Game Sytem Guru's - Wii vs Kinect

[mamacatnv]

DD really wants a Wii - we currently do not have any gaming systems.
DS told me about the Kinect the other day, he has a xbox 360 but he doesn't live at home.

Can someone who has the Wii compare some of the pros/cons to the Wii vs the new Kinect.
I assume we would need to purchase an xbox 360 plus the Kinect module and that will weigh into our decision also.

We are looking to spend right around $400 or so total.
We would want something that could accomodate 4 of us - so 4 controllers, steering wheels whatever

Also, we noticed the Wii packet at Costco is similar in price to other places at $195 or so and it comes with sport and sport resort. What is special about the sport resort?

Thanks

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Currently the only con I'm hearing about the Kinect is the amount of space necessary to be used adequately/efficiently. People who have a smaller room, or have too many obstacles (furniture, etc.) are having problems with the sensor recognizing their movements, as well as the fact that they need to rearrange their room everytime they want to play.

I have a Wii and an XBox, so I'm not going to get the Kinect. Any "motion" type fix I may need is filled by the Wii. I will say, though, that I love a lot of the games & online experiences the XBox has to offer.

 

[redshoepaul]

Go with a Wii and save yourself the money. Much more of a family friendly system. With the Kinect, you need 7ft minimal all around you while playing. Wii Sports Resort adds the Motion Plus connector for more "accuracy" on the mini games bundled.

The Kinect alone is $150 and you won't find it cheaper for a while, now add the system and games.

 

[Scurvy]

Why does she want a Wii? If it's just for the motion controls, then the Kinect might be a good option. But if she wants it for the specific games that are available only for the Wii (like the Mario games, Animal Crossing, Epic Mickey, etc.) then I wouldn't even consider getting a different console. If the Wii-exclusive titles are the reason she wants the Wii then she's likely to be disappointed with an Xbox.

The Wii comes with one remote (unless you get a bundle that comes with more), so you'd need to get 3 more plus 4 nunchucks. Wii Sports is a good game and Wii Sports Resort is also really cute - it has more mini games that take place at an island resort. With those two games, you'd be able to play quite a bit before getting any more games. Some of the Wii Sports games can accomodate 4 players at once, but most are 2 players at a time. Many other Wii games can handle 4 players at the same time. You don't have to have the steering wheels or other accessories like that - they are cute but aren't necessary for gameplay. There's a great selection of titles already available for the Wii.

The Xbox 360 and Kinect are available separately or together in two bundles - a 4gb system + Kinect ($299) or a 250 gb system + Kinect ($399, or less at Sams Club). If she will be playing online or downloading any additional content or games, she would need a hard drive, so I'd recommend getting the 250 gb bundle, unless you want to get into installing a hard drive later. Kinect comes with one game, Kinect Adventures, which has gotten good reviews. Like the Wii Sports games, it's a collection of mini games. I believe that only 2 people can use Kinect at one time at this point (though maybe a Kinect owner could clarify since I'm not positive about that), so you'd end up alternating turns rather than all playing at once. If you intend to play normal 360 games as well as Kinect games, then you'll need to get 3 more controllers. There aren't many games out yet for the Kinect since it just came out, so it's hard to say at this point if the support for it will be good. It's possible tons of great games could come out for it, but it's also possible it could fizzle and not prove as popular as Microsoft hopes it will be.

 

[bicker]

We're having a great time with our Xbox 360 with Kinect. The games that come with it, alone, will be worth the price to us.

We thought our room would be too small for it, but instead were getting "Too Far Away" and "Move Right/Left" telling us that we've actually gone beyond the boundaries.