new to Wii, buying guide

jmgall

Hi all,
Never had a Wii before, my daughter (9) is looking for one but as things are a little tight at the moment I want to get a second hand one.
There are hundreds on donedeal and eBay but what should I look for?
I want fit and sports and Mario cart but what do I need for those, apart from the game itself.
Is there different generations of Wii, which would be best but reasonable.

Thanks for the help
J.

sligeach

For Wii Fit you will need the Wii Fit board.

Mario Kart can use various controls including classic controllers. Putting the Wii remote in a wheel can help add to the immersion for your daughter.

Wii Sports is fine with the regular remote. Wii Sports however requires motionplus.

There are different generations of Wii. Do not buy the Wii Mini, it's junk. The newer Wii consoles have certain features cut from them. It's not always apparent. A light blue Wii is easy to tell, it has Gamecube functionality removed. I have my launch Wii still, no problems, very robust piece of hardware. Make sure you get some nunchuks.

A few games I'd recommend are considering your daughters age:

Mario Kart
New Super Mario Bros.
Epic Mickey
Boom Blox or Boom Blox Bash Party
Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort
Just Dance
Wii Party
Mario Party 9
Warioware Smooth Moves

Those are what I've played. Sorry I've no idea if other games like Barbie or Spongebob are any good. I heard one of the Spongebob games was good. Another member with kids could maybe make other suggestions.

jmgall

Thanks for the reply sligeach, thats exactly the info I needed.
I take it motionplus is an addon sensor. I'll price it and another few bits, I'd like two controllers and 2 remotes. I'll probably get steering wheels too for Mario cart. I have a son who will be playing it two, probably him and his sister at the same time.

What would you think of something like this - donedeal.ie/toys-for-sale/wii-console/7952673

iamtony

Are you sure she is looking for a wii and not the wii u!

jmgall

Defiantly a Wii.

aidanathome

jmgall wrote: »

Thanks for the reply sligeach, thats exactly the info I needed.
I take it motionplus is an addon sensor. I'll price it and another few bits, I'd like two controllers and 2 remotes. I'll probably get steering wheels too for Mario cart. I have a son who will be playing it two, probably him and his sister at the same time.

What would you think of something like this - donedeal.ie/toys-for-sale/wii-console/7952673

That looks ok to me (without looking to see what other deals are out there!). I would definitely ask if the "games included for free" all work. My Wii Sports CD stopped working after a few years and I found a lot of people bidding for them on eBay, pushing the price way up, which made me think it's a more common problem...

jmgall

I may not buy that particular one, there are hundreds of them out there.
I will insist on seeing the wii working before I buy. The games are not a big issue, I will probably just buy any that I need to be on the safe side if they are not included in any offer I do take up.

deelite

Santa has been asked for a surprise - but we know it's a wii that is really wanted. I can't for the life of me understand the difference between mini wii and wii u - apart from wii u games can't be played on the mini (don't think internet and Netflix is really important). If I bought the wii u what extras do I need - an extra controller would be a must - or does it come with two controllers - an extra game pad (I have no idea what this is). How much would a wii u cost, extra things and where would be the best place to buy - I'm gone do lally trying to figure everything out - or would I be better buying the mini (but I guess I need all the extras). Any help advice would be great and I've googled what's in the box and prices in dublin but I know you lads would have much more experience than I would.

Thank you.

johnny_ultimate

The Wii Mini is just a budget version of the original Wii console (which is now eight years old). It will play all original Wii games, although doesn't have all the features of the original console (none of which will be a particular concern if the console is for a young child).

The Wii is almost obsolete - there are some new games released for it (such as the latest Skylander games, which tend to get original Wii versions due to the huge amount of Wii consoles out there) but for the most you'll sticking with older games.

The Wii U is a new console - basically the Wii 2. It's still an active console, meaning new games are being released for it. It will, however, also play original Wii games.

The Gamepad is the dedicated controller for the Wii U - it has a touch screen that also serves as a second display. You only need one, and I don't think you can even get a second if you wanted to! It will only work with Wii U games.

No matter what console you get, you will need Wiimotes. The Wii Mini comes with one, but you'll need another if you want to play two player games. The Wii U does not come with a Wiimote, but you will need one (or two) to play original Wii games or multiplayer Wii U games.

Depending on what games you get, you may also need a nunchuck that attaches to the Wiimotes.

The Wii Mini is cheap and cheerful (around €100 I believe), but again it is almost obsolete. If a couple of older games are all that is needed, then it's a fine option.

The Wii U is obviously more expensive - €220 or so for the budget option (Smyths often have good deals on consoles), but you will likely need Wiimotes too on top of that. It is an active console, with new games coming out for it. It does everything the Wii Mini will do and much more. But if it's only intended for a small child you don't think will have much interest in the newer titles, then obviously it might be too much to spend.

