Every single day, Nyko Technologies (and companies like them) ship hundreds of thousands of pieces of plastic to retailers across the nation in hopes that a foolish child or parent will pick up one of these many pieces and purchase it (for lofty sums, might we add.) The gaming consumer, that is to say the savvy videogame buyer, knows better. Third party controllers have been pretty godawful since the first used-car salesman got the idea in his head to profit off of those lacking useful information in a different industry — that industry being videogames. Hit the break for more.

Once in a great while though, we are treated to something of actual use from a third party peripheral maker. First (and in a similar fashion), we were treated to the Charging Station for Nintendo’s Wii by Nyko Technologies. And now, well, now this:

What’s this, you ask? They’re making equipment that may actually be worth the $34.99 MSRP? Filled with trepidation, we approached Nyko’s press release hoping for the best but expecting the worst. And you know what? They made us look like a bunch of fools. This plastic contraption (pictured above) charges your existing Xbox 360 controllers with two rechargeable batteries for your controller (pictured below.)

According to Nyko directly, “Two ports allow up to two controllers to charge simultaneously, with a single charge providing up to 25 hours of play time for each controller. The device is AC powered and plugs into any standard outlet for a charge time of less than 2 hours for one controller, and less than 4 hours for two controllers.

We at QPHQ still had some questions though, and so we put ‘em to Chris Arbogast, Marketing Director for Nyko Technologies:

QP: Will existing Microsoft sanctioned rechargeable batteries work with this base station?

Nyko: “No, Microsoft’s rechargeable batteries will not work with the Charge Base 360. Only batteries that are shipped with the Charge Base 360 that have the appropriate battery contact points will work. The product comes with two batteries.”

QP: Will the batteries be sold separately as well? Any plans for the future if not? Date?

Nyko: “It is a possibility though not yet announced, which will likely be similar to the Wii Battery Kit for the Nyko Charge Station [for the Wii].

Confirmed? Either way, this shockingly useful piece of plastic shipped to retailers today for the actually reasonable price of $34.99 (especially considering how much the Microsoft not-fully-equivalent other option costs.) See, third party peripheral makers aren’t all bad!

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