Anybody have a WII?

[TheGoofster]

When you buy the Wii, it is ready to go, as is, for one player. Everything you need (including one of the best games made for the Wii - Wii sports) already comes with it.

A second Wii remote (and nun-chuck attachment) will cost about another 60 dollars. As others have said, the best deal is to buy Wii Play which comes with a Wii remote (no nun-chuck). Even though it isn't the best game in the world, it does do a good job of using the Wii remote in many different ways.

Honestly 2 remotes and 2 nun-chuck attachments are pretty much the bare minimum for most games. BTW, Nintendo does a good job of making their games playable for 3-4 people using only 2 controllers.

If you want the best multi-player experience, then more remotes would be recommended. You might want to start with just the 2, and see how it goes (we only have had 2 controllers for 3 years now).

Even though it isn't necessary, a Wii remote battery charging system is also a great investment. You will find yourself going through batteries pretty quickly. What we do, is just use regular rechargeable AA's (of which I have quite a few), and that works great for us.

As for games, if you buy them new, they do cost about 30 - 50 dollars. However, if you look around first, you can usually find them for quite a bit cheaper. Also, don't forget about Amazon. I buy a lot of used games for around 10 - 15 dollars (have never had a problem with any game I've bought).
Games for the Wii are typically cheaper then games for the other systems.

Also, the Wii can use all of the Nintendo GameCube games (Nintendo's last generation system). Most Game Cube games are quite a bit cheaper (especially on Amazon). There are literally hundreds of great family games for the Game Cube for unde 10 dollars. The only thing is that you will need to purchase 1 or 2 Game Cube controllers (which plug right into the Wii) to play them. (They are about 10 - 15 dollars each). You would also want to get a Game Cube memory card (about 5 - 10 dollars) to use with the Game Cube games.

The Wii also lets you purchase and download hundreds of older games (called Virtual Console games) from it's huge library of games for it's older systems (the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the N64, etc...) These games go from 5 to 15 dollars each. You can use your Wii remote (or Game Cube Controller) for pretty much all of them. Every week there are also 2 or 3 new WiiWare games. These are new games that are very high quality, just not as long or as in-depth as a regular game. These games normally run between 5 and 15 dollars as well.
You can either use your Credit Card to purchase both Virtual Console or Wii Ware games on-line, or you can pick up a pre-paid card (at most stores) which will range from 20 - 50 dollars.
By the way, the Wii does connect to the Internet (either wired or wireless connection) and you can get the Web browser for free. You shouldn't have to buy anything extra to do this.

So, to answer your question. You would want:

200 dollars for the basic system (ready for one player)
60 dollars for a second remote and nun-chuck
50 - 70 dollars for a couple of good games

optional:
40 - 120 dollars for extra remotes and nun-chucks
20 - 25 dollars for remote battery charger or rechargeable batteries
20 dollars for pre-paid on-line card (to download games)
10 - 30 dollars for Game Cube controller(s)
10 dollars for Game cube memory card

all of the optional items are things that you can add on little by little if you want them.

 

[HonnyDipp]

I just saw a commercial. If you buy a Wii from Walmart tomorrow for $199, they will give you a $50 gift card!

 

[sbell111]

Target also has the Wii on sale through tomorrow. As I recall, their deal is for $179 you get a Wii and a $20 Target gift card. Also, they have a coupon for a free nunchuck controller with purchase of the Wii system. That's about a twenty dollar value.

For the Wii Fit, I just picked up a Wii Fit package from Aldi for $79. It includes the balance board, Wii Fit game (not Plus), a rechargeable battery pack, and a mat.

 

[sbell111]

We were going to buy the wii as a family gift also and than my dad called and said he was buying it for all of us

I had already starting buying games.

I refuse to pay $50 for a brand new game.

We bought most of our games used.

 

[C.Ann]

DD's family got one last year - with all sorts of add-ons for a steal.. Way less than what people are quoting here.. I don't remember where they got it, but it really does get a lot of use.. For people who like those types of games they're really fun! Even DD's IL's will play some of the games..

I bought my Dson-in-law the Nascar racing game for Christmas last week(they already have the steering wheels) for less than $20 and free shipping on a site I just happened to stumble across.. Also got two games that DD and my DGD can play together for less than $20 each as well.. Brand new - factory sealed - and they arrived yesterday.. It was only a one day sale though (significantly more when not on sale), so you really have to keep on top of the deals that are popping up all over the internet..

I think DD has purchased used games throughout the year as well..

 

[mill4023]

We have a Wii, PS3, and XBox360.

The Wii is a lot of fun for the whole family. You should definitely get at least one extra controller. Whether you need more than that depends on the games you want to play. For instance, if you are going to play the Tennis game with 4 players, you're obviously going to need 4 controllers. But if you're going to play golf, you can get by with 1 or 2 since you take turns.

As others have pointed out, there are a ton of older games that are just as much fun as the latest releases and a lot cheaper. We've also bought a lot of used games at Gamestop and we've never had an issue with any of them.

Another option to consider, especially in the beginning when you aren't sure which games you'll like the best, is to sign up for one of the mail order game rental services. Gamefly costs $23 a month and you can have 2 games at a time and keep them for as long as you want. So for $23, you could easily try out 8 different games (2 per weekend) in a month.

 

[Chicago526]

The only thing "extra" you'll want right away is a second Wii controller and nunchucks. Most games will play with either just the controler or the controler/nunchuck. You'll eventually want other stuff, but for the short term you'll be fine.

The only other "right away" thing I'd recommend are rechargeable batteries. The controllers don't eat through batteries too badly, but it will pay in the long run to make an investment in the rechargeables.

 

[DMRick]

I personally am VERY interested in the Wii Fit and would want to get that as soon as possible. (little afraid that it tells you your BMI )

So if you could pick one game for our family of 5, what would it be?

It's $78 and change at Sam's Club, if you have one in the area. So, the wii at Walmart and the fit at Sam's club is a go.

 

[Silent1CB]

Not sure how much we've spent, but we have:
wii & 2 remotes & 2 numchucks. 1 remote & numchuck came with the console. Another remote came with a game we bought as a bonus. And we bought another numchuck separately for $20.

We also have wii fit & the game that came with that.

We have the wii sports game that came with the console, but recently just bought the new wii resorts game which came with the new cube part you add to the remote. Had to buy another cube part separately for 2ns remote. LOVE wii resort. We probably play this one the most.

We have 2 other cheaper party type games.

That's all we have. 5 games total, but there are tons of games on those 5.

Rent games from Blockbuster to see if you like them before buying them. we borrowed Super Mario racing & wheel from a friend, then ended up not buying it. We are older & no kids, so it was fun, but not what I was looking for exactly.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Have any of you bought the console or games from ebay?

 

[DMRick]

Thanks for the head's up. We stoped in Walmart and took advantage of the $50 gift card. I'll pick up the fit at Sam's club. Target price was $199.99 and you got a $20 gc, so this was the better deal.