Okay, convince me: Should we get a Wii?

[ereks mom]

My dc started asking for a Wii for Christmas when they first came out (when was that--a couple of years ago?). I thought, "Nope, it's just another game system and a complete waste of time & money." Since then, I've been hearing people say that they use their Wii to stream Netflix movies and to get exercise in a fun way that involves the whole family--in other words, it does a lot more than just play video games.

 

So... tell me all about it.

• If you have a Wii, who uses it most and what do they use it for?
  
• Do you have to do anything special to it to get it to stream movies?
  
• What games/accessories are the absolute must-haves if you use it for exercise?
  
• What games do your older teen dc enjoy the most?
  
• What accessories do those games require?
  
• Is there some kind of bundle that you recommend?
  
• Where is the best place to buy, and what can I expect to pay for it in total?
  

 

ETA: IF we get a Wii system, dh & I (any maybe the dc) would use it for exercise (Wii Fit or whatever it's called) and the dc would use it for gaming (they love Mario, Sonic, and Zelda games on their other systems). We would also use it for Netflix. So IF we get one, where can we get the best price on a bundle that would have the most of what we'd want? Which controllers would we need for the uses I just mentioned?

Edited December 4, 2010 by ereks mom

[K&Rs Mom]

So... tell me all about it.

 

• If you have a Wii, who uses it most and what do they use it for?

• Do you have to do anything special to it to get it to stream movies?

• What games/accessories are the absolute must-haves if you use it for exercise?

• What games do your older teen dc enjoy the most?

• What accessories do those games require?

• Is there some kind of bundle that you recommend?

• Where is the best place to buy, and what can I expect to pay for it in total?

 

 

Ours goes in spurts - sometimes we'll use it for a lot of games, sometimes mostly movies. If you want to stream Netflix, you have to have a membership and a wireless router, but once you set it up it's SO easy. Lately that's what dh & I have been doing in the evenings, because we don't have any incoming tv channels. You can also get news & weather through the wifi, which is kind of cool but I don't use it much anymore.

 

If you want to use it for exercise, the wii fit w/ the balance board is probably the place to start. That's another $100 on top of the $200 starter set, though. Even if you don't get the balance board to start, you'll probably want another controller because the starter set only comes with one. Look for a deal to either buy the console & get a controller free, or buy a controller that is bundled with a game (ours was called wii play).

 

When you're checking out games, look on the back to see what controllers it uses - there's the basic remote, the nunchuk, the balance board (that you stand on), a few different plastic mats to stand on, the remote "plus," and the music controllers for games like Rock Band. Not all games use the same controllers, so you don't want to end up with a game you can't use! That sounds terribly complicated, but it only gets to that point when you start moving past the basic stuff.

[Night Elf]

I'll give a short answer. My family loves it and uses it most days each week. We use it for Netflix and games only, not exercise. I don't buy only educational games. Basically, we love the fun.

 

We bought extra controllers and a Wii MotionPlus for each one. The MotionPlus makes the system recognize more complex movements more easily. I think the system comes with only 1 controller and we had to purchase 3 more sets which was a pretty penny though I can't remember how much.

[Tarreymere]

We have a desktop computer connected to our tv, so we get netflix that way. But, did you know that there are websites that have free educational wii games?

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/ I am hoping that this trend will continue.

 

It is just more fun to play these on the wii! As for the exercise, we ALL love that! DH and I especially love the exercise games in the winter and DH uses them every day. I am not so disciplined. The kids love it too, and we are learning yoga. I love the ski game.

 

The younger kids are also learning about keeping time and rhythm with the wii.

 

My older kids don't do anything educational with the wii, but they just love the games.

 

Our wii gets used daily. We are 'into' gaming, and we have a Playstation and a Gamecube, but they have not been used since we got the wii about a year ago. All we need now is to be able to play World of Warcraft with the wii.

 

Get an extra controller, and that wii motion sensing thingie that comes with wii sports resort and an extra glove thingie for that for the extra controller. Get a balance board. Enjoy!

[Dayle in Guatemala]

We love ours. We use it every day--all of us. It was worth every penny.