Get more storage if you can – you can save the games to hard drive which makes the box a lot quieter.

Or you can do what I’ve done (20GB hard drive) and plug in two 32Gb USB sticks which gives enough space more several games (games are 4-8GB ish)

How so?

The Game Cube compatibility and the control system means it’s been used far, far more than I expected it would.
The Motion Plus should have been there from the start, granted, but it wasn’t too shabby without.

I already have a GameCube (great console for its time), if I want to play GC games I don’t need a Wii.

At launch the Wii had the WiiMotion controller, which was a revolution in and of itself (but still crap until they fixed it with the Plus, what it should’ve been in the first place) and accoutrements like the Balance Board secured another niche. Technically it’s weak compared to its peers, it’s not in the same league as the 360 and PS3.

There are exceptions, but the platform is awash with “party games” and “family games” and at that it excels. We’ve got one at work and it’s killed many a ‘fifteen minutes left of our lunch hour’ with a couple of rounds of bowling. It’s a brilliant laugh with four controllers and a few mates, plying Mario Kart or some such. But the novelty of endless Ravin’ Rabbids / Mario Party 37 titles quickly wears off. We’ve got one at home on long-term loan after my OH wanted one for ages, we played it for about a week and it’s not been switched on since.

As a second console it’s ace, and as a first console for kids it’s an ideal choice (until the Wii U came along and did more of the same, better). But there won’t be many people looking at Nintendo / Sony / Microsoft and going “yup, that’s the one for me.”

4gb, 250gb etc, can anyone enlighten me as to the differences between them?

As others have said, avoid the 4Gb console. You’ll only need to add storage later, and it’ll cost a fair bit more to do it afterwards.

Cougar – Moderator
Technically it’s weak compared to its peers, it’s not in the same league as the 360 and PS3.

I agree.
But technical performance, to me, is a straw man, only useful if it makes things more fun and enhances the gameplay.

IMO, most developers concentrate on the shallow technical aspects at the expense of immersive, satisfying, gameplay.
Because it’s easier and cheaper to do so.

Just as it’s easy to spec a bike with all the bells and whistles without giving a thought to how it rides or makes you feel.

There are exceptions, but the platform is awash with “party games” and “family games” and at that it excels. We’ve got one at work and it’s killed many a ‘fifteen minutes left of our lunch hour’ with a couple of rounds of bowling. It’s a brilliant laugh with four controllers and a few mates, plying Mario Kart or some such. But the novelty of endless Ravin’ Rabbids / Mario Party 37 titles quickly wears off. We’ve got one at home on long-term loan after my OH wanted one for ages, we played it for about a week and it’s not been switched on since.

That’s a shame.

Looking at my Wii games I can see many that have provided depth and satisfaction beyond the majority of titles I’ve bought for other, technically superior consoles.
Mario Galaxy, the Zelda games, Metroid, etc.

And if you’re only playing Sports Resort for short blasts, you really are missing out.
The island flyover has taken up more of my time than almost anything since TT Superbikes on the PS2.
🙂

I do love other manufacturers – I think my (recently broken, must get another) Dreamcast was perfect for the kind of short blasts you describe – still nothing better.
But no real epics – Shenmue, in retrospect, isn’t the breakthrough it first appeared to be.
Phantasy Star Online (I’ve only the UK version) was a waste, but Chu Chu Rocket was amazing.
Imagine if it had been an online, multiplayer Bomberman?

Ico & TT Superbikes on the PS2 proved Sony had a soul, but were rare exceptions in a sea of bland sequels and shoot ’em up conformity.

I’ve recently been given a PS3 by my son in law.
Bought quite a few games, but they all feel like graphically enhanced versions of the original PS1 titles.
There’s little soul to them, apart from GT6, which is just amazing.

I missed the last copy of EDGE, which listed the best titles of the previous (PS3) generation.
I’d love to have a list of them if anyone has a copy.
I’ve not really bought game magazines since SuperPlay, meant to pick up this one but it slipped my mind.

Very interesting thread btw.

But technical performance is a straw man, only useful if it makes things more fun, enhances the gameplay.

Absolutely. My first platform was a ZX Spectrum, let us not forget.

But I stand by what I said. It’s not true of all titles of course; I’ve got Mario Galaxy and it’s ace, but they’re the exception rather than the rule IMHO. Standout titles for the 360 for me have been Red Dead Redemption and Tomb Raider, there’s nothing (I’m aware of) on the Wii which comes close, but plenty of other 360 / PS3 titles of a similar calibre. I’d heartily recommend both for your PS3. Heavy Rain and The Last of Us would be on my list if I had a PS3 too. Epic storytelling games with outstanding characters, I’ve not seen anything on the Wii come close. If there are platform-exclusive Wii titles in that vein I’d love to know.

Granted this is my view as (arguably) an adult, and we’ve thread-drifted from the OP’s six year old. (-:

A recent trip to GAME, a £50.00 gift voucher and a helpful employee means I have s/h copies of Red Dead, Drake’s Deception, Hitman, Arkham Asylum, F1 2013 & Dirt 3.
Only played the racers so far, but have high hopes of the others.

