A few weeks prior to this year's CES, I was contacted by CM4 to preview their line of protective covers for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS. As they weren't readily available for review outside of the show floor, CM4 offered their current lineup of DSi and Wii Remote Catalyst covers instead. Never one to turn down the prospect of protective gear for my beloved handheld devices, I agreed to take a look at their purported "premium" casings.
The official PR makes these cases sound like some sort of slip-cover wunderkind. Promising contoured fabric, durable leathers, improved comfort, and all that standard bullshit that comes with entering a new product into the already supersaturated accessory market. But instead of that idealistic wonderland of console accessories, what you get are cheaply made wastes of fake leather and aluminum alloy.
Let's start with the DSi casing. Now, I already have a pretty kick-ass case for my DSi bearing the Official Nintendo seal. Using this as a baseline for quality was a bad move from the get-go. The Catalyst casing is an extremely thin piece of aluminum (or some similar metal), wrapped in fake leather which is being held on by something barely stronger than hot-glue. None of the edging looks attractive at all, and ripples and folds are present throughout the entire surface of the casing, instead of just in the corners (which aren't very pretty as is).
In the hopes of finding an enjoyable experience, I decided to see how well these cases performed aside from their questionable build quality. Surprisingly, when holding the DSi in the case, it didn't feel terrible. The pleather had a nice texture to it and it never felt uncomfortable in my hands during my entire playtime. But then I decided to try dropping it. From a height of about two feet, the catalyst casing popped right off the system causing the thin materials to bend and buckle under the immense pressures of Earth's gravitational pull. Luckily, though, the metal is so thin, you can just bend it back into place!
CM4 also provided the black and pink Wii Remote (with space for MotionPlus!) Catalyst casing, pictured below. The material quality is something out of a third world sweat shop. You know when you go to some backwoods flea market and you find a little counter selling Abibas shoes and Niké sportswear? Imagine that, but with Nintendo accessories, and about thirty times less awesome.
The individual pieces themselves are well made, and you'd think having decent quality parts would form to make an even more decent whole; but that's not the case here. Holding a Wii Remote in the casing is uncomfortable; the edges where the pieces are stitched together dig into your hand and when you're trying to play games for extended periods of time, the moments of discomfort tend to add up.
On the plus side, the pleather does give a golf glove effect when your hands warm up from intense play sessions. Instead of slipping around, your own disgusting body fluids give you a better grip on the Wii Remote and also lessens the likelihood anyone else will want to use your Remote while it's in that casing.
It's possible I was provided some unintentionally faulty product for review, but even considering that, I cannot recommend these products for any kind of serious system or peripheral protection. They do give your peripherals a decent cosmetic enhancement, but that's about the extent of the worth of these items. If you have ten bucks to spare and need a throwaway gift, you may as well buy the official accessories instead.
The official PR makes these cases sound like some sort of slip-cover wunderkind. Promising contoured fabric, durable leathers, improved comfort, and all that standard bullshit that comes with entering a new product into the already supersaturated accessory market. But instead of that idealistic wonderland of console accessories, what you get are cheaply made wastes of fake leather and aluminum alloy.
Let's start with the DSi casing. Now, I already have a pretty kick-ass case for my DSi bearing the Official Nintendo seal. Using this as a baseline for quality was a bad move from the get-go. The Catalyst casing is an extremely thin piece of aluminum (or some similar metal), wrapped in fake leather which is being held on by something barely stronger than hot-glue. None of the edging looks attractive at all, and ripples and folds are present throughout the entire surface of the casing, instead of just in the corners (which aren't very pretty as is).
In the hopes of finding an enjoyable experience, I decided to see how well these cases performed aside from their questionable build quality. Surprisingly, when holding the DSi in the case, it didn't feel terrible. The pleather had a nice texture to it and it never felt uncomfortable in my hands during my entire playtime. But then I decided to try dropping it. From a height of about two feet, the catalyst casing popped right off the system causing the thin materials to bend and buckle under the immense pressures of Earth's gravitational pull. Luckily, though, the metal is so thin, you can just bend it back into place!
CM4 also provided the black and pink Wii Remote (with space for MotionPlus!) Catalyst casing, pictured below. The material quality is something out of a third world sweat shop. You know when you go to some backwoods flea market and you find a little counter selling Abibas shoes and Niké sportswear? Imagine that, but with Nintendo accessories, and about thirty times less awesome.
The individual pieces themselves are well made, and you'd think having decent quality parts would form to make an even more decent whole; but that's not the case here. Holding a Wii Remote in the casing is uncomfortable; the edges where the pieces are stitched together dig into your hand and when you're trying to play games for extended periods of time, the moments of discomfort tend to add up.
On the plus side, the pleather does give a golf glove effect when your hands warm up from intense play sessions. Instead of slipping around, your own disgusting body fluids give you a better grip on the Wii Remote and also lessens the likelihood anyone else will want to use your Remote while it's in that casing.
It's possible I was provided some unintentionally faulty product for review, but even considering that, I cannot recommend these products for any kind of serious system or peripheral protection. They do give your peripherals a decent cosmetic enhancement, but that's about the extent of the worth of these items. If you have ten bucks to spare and need a throwaway gift, you may as well buy the official accessories instead.