[Closed] Thinking of getting a Nintendo Wii for Xmas

If you want to play wii sports resort against each other which you will believe me you will need another controller and 2 nunchucks plus an additional wii motionplus

We have a Wii, which is used by my wife for all the Wii Fit stuff, she loves it. You'll want a nunchuck though. There are a few games out there for 2 players, so you may want to get a spare control / nunchuck, but I'd wait and see how you get on with it - we use our once in a blue moon. The Wii Fit stuff, only needs one set of controllers really.

You need to get yourself a proper console as well though. I have my PS3, the wife has the Wii.

[i]You need to get yourself a proper console as well[/i]

If you want to play first person shoot 'em ups or anythign that requires 'real' graphics I'd agree.

If you're just looking for something that you can have a laugh playing with friends and family then the Wii's a great device.

If you're just looking for something that you can have a laugh playing with friends and family then the Wii's a great device.

I would agree with that. The wii is always the console that get brought out when we have people around - especially guitar hero and the wii board. I do feel it's complimented by the PS3 though. I'm glad I've got both.

It depends on Mrs Yinn's fitness. I've sold wii fit to many customers in my time, often it ends up gathering dust then gets traded in. If you take fitness seriously then in all honesty I would say it is a bit gimmicky. Couch potato types with no real fitness goals lap it up thinking they will turn from super Mario shape to Louise Rednapp shape in a matter of months.

I'd like to think I had a reasonable level of fitness but still suffered with aches and pains after playing on the Wii last Xmas.

My other half kept going on about getting a Wii, whereas I would have preferred a PS3. In the end, we decided the Wii is more sociable and got that.

It doesn't get used much at all now. We bought it with the balance board so she could do Wii Fit stuff, but I don't think it's been used for a year or so.
I thought there would be more games coming out that use the balance board, but there's very few.

It's definitely a 'sociable' console, rather than a 'gamers' console. I recently bought Colin McRae Dirt II for it and it's absolute pony. I wasn't expecting Gran Turismo, but the car control is horrendous, the AI is rubbish and it gets quite boring after not that long.

Interesting thread - we're thinking about getting a Wii for the kids this Xmas but I'm worried it'll end up being in the cupboard 99% of the time.

It doesn't get used much at all now. We bought it with the balance board so she could do Wii Fit stuff, but I don't think it's been used for a year or so.

Same here. Ours is coming up two years old now, its been sat unused in a cupboard for around 14 months now. Got a lot of regular use initially but the novelty has worn off now.

Interesting thread - we're thinking about getting a Wii for the kids this Xmas but I'm worried it'll end up being in the cupboard 99% of the time.

Stop locking your kids in the cupboard then.

Stop locking your kids in the cupboard then.

I can't help it... that's where the cage is.

like most toys my kids tend to go through phases of playing it loads then abandoning it for a week or two. They do keep going back to it though.

Same here bought Wii plus balance board etc. Wife used it for a week and then has it has sat in storage for ages doing nowt.
I would have thought that the new Xbox Kinect might be worth a bash though - at least then if she gives up after a week or two you can still play decent games on it.

Me and mrshora lost interest in it after a few days. Gimmicky IMO.

Get a PS3.

Depending on the ages of your kids, under 10's seem to play/want a wii most. I have literaly sold 100's of wii fits and heard 100's of customers say how they no longer use it. You can pick up a preowned wii fit easily for much less than the RRP, chances are it's being used a handful of times and you can re sell it in a few weeks when your bored of it for about the same as you paid for it. I'm not trying to be cynical but it is an expensive way of seeing how much you weigh, learning a few basic yoga poses and cluttering up your lounge.

There are some brilliant games on the Wii though, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, and Resident Evil 4 being standouts.

Not sure its better than a PS3 or Xbox as an out and out gaming device but there are excellent traditional games on it too if you seek them out

Anyone want to sell me their Wii console and / or their Wii Fit game + balance board??

I'd echo what others have said. The Wii is a great party console, great to drag out with a few mates round, beer and pizza and an evening of bowling or some such. Where it wins is easy to play, quick round gaming like bowling and such. By the time you've ponied up for the thirtyseven controller components you'll need ideally for four-player grooviness though, it's not as cheap as it first looks.

If OTOH you want a console with meatier games you can get your teeth into and sink hours playing, you really need to be looking at the 360 / PS3 instead. I've just completed the main storyline on Final Fanstasy 13 and it's showing something like 70 hours' total gameplay, with a large chunk of game still left to play. By comparison, I can't see myself putting seventy hours into Nintendogs. But then of course, I'm equally unlikely to get a couple of mates around and sit playing Fable III on the Xbox all night.

So yeah. The Wii is a groovy thing, but it may or may not be a good purchase for you depending on what you expect out of it. My OH has been after one on and off for a while now, largely for the Wii Fit, but I've not bought one purely because I'm fairly certain that the novelty will wear off inside of a week and it'll be a white elephant.