🙂

My PS3 came with various versions of CoD, Battlefield & FIFA.
They’re ok, but don’t really do it for me.
Prefer GoldenEye & Sensible Soccer so far.
😀

Very pleasantly surprised by Guitar Hero, great party game & SKATE 3 might just turn out to be a bit of an epic.

Was also looking at getting a kids console. Whats the differennce between the 8gb and 32gb Wii U?? Does the 8gb rapidly run out of disk space?

Whats the differennce between the 8gb and 32gb Wii U??

24Gb. HTH.

Was also looking at getting a kids console. Whats the differennce between the 8gb and 32gb Wii U?? Does the 8gb rapidly run out of disk space?

Yeah the 8Gb version does run out of disk space very quickly. But you can plug in an external usb disk drive, so not a show-stopper. Also depends if you prefer to buy game disks or download them directly from Nintendo. If the latter then I would go with the bigger storage. Either way you can upgrade either with an external drive, which are not expensive these days.

FWIW I went with the 8Gb version and haven’t bothered to add an external drive yet – I prefer to have the games on disk anyway.

Cougar – Moderator
Whats the differennce between the 8gb and 32gb Wii U??
24Gb. HTH.

haha 😆

No Wii U yet

If you liked the Wii, you will definitely appreciate the Wii U. It retains all the strong gameplay aspects of the original and of course adds the lush HD graphics some titles deserve. The new controller with additional screen is also a lot more useful than I ever imagined it would be. It’s a really strong console for family gaming and now gathering momentum following its poor launch.

Our 5 year old loves Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze (me too actually despite never being a big platform gamer) and is looking forward to the Lego Movie game for Christmas – having loved the film.

if you want my honest advice don’t do it. the worst thing i ever did was buy one for my boy, i hate it, he spends his time playing on that idiot box and not getting off his ass and into the real world.

just had this arrive in my inbox

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/product_detail/15262/

Just enter the PROMO code wiki99 in the shopping basket
you will see the price reduce to JUST £65.95 plus delivery.
Hurry they won’t last long at this price.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt_YfLUMVOI#t=169[/video]

Sorely tempted if I hadnt bought the hudl2 last week 😉

Technically it’s weak compared to its peers, it’s not in the same league as the 360 and PS3.

Sure, but the original Wii was never about tech prowess – it’s almost like they deliberately made it retro to prove a point that good gameplay is not about flashy processors and tech specs. But it was certainly ground breaking in terms of bringing fun, accessible gaming back into the family living room rather than the confines of spotty teenagers bedrooms.

Wii U just makes it a more flexible platform for all round gaming and it has probably suffered as a result of being pitched more directly against Sony and MS. But it’s still a great console in its own right.

he spends his time playing on that idiot box and not getting off his ass and into the real world.

Who’s fault is that? You know where the off button is!

if you want my honest advice don’t do it. the worst thing i ever did was buy one for my boy, i hate it, he spends his time playing on that idiot box and not getting off his ass and into the real world.

Who’s fault is that? I actually agree with you, but nothing wrong with computer gaming with strictly limited access. I also encourage the more educational games – puzzle solving etc involved. Probably better than staring at the TV.

But yeah, no substitute for getting outside when it’s not pissing down and pitch black.

On days like this, when the weather is truly grim, that the wii comes in to it’s own. We’ve got loads of games, but we always end up back at Wii Sports. We’ve all had a round of golf, and the girls (7 and 10) are presently very noisily and enthusiastically ten pin bowling.

Another thing I’d forgotten about the wii was the constantly tweaking of your mii character to allow for new haircuts etc (them, not me, obviously 🙂

The Wii is also very easy to ‘modify’… 😉

Currently having a Mario Bros session with the 4yo. Very satisfying before I head up to the garage to fettle some reba’s

The Wii is also very easy to ‘modify’…

Is it? Have they given up trying to defeat all the various exploits now (says man with wii unupdated since 2010 and Hard Drive full of games)…

WiiU for 3d Mario, Super Mario WiiU, Mario Kart, Lego City, Smash Bros WiiU (out next week)

Next year you’ve got Yoshi, Kirby and hopefully Zelda U.

Backwards compatible with wii, so a vast library of classic games. Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Original Rabbids game (any Rabbids game) Wii Sport,

For Dad you’ve got Zelda Windwaker HD, Bayonetta 1&2 (the only place to get 2) Hyrule Warriors. Tap into the Virtual Console and enjoy the old Snes games.

And the Amiibo figures are about to drain your spending money. If they release a pokemon game (a proper rpg one) that includes them, we are all screwed. “Gotta buy them all”

martinhutch – Member

The Wii is also very easy to ‘modify’…

Is it? Have they given up trying to defeat all the various exploits now (says man with wii unupdated since 2010 and Hard Drive full of games)…

I think they gave up. Homebrew installers were stuck at a certain firmware version for ages but now I think it can be done on any version.
It is handy being able to back the games onto HDD, saves looking for the discs all of the time… 😀