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Community Newsletter: Q&A: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question.
- 12/14/07 4:30 PM
I'm old...I love it.
by naito888 - 12/14/07 10:25 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'm a graduate student in philosophy...an academic. Myself and one other in my department own a Wii. We all love it, and we can't get enough. It is the best console out there. I've played a PS3...graphically it's better...but fun-wise...it lacks. We can play the Wii for hours upon hours. We love it. We have social gatherings around it, and little 1-on-1ones with it. If someone offered us a PS3 for our Wii (which is worth more money) we would never trade. It's the best platform, and with Sony saying the PS3 is the last console it will make, it's a lasting platform. Nintendo is in this for the long haul, it's not a TV company, it's not a DVD company, it's not a computer company, it's a game company that has endured where others have failed. Stick with it here, because it is the King, not because of advertising (Sony) or because of market strength (Microsoft) but because it is the best product out there.
Wii is great!!
by jjbrain - 12/14/07 10:34 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I visited my son at Thanksgiving and he borrowed a Wii from on of his colleagues so that I could try it. I should say at this point that I am fast approaching 60 years of age and have never been into video games. After spending an entire evening playing with the Wii all I can say is I WANT ONE!! The Wii is great! I had a wonderful time playing with it. My son tells me that more sophisticated Wii games will be available soon. What makes the Wii so much fun is the interactive nature of the controller. I am a tennis player and I had a ball playing Wii tennis,and ping pong. I tried every game I had access to. If you buy this for your son he may end fighting you for playing time!
Get him the Wii.
by ishottupac - 12/14/07 10:37 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
He kept up his end, you keep up yours.
And if you need advice on keeping the Wii from gathering dust, considering that many Wii titles are party games aimed at casual gamers and meant to be played in groups, perhaps you should consider paying more attention to this gaming stuff and play the Wii with your son? It'll make it more fun for him and it might make it more fun for you as well.
I agree...
by danielkwood - 12/14/07 11:48 PM In reply to: Get him the Wii. by ishottupacI agree with what one of the others said...the great thing about the Wii is that it is intended for playing WITH OTHERS...so you can get involved too and instead of him playing on his own he can play with his family...a lot of the games are intended for family-together use...it's also the most affordable of the new consoles. I can guarantee you will have a lot of fun if you get involved too.
Depends on Preferences
by Etherel15 - 12/14/07 10:37 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I think the idea that you can "outgrow" a system is fairly absurd. In reality, they may view some of the games as younger, because it isn't violent or dark. This doesn't mean they're for younger players (of course, pony palace party 3 is obviously for a certain age group). Don't fall for the "no good games" arguement, as there are many many good games, it just depends on your style. If he's only into violence, shooters, racing, and sports, then yes, there is a lack of them. That does not mean though, that any game that isn't oriented around violence/shooting/racing/sports is bad, or for kids. There are plenty of other options such as platforming, adventure, simulation, strategy, Role Playing Games,and a few undefinable genres, along with a few mini-game smothered throw outs.
In all, it depends on their preferences. Do they enjoy dark, moody, violence oriented games? Do they prefer sports and racing? Do they like adventuring, maybe fantasy heroism, comedic and cheerful? I personally get tired of the blood and gore games quite quickly (too repetitive in nature imo) but he may find Nintendo's fare not stimulating enough.
In any way, theres nothing to "grow out" of, people like what they like. However, he may be pressured by peers into thinking only the most violent games are cool.
Get the wee man his wii
by chas charlton - 12/14/07 10:40 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The wii will give him more exercise than any other console, And more enjoyment, The game play is far superior than the PS3 or the XB360 Plus you did make a deal with him
Get the Wii
by urweapon - 12/14/07 10:51 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I personally hate the Wii. I bought one and hated it after 1 week. I found it very immature for my age. I will give you a perk and a bad thing about this system.
PERK:
Excellent value, good gameplay, hard to get.
CON:
1st Generation sensor-technology does kinda suck (the controller only moves at a given speed), the games quickly get boring and there is hardly any replay value (so you're gonnna buy more games).
I'd get him the Wii, perhaps I just don't get it. I personally would get the XBOX 360, it is the better value and very capabile for all ages, even older ages. A promise is a promise
Wii Sensor
by jymmsom - 12/15/07 5:52 AM In reply to: Get the Wii by urweaponThe Wii Sensor is remarkably accurate considering previous attempts at the technology and previous costs. There is even a hack available for bluetooth enabled PC's to make use of the Wii control in place of a mouse, but I haven't tried it myself.
I would assume if people are having problems with motion tracking it's either how they set it up, or maybe a defective part. It can be a bit tricky. The bar needs to be parallel to the TV screen and as close to the edge as possible. Otherwise some motions will be cut off. There are also Wii settings you can toy with for tracking speed and all, similar to a normal mouse.
Put a wii controller in each hand and simply circle them around the screen, they should track perfectly- at least they do for me. Glitches in game code isn't the fault of the tech. Nintendo did is good enough, and cheap enough, to make it readily available.
I got one of the first Wii's sold in the US and have not had controller issues that adjusting the sensor bar didn't fix... well except for one. Get a rechargeable Wii Nyko stand from EB games. They're about $30 but trust me, if your kid is going to be glued to the Wii over christmas break he's going to blow through batteries, especially if he's playing Zelda (or any game that has sound through the controller's speaker). Great game, but I had to replace the batteries every 6-8 days, and that wasn't real heavy play. The rechargeable battery kit basically replaces the battery and battery latch on the wii controller. You rest the controller carefully on the charger so the back of the battery makes contact with it. It's not perfect, a bit touchy to place just right, but it saves a lot of headaches.
