Nintendo Wii

[TinkiTime1989]

I just got a call from my dad saying that he won a Nintendo Wii at a work conference. So, my question to you is what's it all about? Pros and cons? Best games? We know nothing about this system!

[SBETigg]

Oh, it's so fun! Great system. We love it. Wii Sports is my favorite. Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Boxing, Baseball. You use controllers that are remote, not plugged in to the system, and the games require some actual movement, not all about sitting on the couch. For the bowling, for instance, you're looking down the alley and making the actual motions you would make to bowl.

There's a Pirates of the Caribbean game that looks like fun with actual swordplay. My son has a lot of Mario type games and Zelda. You can also get internet access through it.

[mouseaddict]

We love our Wii. I was against getting any video game system for our kids..but this one is cool. It is very interactive. You actuall move around. We love Wii sports and Mario Party 8. We have some pretty wild tournaments!
You will love the game..and try Zelda..it is addictive!

[caryrae]

My wife just got the game "Boogie" which is very fun. You have to dance and sing. It comes with a real microphone and there is even a karoke section. There is a game called Carnival Games which looks fun. As you can guess you play those midway type games you would find at a carnival. Here's a little about it, Over 25 family-friendly games including: Frog Leap, Clown Splash, Ring Toss, Dunk Tank, Day at the Races, Lucky Cups, Hoops, Shooting Gallery, Hole-in-One, Nerves of Steel and even The Great Swami, the mysterious fortune teller
Advanced game physics combined with innovative Wii controller actions
Win over 250 virtual carnival prizes like goldfish, pirate swords and giant stuffed animals!
Have fun personalizing your in-game characters with wearable rewards like the famous Viking Horns and “Bling” necklace

[Christine]

We've really enjoyed ours. Sports is a favorite.

But you know what DH and I play most? Mario Kart 64 (from Nintendo 64)! We LOVE that!

You'll enjoy it!

My DD (7) wants the cooking game. I'm a bit leary. We've started renting the games at blockbuster first to see if they're fun or not.

You know what else is fun? Big Brain Academy. You'd think it was for little kids, but it is pretty darn challenging!

[Bethis26fan]

I love mine to the wii sports bowling is a fave and the boxing. Also the wii play with the cow racing. lol

It started with one of my cousins getting it now 4 of us have it and it's a very common thing to play when we all get together. On a side note we are in the 25 -30 age range and have as much fun as my teenage cousins.

[TKDONALD]

WE IS GREAT FUN!!!!!! Its not as high quality graphics as a XBOX360 but it enteraining because its something all ages can enjoy. I have one and a XBOX360. The wii is great when you have a big group of people over.

[bcornette]

Wii Sports is somehow my families favorite. If you have gamecube games and remotes it will play them also.
You can download (buy) alot of older nintendo and sega games to play. For playing older games it seems easier to buy the old school nintendo remote for the Wii.
The Pirates of the Caribbean game is a good game, if you like driving games I like Need for Speed Carbon.
I am waiting for the new Mario Kart to come out, I think it's going to be a while though. But it comes with a steering wheel.

Also depending on the game you may need a nunchuk attachment for the wiimote.

[Jeff G]

We love our Wii. It was a combined Christmas gift for the kids (they love it) but it's ended up a gift for the adults too.

The system comes with Wii Sports which includes bowling (my favorite), tennis (my other favorite), baseball, golf and boxing (quite a work out and a blast if two people play). This games pack in itself is enough to warrant the system.

You can create you own person (Mii) that you can customize to look similar to you. When you play the sports games it then uses that image and tracks your stats.

If you have wireless internet you can also surf the internet, check the weather, check news and purchase and download games.

My kids also love the Mario Party Wii game, I've never tried it.

A funny side note, I'm a 35 yr old male and host cards at my house. The last time I hosted a couple guys were running late so I fired up the Wii. We ended up playing the Wii sports games until we had everyone there. After our first round of Hold Em the guys choose to quit playing cards and went back to the Wii for the rest of the night (we usually play at least 2-3 rounds of cards). Two of my friends purchased Wii's since.

[medic9016]

We like Mario party 8. It has so much to play. We have had so much fun with our wii.

[RedSoxFan]

My kids love Wii. They mostly play Wii sports when their friends come over. It's a big hit and a lot of fun.

[TiggeRia]

We have so much fun with our Wii--it's usually all adults playing in our house. Some favorites (you'll see there's a lot I like!!):

Wii Sports--as mentioned already, this game comes with the system and is great! Love the bowling and especially the power bowling. :)

Carnival Games--Just bought this one very recently. Games are simple, but my dad and I have sat and played this for hours at a time-it is very addicting

Rayman's Raving Rabbids--This was one of the first we bought and I don't think my brother and I have ever laughed so hard. We had an absolute blast with this and I'm looking forward to the release of the second one

Big Brain Academy--This one is very challenging for all ages and it's another I've played for hours at a time. I love the kinds of games that make my brain think, and this one certainly does.

MarioParty 8--Great game for groups, fun, but not as fun for only one or two people. If you've liked other MarioParty's, you'll like this one, too.

