To Wii or not to Wii

Have you played video games before?

I ask, because Wii can either be a good start up console, or just a fad in a matter of months, just like your friend is selling it.

For that kind of money you can get a console you might get more mileage out of like the xbox or ps3.

It really depends on what you are looking for, and what those 6 games are (most wii games are repetitive and get boring after a while)

Either way, the console might be out of warranty by this point. Probably the games aren't worth that much in trade-ins (in case you don't like them) and controllers I never buy used because you never know the usage they have been given or how many times they have fallen.

If he can give you the names of the games you can go to Amazon and compare the trade-in price, that's what they are really worth.

Games depreciate really fast so do NOT get sold on the idea of quantity, as most of these games might not worth much anymore and he/she is basically breaking even or actually making money out of it, because the console itself isn't worth a lot as a trade-in either.

Plus if you have never played this console or games, do not buy it. Play with them first for several times, before buying it. Because the Wii is notorious of being a "good deal" in the first month or two for many people, and then just not being used after that.

Thanks for your two cents, I really appreciate it.

The last big console I owned was Playstation 1. I've also owned a MegaDrive (a long time ago), GameGear and Gameboy (I sound like a brat now). I also have a Nintendo DS which I play sporadically.

The reason why I favour the Wii over XBox360 or Playstation3 is because of the games. I really like Nintendo games and enjoy the interactiveness of the Wii.
I think I'm pretty sold on the Wii as opposed to another console, however, I'm wondering whether to just buy a second-hand one from GAME, who still give you a warranty.

Well if you are sold on the Wii, do know that Nintendo is getting ready to release another console they haven't given out a specific release date (sometime 2012) and haven't unveiled it yet.

but that means that if you are not in a rush to buy, you might get a whole lot better deals on the Wii 1 by the end of this year as stores will be looking to get rid of stock.

You never know if you might get a new one for the price of a used one now.

Either way the Wii is selling a lot less these days than the 360 and PS3, so there should be more deals in games and hardware.

I don't know what stores are in your area, but here I usually sign up for gamestop e-mail lists and just wait for the deals before buying anything.

Again, video games have a very flimsy value. What's $50 one month, might be $20 or $10 new in six months. I almost never use the used market because of that.

What Xk3zo said.

If you've never played wii before, do give one a try-out to see if you like the whole flapping-your-arms-about thing. I played one for a bit and it was fun at first but before long I kinda just wanted to sit and play a damn game rather than bop all over the place.

Almost $300 strikes me as a lot for a console out of warranty, too.

People seem to conveniently forget that the Wii has sold more than the XBox 360 or the PS3. It is just plain more successful than the the 360.

I don't have one but it's better for casual gamers like you.

You can get a new Wii that comes with Wii Sports and 1 controller for $250. If your friend is giving you a good deal, you'll have to figure out.

i would wait if i were you and you don't really need one right now. there's a new console from nintendo that might come out early next year.

That seems expensive, but then it may be a good deal for the UK. Check and see what they sell for used on amazon and eBay over there. I loved my wii, but I didn't play it enough. It's definitely better if you have someone else around to play with.

I sold my wii to my sister for $150 that was with a few games and two controllers and rock band. I gave her a damn good deal though.

It sold more because of the motion controllers, but software wise it was horrible. Aside from the Nintendo first party games, the gap in quality was tremendous.

Which is why even when selling as many consoles as it did not many Wii games matched the best selling games from the 360 or PS3, even though it almost doubled the installed base at some point.

So once the xbox launched the Kinect and the PS3 launched Move, the whole casual gamer market shifted.

Kinect became the fastest selling electronic equipment (even topping the iPad), and the PS3 started to move a lot more consoles (until the recent hack).

You can't really say it is better suited for the casual gamer anymore because all three cover that area now.

Pretty much the strength of the Wii came from the regular Nintendo games that most didn't even need the motion sensing controllers at all, and some like Smash Bros., basically played and looked like Gamecube games.

This is why the new console is aimed at hardcore gamers more than casual. Because they know, they no longer have a hold on the Casual gamer market.

Look, I'm just calling it as I see it. I have no horse in this race. I don't have a 360 or a Wii.

3rd party motion games usually suck.

And now that I think about it. Some of Kinect's 1st party games haven't been too good either.

I think that sounds kind of expensive too. We sold ours (with about the same amount of extras) for about $300 at a gaming shop. And at that point they were still being sold for about $600+, now they are selling for about $300.

I found I used it heaps for the first few months, then stopped completly.
I'm not much of a gaming person though.

I think Melody's right, check out what they are going for 2nd hand online etc.

Our Wii has been collecting dust for over a year now.

All we use it for these days is Netflix.

the wii is the gamecube, plain and simple. the best game for the whole console is wii sports bowling. 300 bucks for a game console that retails for between 100 and 150 (with the wii sports game) is a bit much.

Hi guys,

Thanks again for your thoughtson this. In case anyone was wondering, I have had a few gos on the Wii and wouldn't dream of buying it if I hadn't.

Anyway, I will keep scouting for better deals, as some of you have suggested.

Bullshit.

You need to try out Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Surgery, dude. You could be doing surgery in your living room.

The Wii is getting a price-cut in a few weeks. In the US it is going to be $150 and that includes 2 games, the wii-mote, nunchuck and the racing wheel.

You can also pick up any number of Wii games for next to nothing at used game stores because like your friend, most people have found that after a month or so, it isn't really much fun.