Help me figure out Wii buying...

[5sweeties]

Dh and I decided that we will pool a good portion of our Christmas budget this year and buy a Wii. We live in an area with horrible winter weather and getting out to play is almost impossible for the kids. We think it would be a neat thing for them to have.

 

Soo.... Neither of us are "gamers," by even the greatest stretch of the imagination. We have absolutely no idea what we need to buy with the actual game system itself. I assume we need some sort of controller or something. And a couple games. What else? Anything super important?

 

Any place that is "best" to buy them? Are the Wii's about 250 dollars, no matter where you get them from? That's what it looks like to me. Is it better to buy a package deal from Walmart or something...or is that just a waste of money?

 

Also, I saw the thread about the most loved games...and that was very helpful. I'm thinking we'll invest in 2 of the games to start with (cause, wow, they are expensive!). Any particular recommendations for these ages and genders:

 

dd, 13 and very, very "bookish"

dd, 10

dd, 8

dd, 7

ds, 6

 

The Star Wars Lego one sounds particularily interesting...they LOVE legos.

 

Thanks much!!!

[MommyX8]

The basic Wii is $250. Then some stores have bundles with games/controllers added in. I think about the best bundle to get is one from Costco, if you are a member.

 

As for games, my 5,7,8,13 year olds love the Lego games. They have Indiana Jones and Batman. The younger ones enjoy Cars and Cookin' Mama.

 

The older ones like Wii Fit and the little ones are not allowed on that one.

 

I usually read reviews before I buy a game. I am cautious about character dress and behavior. Those aren't role models that I want for my children. Also, we have stayed away from Guitar Hero, Rock Band sort of stuff as again, I do not want my children learning those lyrics.

[athena1277]

I'm not a big gamer, but my dh is. We got a wii a few months ago and it is a lot of fun. I recommend looking for a package deal at Sam's, costco, etc.

It will come with 1 controller, but a package may have more. I recommend having at least 2 controllers. We have 3 so when we all play (me, dh, dd) we don't have to keep playing "pass the controller".

 

Ours came with a few games. Our favorite by far is the Wii bowling. My dd is only 5, but she competes with us for high scores!

 

Since you can't get out much in the winter months, a Wii Fit might be a good investment. It gets them moving and could maybe count as PE when they can't get out.

 

There are lots of other extras, too, like the guitar for "guitar hero" and the sports package with stuff to play baseball, golf, tennis, etc.

 

Happy gaming!

[AnnetteB]

We have wet winters, too, and are considering Praise Guitar. Does anyone like that one? We purchases the Praise Dance last year to keep the kids hopping. It helps our dd with type 1 diabetes keep her bg numbers in line :) Would the Wii games help with exercise needs?

[Denainms]

we are doing the same thing for christmas this year, they have Wii Bundle Packages to choose from around $500 but comes with lots of stuff! We ordered the family fun pack. they only have this online.

 

the link was too long to post..type in http://www.walmart.com and type in Wii then click on hardware the bundle packages come up

 

hth :)

[5sweeties]

Thanks! :D

[rafiki]

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[nmoira]

One game you might miss because its a Virtual Console Game (you download it onto your Wii) is World of Goo. The whole family loved it. It's a building/puzzle/logic game like none I've quite seen before. It's only $15. Mario Kart (sp?) and Boom Blox are also big hits, and my oldest and her father just finished Picmen... another hit. I'd heard good things about Endless Ocean, but after some initial interest neither our 6 or 4 yo wanted to play again. I think they've seen too much David Attenborough to be wowed by computer generated graphics of sea life.

[hsmamainva]

My boys love anything Mario related and all of the Lego games.

 

They also enjoy the Wii Sports game (we received that one free when we bought our Wii...not sure if that promotion is still going on though).

 

I noticed you have younger girls and my 6yo (she'll be 7 in January) loves Kirby!! And there's a new Wii game, Dora the Explorer Saves the Snow Princess that will be under the tree on Christmas morning. :)

[Erica in OR]

I really recommend the use of the web site wiialerts.com if you're trying to buy one without the hassle of locating it in a store near you, and for advice about what's a decent bundle. We're Wii newbies too, and I was able to purchase a reasonably-priced bundle with free shipping from Circuit City, and to get a Wii Fit from Barnes & Noble's web site.

[caryn]

We got ours a year ago from our local Game Stop. It came with one remote and one nunchuck and Wii sports. We also bought Wii play which comes with another remote.

My kids recommendation :

1) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games (It's an active game! the kids loved it)

 

I have seen Big brain Academy while in the store. I like what I have seen so far. It is in my wishlist. Have fun shopping!!!

 

Caryn

[sagira]

I heartily recommend the Wii Fit. Dh got his Wii at a pawn shop for $200. You can get the Wii Fit at Best Buy for a good price. Better yet, see if anyone is selling it. In this economy, it's a possibility.

 

I think it would be ideal for your family. Ds enjoys the Olympics one as well. The Wii Fit has been a blessing to us, as dh and I enjoy working out now, and it really feels like it has a purpose -- it's like having a personal trainer in your own home.

 

I envision using the Wii Fit as our home P.E. program for the elementary years, not including soccer, Tae Kwon Do and swimming outside the home of course.

[5sweeties]

Thanks so much for all the great advice! I love the game recommendations! I think I actually found a great deal at a local store...it outdoes the online deals!

 

I'd love to have the Wii Fit for myself, but as dh just bought me a new treadmill for the winter, I think the game will have to go to the end of the list. There are so many that look great though...the list is getting long!

 

Thank you!!

[Kisa in CA]

You asked what accessories you need to buy. Well, we have 2 kids, but bought 4 controllers so the whole family can play. Their expensive, but it was well worth it. We want to encourage using Wii as a FAMILY, so everyone playing makes it that much more fun. It's also wonderful when friends come over. We try to buy games that 4 people can play. A charger station that holds 2 wii's works great. You can exchange the batteries so that at all times all 4 controllers have good batteries. You can also buy sleeves for the controllers to each kid has their own color.

 

Wii play is usually available with a controller which make the game pretty cheap.

 

We get coupons to rent games for free each month and we always use them for games we are thinking about buying. This keeps us from speding $50 on a game the kids don't like or only like for a few days.

 

Favorites here are Lego Star Wars and all the sports games. Mario Sluggar will be the next one we buy since the kids loved it when we rented it.

 

HTH!