Zelda--I don't like role playing games, but my dad loves this one-can be tough in parts

Tiger Woods PGA Tour--I like the 07 version, not the 08 so much, but if there's a golfer in your house it should be a good game

I agree with the poster who said to go rent the games first to see if you like them. I've spent so much money on games that I only played once and wound up reselling on ebay. Some of the ones I didn't really like:

Trauma Center Second Opinion
Excite Truck
Elebits
Super Monkey Ball
WarioWare

These are, of course, just my opinions. :) You will have a great time with it no matter what you get to play. Enjoy!!

[caryrae]

I agree with the poster who said to go rent the games first to see if you like them. I've spent so much money on games that I only played once and wound up reselling on ebay. Some of the ones I didn't really like:

I have bought games from Ebay. A lot of times you can get them for half the price or more. You could also trade the games in at Gamestop or similar for new or used games. I know a guy with an Xbox 360 he will buy one game and when he finishes it or gets tired of it he will trade it in for another one.

One other good place to rent games is a place online called Game fly it works just like Netflix and Blockbuster online but it's just for video games.

[baldburke]

We love the Wii too. I suppose anyone with kids does, but it appeals to adults too because you don't have to be a hardcore gamer to play.

We are excited about the upcoming My Sims and Star Wars Lego releases. Using the Wiimote as a light saber (hopefully) should be interesting.

[thrillme]

Be sure to always wear the "wrist strap". You don't want to accidently through a controller through the screen.

Ya'll are SOOOO lucky!

[RAIDER]

Ive got one and the wii sports (esp the bowling )is so addictive ..However the super mario 8 is very good as well :thumbsup:

[mouseaddict]

Just wanted to add this. We are using the Gamefly service and love it. It is $25/month for unlimited games. We just go online and set up a wish list and when we send off one game the next one is sent out that same day. You don't have to wait until the game gets back to them, they have a system where they are notified when a game is scanned at the post office.
I really like this service because we can try lots of games and if we like them we can buy.

BTW another fun game is Tony Hawk..even I love that one!

[PlutoLVT]

I haven't figured out the Cars or TMNT games yet but my family love Mario Party 8 and Harry Potter.

[bleukarma]

I wanted a Wii before I read this post, now I REALLY want one!!!! And I'm a 27 year old female with no kids that has never had a gaming system before!!
I would love the boxing and the brain game.

[Jasper]

The reason that so many non-gaming people like myself love it so much is because it is soooo different from any other system ever invented!!! With most game systems you just sit there staring at the screen letting your thumbs do all the work. With the Wii you actually move around like you would in real life. There really is NOTHING else like it!!

[MistyinAL]

The Wii is so much fun. It can really be addictive. When my youngest daughter was just a few weeks old,there were several times that I actually nursed her and played Wii tennis at the same time!:D

[SpecJoe Magic]

I've been a hardcore gamer for most of my life, but the Wii is a fun alternative even for me. There are a few games on the system that could be considered hardcore, but a lot of the games are more of the family friendly type and will appeal to non-gamers. Here are a few of my favorites:

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption- This game is one of the few hardcore games on the system, and it's an excellent first-person shooter. It has the best control scheme of any first-person shooter that I've ever played, and I've play numerous games of that type over the past 10 years or so.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess- This is a lengthy adventure with fantastic puzzles and addictive gameplay. It can also be considered a hardcore game, but I feel that the difficulty on it is easier than Metroid Prime 3. It takes approximately 50 hours of game time to complete this one.

Rayman Raving Rabbids: This is a humorous game that makes great use of the Wii controls to play unique and fun mini-games. It does have a multiplayer mode but there seems to be more single player mini-games.

Warioware: Smooth Moves- This is a fun party game that contains wacky and bizarre micro-games (very brief activities that are strung together in rapid succession). It makes the best use of the Wii Remote that I've seen to date.

Wii Sports- This game comes with the system and contains Tennis, Bowling, Golf, Boxing, and Baseball. My personal favorite of the bunch is Tennis. It's a fun game for the whole family.

Tiger Woods PGA '08- It takes some time and patience to get used to the controls but it's fun once you get the hang of it. It's played by treating the Wii Remote like it's a golf club.


There are several games being released from now through the end of the year that look promising as well. A few of these games are Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and Rayman Raving Rabbids 2.

In addition, there are numerous games from video game systems of the past that are released for download each Monday. They work with the use of either a Classic Controller or a Gamecube controller, but I prefer the Classic Controller (both controllers are sold separately). The systems are the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and Turbo-Grafx 16. The cost of each game is based on which system it was originally released for:

NES- $5 per game
Turbo-Grafx 16- $6 per game (May be different)
Super NES & Sega Genesis- $8 per game
Nintendo 64- $10 per game

The Wii includes one Wii Remote and the Wii Sports game. Nunchuck controllers (connects to Wii Remote for use in some games and has an analog stick and limited motion-sensing capabilities) and Classic Controllers are sold separately at $20 each and extra Wii Remotes are $40 each (you may be able to find used controllers at places such as Gamestop that are a little less expensive).

I love video games so I'll be glad to answer any more questions that you have about it. Just send me a private message through the Intercot Boards and I'll reply as soon as possible. I hope you enjoy the Wii!