The Wii works just fine. Built in Wi-Fi is a bit weak, but at least they have it and I usually get a signal. The Wii has outsold all other consoles, it is the only one to make a real profit (especially with the other consoles selling under manufacturering costs), and has brought in a whole range of new gamers.
And people keep mentioning the high def playback and stunning visuals of the other consoles- but do you have an HDTV? To me it's a waste if you don't. May as well set your PC to a native resolution of 680x400 or so and try playing any game made in the past few years. That's not to say the games won't look better, but you lose all the detaill To try to put it in perspective, cable TV is broadcast in 480i which is about the highest you can set a CRT screen to and still read text. DVD's are 480p as are regular digital broadcasts. These consoles are designed to pump out a screen resolution more than twice that. Instead of 480 lines up and down it's filling out 1080. Maybe it's just me, one of the reasons I went with the Wii in the first place instead of the PS3 was because I didn't have an HDTV set yet. Got one this year and will probably get a PS3 soon. Just seems like such a waste to drop all that money on a console, spend $10-$20 more per game, and plug it into an old analog crt set.
-dislexic
To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question.
by fd71 - 12/14/07 10:58 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I took my Wii to work yesterday and you should see guys from 21 to 36 playing and having a good laugh. I am actually a bit stiff this morning from a playing the boxing game!
It was so much fun and whole family can join in.
Yes, titles are limited for now, but there are several fun games on the way. Playstation 3 games are very expensive compared to Wii.
And have fun with your Wii
To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question.
by GaylordWhite - 12/14/07 11:12 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Nintendo has made your question a Mute point, as they did not manufacture enough units to fill the demand. So if you have not already purchased it you will not be able to buy it, unless you are willing to pay 2 or 3 times MSRP for it, You will not be able to purchase it until early 2008. So if you want to get him any game system foe Christmas it will not be a WII, unless you allow yourself to pay 3 prices for it. Just tell him he can wait until you can get a rain check that Nintendo plans to issue on 12/20 - 12/21 for use in January.
Not just your son but ...
by Ken Jr. - 12/14/07 11:16 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
As a grandparent, I'd like to say: How about getting one for your grandparents while you're at it. They're always hard to buy for, right? They take their walks, write their letters, watch their TV, maybe fiddle around on the internet, and then take naps in between events. It can be pretty boring being old. But after reading some of these postings here I decided to do some internet study on Wii for senior citizens. I was impressed with how much I found on the subject. Some of those Wii games are popular with seniors as well as with kids. Finally, the senior isn't being totally left behind by new technology. Congratulations to Nintendo for finally coming up with interactive gaming that not only the whole family can get involved in, but that kids will actually ask for as opposed to other gaming systems.
Years back, my concern was that kids were going stale watching TV, in essence, numbing their minds. Then came the game consoles. Ah, finally something interactive for them to be involved in. But the game consoles started getting downright mean and nasty (Grand Theft Auto comes to mind). My new concern was that this is definitely not good for developing minds. Now, though, comes the Wii. Not only is it interactive, it's interactive both mentally and physically, and it seems to lack the degree of violence found on those Sony and Microsoft consoles. Maybe the Nintendo Wii represents the beginning of a new era. Maybe there's a new generation of kids that are starting to recognize the futility of war and violence and are taking us all off in a new direction.
So yes, get your 12 year old son one of these. And it's important to remember, starting at about his age the absolute most important thing to him is to 'fit in'. The biggest mistake a parent can make is to buy him something that they think he would like as opposed to something that he has asked for. He wouldn't ask for it if it didn't meet the acceptance factor set forth by his friends and associates.
Wii or not to Wii
by jghem - 12/14/07 11:21 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am 56 years old. I got one in Jan. 2007. buy him one.
It's Christmas Santa would get him what he asked for
by 123gary123 - 12/14/07 11:27 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There is no question as to whether or not to get a Wii. A child lives in the moment. Even if there is a far more superior system it wont matter as the disapointment your child will experiance will far out weigh your best intentions. If you fell that another system is better get him both, don't slight him. In your question you state that you struck a bargain with him that he fulfilled. Live up to your end less you loose credibility as parents. He need to rely on your trust and integrity.
To Wii or not to Wii
by ibondu - 12/14/07 11:44 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You promised him a Wii stick to it. Your brother in law is so out of touch my wife and I are in our 50's and all our friends 20's, 30's 40's and 50's play the Wii. After it is turned on nobody wants to leave so your brother in law is way off. There are plenty of games to grow into.
Go for Wii
by danielkwood - 12/14/07 11:45 PM In reply to: To Wii or not to Wii? That is the question. by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I'm 20 and I love my Wii, however I also have an Xbox 360. Sure, the Wii has less games available and a lot of the games are aimed towards younger children, however I think instead of him sitting in his room playing games, you'd be able to include the Wii in family time and play together as it has a lot of fun family games (Wii sports is included in the box and is great fun for the family) and also he's not sitting on the couch with a hand controller. Instead he'd at least be moving his arms around. The Wii also has a lot of cool gamings coming out next year so you don't need to worry about it going out of date. And if he's begging for it, its probably because his friends have one so if they have the same console they can easily swap games or play each other's games. I'd say he has probably looked at the other consoles quite a lot too and he's chosen the Wii for a reason...there most be something about it that appeals to him more than the other consoles so I don't think he'd get bored with it.
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