Advice from Current Wii owners/shoppers

[*Jeannie*]

I have a list and it contains a Wii system and DDR. With no knowledge of either, please help.
Exactly what ALL do I need to be looking for? I've seen talk of Wii fit boards, numbchucks, controllers...the list of accessories seems endless. And I'd hate to be missing the one thing to make Christmas day a sad one for the tyke.

Also where are the DEALIOS? omg-the price tag for each indiv. item is stacking up at an astounding rate.

Link me, inform me and thank you

[Laura_A]

Usually you can find the Wii system in a bundle containing one remote (controller), one nunchuck and a game. Most games can be played with just these accessories, however, if you want to be able to play together, you'll need at least 2 remotes. Sometimes you can also find game bundles... a special price on a game with an extra remote.

We got ours for $250 which was a pretty good price.

[beaucat]

Toys R Us has been running some sales as has Amazon (under gold box deals.)

It comes (if I remember correctly) with one controller - you may want to pick up one more. Two is normally enough that you can pass them around even if you have more than two players. You may want to pick up the controller charger.

Whether or not you need a board or nunchucks depends on what games you buy - you can probably get by without either if you are buying mainly kids games. (I use the nunchuck for Zelda.)

Honestly, the game that gets the most play time here is the one that came with it! (My 4 year old also really likes Carnival games.)

[Darcy Baldwin]

Jeannie - the only thing for the Wii that you REALLY need is the game system and a controller. 2 controllers are nice to play games that have 2 players since you can play at the same time. We bought the Wii/1 controller/WiiSports game pack for about $250 last October. We bought another controller within a week. Many games allow 2 players at once and it's just more fun that way.

Here are some great other things to have.
Nunchucks - a secondary controller for those games that require 2 different motions at once (thinking specifically Wii Games boxing, WiiPlay fishing, etc.); a charging station - definitely worth the price for the savings in batteries alone.

Steering Wheel - if you buy Mario cart - this makes it much more enjoyable to play - makes it a lot easier.

WiiSports has a sports pack add on thingie for the tennis racket, etc that gives you a bit of 'embiance' but is so not necessary.

Wii Fit comes with a board, so it's not something you have to buy separately from the game.

It is not an inexpensive game system, but the best one out there, imho, and I'm not a gamer. So that's saying a lot. But you can get buy with just the system, 1 controller and a game (just buy another controller so he doesn't have to play alone LOLOL)

[*Jeannie*]

Thanks ladies!

It's been tough navigating through all the "bundles" out there.

Evidently this Dance revolution game needs a pad (I hope its included in the game). I'm shocked the kid wants this game personally, and initially asked for it with PS2. But after investigating, I came to the conclusion that the Wii for this game was the better option (thanks Darcy, I agree-as a non-gamer too I found out quickly it was very evident that this was the best system)

[Libby Pritchett]

I also highly recommend looking into a recharging dock for the controllers. Someone suggested we get one, and I love it! It keeps the controllers charged up all the time. We've had it for a year now and haven't had to change the batteries yet.

Also some of our favorite games are the "old school" Mario games from the regular and Super Nintendo systems. If you are interested in downloading those to play, you'll need to buy a classic controller as well as a "points" card (available anywhere Wiis are sold). The old games are purchased with "points" and they download straight to your wii system if you have wireless internet in your home. No need for disks or anything.

Other games that my kids love: Guitar Hero (you'll need to get the bundle that comes with the guitar), Carnival games (just the game -- no extra accessories), and Mario Kart.

But really the one we play more than anything is the sports bundle that came with the system (bowling, baseball, golf, tennis, and boxing).

Enjoy! It's really a fun system!

[carriesmom]

When we got our Wii last year for Christmas, I came with 1 wiimote and 1 nunchuck. I bought WiiPlay for about 50 bucks and it comes with an extra wiimote, which was one of the main reasons I bought it. i also bought another nunchuck for about 20 bucks separately. That is enough to play the majority of the games. WiiFit comes with the balance board which can be used on some of the newer games. If you look at the back of the games, there are icons in the upper corner showing what equipment you need to play the game and how many players can play.