A serious-looking Wii controller for serious Wii gamers. About time too.

The new ‘Classic Controller Pro‘, as revealed on Nintendo Japan’s official pages, certainly looks the business. It has the same basic layout as the regular Classic Controller but, crucially, with the addition of a couple of grip-tastic handles and the four shoulder buttons configured in what might be considered a more traditional style.

No doubt it’s the very thing for Mario Kart pros looking for an extra edge, or gamers sick of hunting around in the loft for the Gamecube pad. It’s also a solid nod in the direction of the Xbox 360 and Dualshock 3 PS3 pads, which rather begs the question as to the Classic Controller Pro’s precise purpose. Does its development indicate the imminent arrival of new games requiring more precise player inputs or just, as some have cynically speculated, more Gamecube rehashings? Maybe none of the above, and Nintendo was just looking at new ways to market old tech.

The Classic Controller Pro is slated for a summer release in Japan. Nintendo Europe has not mentioned a UK launch yet, and we wouldn’t be so foolish as to ask them since the stock ‘we can neither confirm nor deny..” response gets a bit boring after the 20th time. Fingers crossed, though…