To Wii or not to Wii that is my Question!!

[belle92471]

DH and I are contemplating getting a Wii for the family(if they are available anytime in the near future). DD4 and DS1+(definitely won't be using it anytime soon tho!) What are your opinions and are there any other type video game units that you could recommend. thanks a bunch.

ME(36) DH(39) DD (4) DS (1)

 

[Perditamarie]

We have loved our Leapsters...fun, educational games on a sturdy player that has a stylus and is easy to use and hold. Also has a jack for headphones!!!!

 

[all4fun]

We have a Wii and ds-4 loves it. DH loves it as well. I am not a big video gamer myself but I enjoy the Wii more than the PS2 we also have. I definitely like that it encourages people to get up and move a little bit as opposed to just sitting down to play.

We have Wii Sports, Wii Play, Carnival Games, Mario & Sonic at the Olympics so far. Sports and Play are good for getting to know how the controllers work, so they are good stepping off point for more complex games.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We have the Wii and everyone in our house enjoys it. It is the only game system that the whole house uses. I think that the games appeal to a broad range of ages and the fact that it provides an interactive experience is great (like the other poster said-it forces you to get up off your butt). It was totally worth the money for our family. It really provides a nice escape!

 

[Melora]

We have several game systems in our house including Wii and it is by far my 12 year olds favorite one to play. The younger set love it too so I would say if you can get it, DO IT!!

 

[trivial]

Out of the 3 main consoles, the Wii is by far the most family-friendly machine. Can't go wrong with a Wii.

 

[Ariel8676]

My girls are 6,5 and 2 and LOVE our Wii..we all play and have a great time.
The boxing game is a good workout too..,lol

 

[Omma]

So thankful for this thread. My MIL is coming in 2 wks and called yesterday and mentioned she wants to get the kids a Wii. I'm all for family interaction so this sounds like it will be fun!

 

[tinkandpan]

I'm pretty anti video games, but I have to say I love the Wii. I feel like we really do it as a family and even when the kids play on a playdate (they are 6) at least I feel they are interacting with each other and getting to move around a bit. We have wii nights of playing sports and what i love is even the 3 yr old can get in on the actioN!

 

[LAH LAH]

Wii is the way to go!

 

[drivencrazy]

I would say GET ONE!! They are very fun and really brings the ages together! My kids are 13, 10, 5 and 3 and they all LOVE the Wii... My mom was over watching them and they had her play and she loved it too and told my dad that they should get one! They thought they would "just go pick one up" I told them that they have to find one somewhere!!! Well today I went into COSTCO to look at Wii games and they had them there!! So needless to say, I picked one up for them and we are going to go play there's tomorrow!

It is LOTS of fun and good for all ages, everyone seems to like to play it!

Now, good look in finding one... it took us about 2 weeks before we found one. WE ended up getting ours at GameStop, I would call every few days and ask if they had any in and one day they said "YES" and we went and were there w/in 15 minutes and they only had 3 left (out of 9) so keep calling and you'll have one in notime! Or just walk into Costco (just luck didn't know they had them)!!

 

[tkme4ard]

another wii loving family here. I love that we MOVE with it and interact not just zone into the tv LOL

 

[Gillian]

If you think you will play yourself, then get it. If not, you might as well wait. I'm not sure if your 4 year old will play much. My DD is almost 5 and she can play some games but not others. DS 7 can play a lot more.

We also have a gamecube, and they're very cheap right now. They have used ones at gamestop for under $30 and I had heard Kmart was clearing them out for $25 new. If you get a used one, make sure it comes with the Nintendo brand controller. The nice thing is that you can still get a lot of games for it, new & used, and they can be played on the Wii (but with the gamecube controllers). That worked out really well for us because we have a lot of gamecube games. They're a lot cheaper than the wii games and there are many kid friendly titles.

Some of our friends with no kids have a wii. It's a great system!

 

[MNdisneymom]

...but is no longer allowed to play it when I'm not in the room....I left him alone briefly (under 5 minutes) and came back to a frozen machine--wouldn't turn off. Fortunately, I unplugged it from the wall and reset it and it's working again....but geez, that was almost $250+ out the window.

That said, wii *is* mostly a cooperative thing with us. He loves playing the Carnival games together (they're pretty simple) and he likes to watch me play Cooking Mama. And we sometimes play golf together (but he usually beats me ). The only one he can play completely alone without some assistance is the Diego's Safari Adventure. (it's meant for little kids.)

 

[MoniqueU]

Odd man out but I have 3 kids 10, 11 and almost 15. We have had a wii since last summer, it barely gets played. Sometimes for guitar hero but my kids aren't into any of the sportss games or mario games. I tried playing the mario game and while fun I could only get to a certain point and then would get stuck and couldnt go on. My son who is almost 15 plays his xbox more in one week then the wii is used all month, so for us the wii was a bust.

 

[CampbellScot]

The Wii system is actually a great system for the younger set. My 5 year old step son LOVES the Wii, as does my 8 yr old step daughter...and my husband!!

We have Mario Party 8, Super Mario Galaxy, Dogz 2, High School Musical, M&M Kart racing, My Sims...and a Carnival game as well...oh and Wii Sports.

the kids LOVE Super Mario Galaxy! Mostly they sit next to my husband while he plays. My step daughter plays second in command and collects stars while her little brother watches and dances around in glee at all the action on screen! They love it!

It can be a tough system to get. A lot of places sell them in "bundles" with games you don't have a choice about for $600+!

My husband and I had to go all the way to upstate, middle of nowhere New York...where his parents live to get one for the regular price of $230! We had to get up at 3am on BLACK FRIDAY...wait outside in the FREEZING cold at Wal-mart in a line...wait INSIDE until 4:30 am...and then we had to RUN to get one of the 20 they had for sale. It was nuts. I still can't believe we did it. My husband got #17 of the 20! (Actually he didn't really have to run...he has long legs...so he walked quickly in a dignified manner! He did get bonked in the back of the legs by an elderly lady with a shopping cart...but he didn't push back...very much... )

It's a fun system! The kids love it. They play with it a lot and bond with their daddy! It's a very family oriented system! Especially when wicked step mom turns it off and shoos everyone outside for some exercise and natural light!

 

[StephMK]

I refused to get a game system but relented on the wii. I would actually rather have my kids play this than the computer - which they also love. It's a great family game & I love that it is so interactive! DD14 doesn't play as much but DD8 & DS5 love it. We have Play, Olympics, Sims, some kind of dog game? DD8 likes and Happy Feet. Sports is the big fav of everyone!

Beware though - it's more than just buying the system. Since my parents gave it to us, we've bought a few more games, another controller and a dual charging station. Great investment though & we enjoy family wii nights.

My 64 yo mom told my dad that's all she wants for her bday this year!