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Resolved Question

Wii newbie

Nov 12, 2011 10:15PM PST

An upcoming birthday present request is a Wii. Our family has never done any computer games before, so I'm starting from scratch here.

Let's just assume that we do want a Wii (and not other consoles like the PlayStation). What do you recommend? I've seen on amazon and ebay that used games aren't much cheaper than the new ones, but if I find a big gap, is it risky getting a used game?

We will want to use a lot of 2-player (or even 3 or 4, if that is possible) games.

I also see that they have an introductory bundle with the console itself for around $150, with most of the other games going for around $30.

Do they have deals where they sell you multiple games bundled with the console itself? Any other things a newbie should be on the lookout for? I do have a nice belkin wireless router; I've seen a wireless router mentioned as helpful.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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psaulm119 has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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A lot of that
Nov 13, 2011 1:09AM PST

A lot of that will depend on the particular game. Like the number of people who can play at a time.

The one thing I would say, and it is fairly hard to find these days, but there are some places who seem to stumble across some units in storage somewhere and flog them at discounted prices. Make sure that you get one with the MotionPlus included. This is an optional add-on for the original Wii which adds a gyroscope to the Wiimote for the ability to sense whether the Wiimote is turned to the side, etc. If you have a cell phone or a tablet, and the screen rotates when you change the orientation of the device, that's because there's a gyroscope in the device.

Anyway, some newer games are requiring this in order to function, and it's not really much of a discount on an older Wii model if you just have to go out and spend whatever the difference was between the older model and newer one with it bundled. Plus, if it's a Christmas gift, you wouldn't want to spoil it by having the best of intentions in getting a game or two, and then one of them requires this add-on.

It's not common to find these older models in stores anymore, but just be sure to spend a couple minutes reading the box carefully for mention of MotionPlus or Motion+. If in doubt, go to a place like GameStop where the employees will likely be able to tell you which does and doesn't have it. Probably more so than your average big box retailer.

As for used games. It really depends on where you buy them from. If you go to a place like GameStop, then if the game disc happens to be bad, they'll swap it out for you, no fuss. I've also found GameFly to be a good place to buy used games, and have heard generally positive things about Hastings. Now, if you're buying on eBay or some such, all bets are off. GameFly might actually be a service you want to look into as a cost saving measure. It's basically like the Netflix of video games. Same basic model. You pay a flat fee per month, how much depends on which of the three service levels you want, and then you can have 1, 2, or 3 games out at a time. You can keep them as long as you want, as long as you keep paying your dues. When you're done, just pop them back in the mail, and they send the next one on your list out. You can also optionally choose to buy the game you have (with some restrictions on newer games) at a discount. Then you just keep the disc you have (which you know is good), and they mail you the case and manual for it. Also helps avoid getting burned on a game that seems really promising, only to be absolutely horrid in every way imaginable. If you get a stinker of a game, just send it back and move on.

That service might not make sense right away for you, but if the Wii becomes something of a staple in the house, might be worth considering.

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Thanks.
Nov 13, 2011 9:13AM PST

Some good food for thought there. I'll bookmark gamestop and Gamefly, although I looked through Gamestop and saw that the used prices there also were almost as high as the new prices. Gamefly as a wii netflix sounds very interesting--16/23 a month for having 1/2 games out at a time sounds a bit high, although you are right, it would save us the money from finding out that we don't like a particular game.

I'll make sure our unit has motion plus. Thanks for mentioning that.... this is the sort of factor that I had no idea about.

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It depends on the game
Nov 13, 2011 10:48AM PST

It depends on the game. Newer games, the used price will be nearly identical, but as the game gets older, the prices tend to come down.

And on the GameFly thing. Just keep it in mind. Get a few initial games, see how things play out until about June or so. Once the honeymoon period is over, see what interest level there is in the Wii. If it's still high, GameFly might make more sense than buying every single game. If it tapers off, then buying the occasional game here or there is probably better. It's also always possible that the Wii will be the gateway console to other consoles, and that would make GameFly seem much more attractive.

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This unit has the motion plus, correct?
Nov 16, 2011 8:53AM PST
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Not sure if the above unit has the remotes....
Nov 16, 2011 8:57AM PST
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I'm seeing reviews on amazon talking about the remotes...
Nov 16, 2011 9:00AM PST

They say the $150 unit comes with ONE remote. The stock Super Mario brothers game....can that use two remotes at once?

Or could we get by with just one remote? I suppose we could always get a second remote later if we felt we needed them, but only having played Wii once (a bowling game), only one remote was used---we passed it back and forth.

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If you read this, thanks.
Nov 25, 2011 11:52AM PST

I just went to a local GameStop and bought a wii with MarioKart, with a buy 2-used-get-1-free game deal. Nice--210 bucks got me the rewards program (discounts off used equipment, plus rewards points for purchases), the wii, 4 games, and the remote/nunchuck. Looks like I'll be going there for my wii stuff.