How To Use Your WiiMote As A Controller For Your Android Device

How To Use Your WiiMote As A Controller For Your Android Device

Use your WiiMote as a gamepad for your Android tablet or phone. Touch screens are great for some games, but for others you just need tactile response.

I’ve shown you how to use a WiiMote as a gamepad for your Mac and Christian showed you how to connect a WiiMote to your PC, but if you prefer to do your gaming on an Android device I highly recommend the free app WiiMote Controller. It’s easy to set up, and mimics an Android keyboard â€" so it works with most games.

This app doesn’t detect the WiiMote’s motion capture â€" instead, it lets you use your WiiMote as a traditional gamepad, held sideways. It’s perfect for use with NESoid and other emulators.

Using WiiMote Controller

Curious how well this works? There’s no lag, I can tell you that right now, and the WiiMote is a perfect controller for any Android app capable of detecting keystrokes. That includes a bunch of games and most major emulators. Here’s me playing Super Mario Bros. using a WiiMote and my Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, if you’re interested:

Before you do anything, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your Android device. Once you do that there are only a few steps before you’ll be up and running.

I went through the steps in the vi deo, but let’s go through those steps again. When you start the app there are two steps: connecting your WiiMote(s) and setting the Android to use it as a keyboard. The app includes two buttons for just that. Tap the connect button first:

After you do this you’ll start to see a summary of every button you press and let go, in text. Super fun! Anyway, to actually use this with games you’ll need to set your tablet to see the WiiMote as a keyboard. It’s weird, but go with it:

You should be set now! Hold yoru WiiMote sideways, like the old NES controller, and get rea dy to play some games! Note that some games and emulators will require that you enable special controllers in order to work. Here’s the option in NESoid:

Check “Use input method” and you’ll be good to go!

Some games and emulators will seem to not work. Make sure you configure the buttons in the input settings of your program. If that doesn’t work you can also reconfigure WiiMote Controller to use simulate different keys, so explore that option if need be.

Install WiiMote Controller for Android

Ready to check this out for yourself? Go ahead and download WiiMote Controller for Android. It’s a free app, and worked very well for me.

Creative Uses

Of course, you don’t need to stop with just using your WiiMote. If you’ve got some free time and some electrical skills you can use the guts of a WiiMote to make your own creative controller for your phone. This guy did so using an old GameBoy, and he’s way better at making videos than I am. (He’s using Wii Controller IME, another app for the job). Check it out:

I don’t have his skills, and have no desire to rip apart my old GameBoy, but I think you get the idea: with some skills you can hack a WiiMote’s guts to fit inside almost anything.Of course, if you’d rather install emulators directly on to your Wii you can do that too, but you’ll need to set up your Wii to run HomeBrew wi th Letterbomb first.

Let me know anything creative you attempt in the comments below…or just link to other projects. I look forward to hearing from you, as always!