I suppose it all depends on who will use it most - you or your wife?

We have a Wii and my 8 year old girl loves it - it gets loads of use - and I like joining in on the Wii Sports games, Mariokart etc with her. There are some great fun games for it.

If I was a serious gamer though I'd get an XBox or PS3, both of which now have motion control stuff.

agree the balance board sits unused and what I've seen of the fitness stuff is really quite poor a yoga dvd would be better

kids and their friends play together on the wii and have a lot of fun
my 8yr old games enthusiast wants an X-box but i keep saying no as i know all she will want to play will be shoot up games on her own and as a mini mini rant i really struggle with parents that let kids of that age play COD and GTA its not just the odd one seems pretty common

...Xbox Kinect...

Along the lines of my thinking, I can get one with a new phone contract just after Christmas. Should satisfy the occasional urge she has to buy a Wii and will provide some good entertainment when we have folks round.

And there'll be some good gaming to be had when Kinect isn't being used.

Anyone have any experiences of them yet?

There are some brilliant games on the Wii though, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, and Resident Evil 4 being standouts

Aside from the Mario Galaxy titles (which I'll be honest are very compelling reasons why I'd like a Wii), is there much else in the way of "hardcore" games that will take a long time to complete? (I'm going to discount Res Evil 4 here, given that I've got it on my Gamecube...!)

Genuine question, not trolling; you've implied that there's a number of AAA titles and then named the only two I could think of off the top of my head, I was wondering what else has flown under my radar.

Wii is great with mates after a couple of beers, but yeah these days ours is largely unused - a baby means that the only gaming we have any real time for is casual gaming on our phones.

Wii still gets used for BBC iPlayer though 😀

Anyone want to sell me their Wii console and / or their Wii Fit game + balance board??

YGM Bigyinn.

is there much else in the way of "hardcore" games that will take a long time to complete?

Does a game have to take a long time to complete to be good? I'd rather have games I can dip in and out of on a whim than some epic I've got to devote weeks/months of my life to finish.

We've just bought one for us all to enjoy. Our kids are almost 3 and 5 and love the DS, Mario etc so seems ideal. I'm thinking I'll need extra set of controls though..

Doesn't have to be long to be good, but it's a tad disappointing to shell out £40+ only to complete the game in under 6 hours...

Does a game have to take a long time to complete to be good?

Well perhaps not, but that's not what I was meaning. I was asking what there is that I could get my teeth into rather than the pick-up-and-play titles that seem to be the Wii's bread and butter. I wasn't suggesting that other games aren't "good," just asking what there was that was a bit more epic than Wii Tennis.

(one of my favourite games is Rock Band 2 and that's very much a 'pick up and play' game)

Resi 4 is one of my all time greats but it's done so much better on other consoles. Cursed mountain was enjoyable enough but may not be action focused enough for some. I got my Wii pre release as I was heavily involved in the trade back then and expected so much from it, when I saw the quality of titles sliding I can say it slowly disapointed as did Nintendo, I sold the wii the other week to fund a new bike.

Cougar - Call Of Duty: World At War is a good game on the Wii.

Not played it on other consoles so can't say how it compares, but on it's own it's pretty good.

Quantum of Solace it pretty good too, as is Tomb Raider if you can be bothered falling off vines & walking round dark corners for hours on end (I get bored of tomb raider quite quick).

My Wii has sat unused for the last 3 months or so, I bought it for my ex as a graduation gift (I kept it when she left though) complete with Wii Fit, an extra controller and motion + and 2 knunchucks. The ex used the Wii Fit for a couple of weeks before giving up on it, and I occasionally play Mariokart, but if I want to play games now I normally just switch the 360 on, definately a much better console.

And there'll be some good gaming to be had when Kinect isn't being used.

Anyone have any experiences of them yet?

it's not out til Wednesday.

we're buying one for our 3 kids as a shared xmas present. it's looks very good.

see here for video demo:

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Console-250GB-Kinect-Sensor-Adventures/dp/B0042D7XMO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1289220053&sr=8-2 ]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Console-250GB-Kinect-Sensor-Adventures/dp/B0042D7XMO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1289220053&sr=8-2[/url]

Only played a bit on Kinect, I think it's going to suffer in the long term. Early games are fun but that's all, not engaging or anything. I can see it going the same way as other 360 peripheral games, lips, movies etc... Not the console for such a device.

it's not out til Wednesday

Ah, cheers...thought I'd read June 2010 somewhere.

I'll keep an eye on reviews until I get the opportunity to get one, just to see what the developers can do with it.

Hopefully there's a bit of potential there but if not then at least it's still an Xbox that I haven't got at the moment.

And then we'll have to get a Wii anyway...