have been designed with more comfort in mind. Beyond this, I don't have any complaints.

The Memorex wheel weighs in at 7 oz (197 g) vs the Wii Wheel, which is 5 3/4 oz (165 g), reflective of the slightly bulkier size of the Memorex wheel, plus the added hardware to accommodate the Wii Motion Plus dongle, the added weight is expected, but not unreasonable.

At $9.99 each, or $24.99 for the family pack with all four colors, price is a bonus as the Wii Wheel retails individually for $14.99 and for a 4-pack at $29.99.

Bottom line is this: If have Wii Wheels already, there is no reason to rush out and replace them with these. They are nice, but there are no racing games that require the Wii Motion Plus attachment. However, if you are planning on purchasing them for the first time, or if you are increasing the size of your available equipment, skip the official Nintendo Wii Wheel and get these ones instead. They look nicer and are cheaper, so even if no one ever takes advantage of the port in the back for the Wii Motion Plus, it's still a better buy.