Hope that clarifies things a bit. Nintendo's biggest problem is that they have made the whole process more confusing than it needs to be.

RobbingBandit

CeX tend to be quite cheap for second hand wii consoles, the mario games can be expensive though. Check their site out you should find a few bargains on it.
Failing that try adverts but use the CeX site to gauge how much to pay, link is below.

ie.webuy.com

deelite

Thank you both for your great answers really really appreciate it - it really is a mine field out there when buying a console - I'll be back to you before I buy.

Thanks again

sweetie

deelite wrote: »

Thank you both for your great answers really really appreciate it - it really is a mine field out there when buying a console - I'll be back to you before I buy.

Thanks again

If you can afford it go for the Wii U, it will work with all wii games that are really cheap in CEX, Gamestop, smyths, adverts etc. and also current and future wii u games for the next few years untilthey bring out their next console. The launch titles for the wii u that are a couple of years old are pretty cheap now too.

C14N

Johnny_Ultimate's answer was very comprehensive but I'll still do this in a question-by-question way.

deelite wrote: »

Santa has been asked for a surprise - but we know it's a wii that is really wanted. I can't for the life of me understand the difference between mini wii and wii u - apart from wii u games can't be played on the mini (don't think internet and Netflix is really important).

Like he said, Wii Mini is just a small Wii, Wii U is a brand new console with better graphics, new games and so on. It will play any Wii games you put into it as well so if you're able to afford it, it really is, without a single caveat the better console.

deelite wrote: »

If I bought the wii u what extras do I need - an extra controller would be a must - or does it come with two controllers - an extra game pad (I have no idea what this is).

Alright, this is confusing so bear with me.

There are 3 types of controllers for the Wii U.

The first one is the GamePad. It comes with the Wii U. It's got a touch screen and looks like this:


This is the main controller but you can't get a second one. It's for just one person. If you want to play multiplayer games you have to buy either a

Wii Remote


This is the same as the old Wii controllers (and if you have or buy old Wii controllers, those will work too). It's a simple remote with just a few buttons. You can plug the Nunchuck add-on into this remote to give a few extra buttons (and some games require this, although not all, you should be able to find out if a game does before buying it).

Or you can buy the
Pro Controller

Which is just a fairly standard controller that works with the Wii U.

The Wii U can have up to 4 players at a time and most big games will allow you to mix and match any combination of the above controllers. So for example you could have 4 people playing Mario Kart where 1 person has the GamePad, 1 person has a Pro Controller and 2 people have Wii Remotes.

deelite wrote: »

How much would a wii u cost, extra things and where would be the best place to buy - I'm gone do lally trying to figure everything out - or would I be better buying the mini (but I guess I need all the extras). Any help advice would be great and I've googled what's in the box and prices in dublin but I know you lads would have much more experience than I would.

Standard pricing on the Wii U seems to be about €220 for the Basic console (which is white) or €300 for the Premium (which is black). The Premium comes with the following extra bits:

• Charging stand for the Gamepad
• Console stand to hold the console upright
• Sensor bar for the Wii Remotes
• More storage (32GB for Premium, 8GB for Basic)

However these are sold separately and can probably be gotten cheaper. You can also add on extra storage yourself with a USB hard drive or memory stick.

The extra controllers (both Wii Remote and Pro Controller) cost around €40-50 each which is quite a lot so you might just want to get one starting out.

In terms of places to buy, for bricks and mortar, you can get them at Smyths, Argos or Gamestop. Hard to say which is best, none are running great deals right now (Smyths have the Basic with New Super Mario Bros for €220 which isn't bad).

There are a lots of places online too although most are British and right now, the exchange rate means you won't save much. Still, you can have a poke around Amazon.co.uk, Zavvi, TheHut.com or Hotdeals.co.uk (which doesn't sell them but lists offers on other sites).

Alternatively you can go second hand. Donedeal or Adverts.ie are good places to find ads if you want to buy one second hand (and you might get some good extra games and controllers with it) or Cex sell second hand consoles and games at good prices too if you wanted to get one second hand from a shop.

Star Lord

Worth noting if you look at some of the premium bundles, some of those include the Pro Controller, so make those bundles better value for money!

I believe the Bayonetta bundle may include one.

ThisRegard

The only premium bundles, in B&M stores in Ireland anyway, are either with Mario cart or Mario and Luigi, I haven't seen any yet with the pro controller ?

Banjo

You sometimes see the old Monster Hunter bundle knocking around, that has a Pro Controller in it. I think the ZombiU one did too. Most of them were liquidated last year and after last christmas though. You'd need to go off the beaten track a little - hit up a non-Chain store.