Older version of Wii question

gebbel

My nephew is getting a wii sports for his birthday that is a good few years old. It was stashed away until his fifth birthday which is next week. He is mad about skylanders and wants a game to go with the wii (he knows he is getting these). My question is can anyone advise if this older wii is obsolete now for newer games?

Many thanks.

CiDeRmAn

There are plenty of games out there for the original Wii console. It was succeeded by the WiiU but the Wii was and continued to be well supported up until recently.
Certainly there are plenty of games available, and cheaply too, as long as you don't mind buying second hand titles.
Up to last years Trap Team release the Wii enjoyed the full Skylanders series, though this years Skylanders Superchargers gets only a racing title on the Wii, with the full game appearing on other consoles, including the 360, PS3, XboxOne and PS4.

I'd say the Wii is well worth owning, and with the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, there are games that have no equal on any other console out at the moment.

Keeping an eye on the likes of Adverts.ie should net you a WiiU for less than €200 and that will run everything from both Wii and WiiU libraries.
That said, the WiiU is itself due to be replaced next year, so keep that in mind.

A Wii will only cost around €50 on Adverts.ie and you'll probably get a few games and controllers for that too.

Kent Brockman

Young lad looking for Skylanders Swapforce for Christmas. We have a Wii (few years old) which is working fine.
About to purchase the 8gb Wii U from Smyths (Skylanders starter pack is free) however it is the starter pack for the Wii and not the Wii U.
Any disadvantage getting game for Wii when buying a Wii U?

He's looking for some new games (which won't play in the Wii, i.e. Mario Bro's, Yoshi, Kirby) hence buying a new console.

machiavellianme

All wii games play on the WiiU

Kent Brockman

Just wondering what Skylanders Starter pack I should get.
Buying a Wii U console and Skylanders Swap Force Starter pack for Wii comes free with it.
However there is a Skylanders Swap Force Starter pack for Wii U. Only costs €15.99 but hey if I can save a few quid....

Just want to make sure I get the right one.
What's the difference - anyone know?

gebbel

And if I can add to Kent's question above.....if I get my nephew the spyros adventure and giants games plus starter pack.....surely that will be enough to keep him happy for now? I'm under pressure trying to sort out stuff I'm clueless about!!

Banjo

depends on how clued in they are.
I've a 4 and 6 year old who don't appreciate the difference between a Wii and a Wii U game, graphically, but then they wouldn't play a lot of games. They just know that if they touch daddy's controller they're DEAD! But the 6 year old knows that you can't play Minecraft on the Wii U and won't be fobbed off with any of the block island knock off rubbish

If all his friends are playing a game, you'll want to get the version they're playing. He'll know the difference and he'll never forget it. I'm pushing 40, I still remember the year I got a GoBot for christmas when I asked for a Transformer, and if you ask what the difference is then you wouldn't understand the answer

Check whether or not there's online multiplayer, if so whether it's cross-platform, and if so is it present in both the Wii and Wii U versions. (and if not, are they all playing on Wii or Wii U? Does the Wii even have online multiplayer any more since Gamespy got switched off?)

If his mates aren't playing a specific game, you can buy an old game, portal and tonne of statues cheaper than you can buy a new game starter pack. Volume is important in this game! Your statues need recuperation time I think after they're beaten in-game.

One tip I heard if you're buying a bunch of statues, is that they're all have individual "element" types, and ideally you want one of each element to access all parts of the game. So do a bit of legwork before buying and cover all the elements.

But behold! The differences between the Wii and Wii U versions of Trap Team:
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/04/video_behold_the_difference_between_skylanders_trap_team_on_wii_and_wii_u
Actually it looks like the video covers all the different versions. But the WiiU version was developed by the same guys as the PS4/XBOne. Bodes well.

gebbel

OK so on adverts.ie there are sellers flogging a load of skylanders and skylanders giants.....in addition to the games. So if I buy the lot of these figurines....the corresponding characters on the game can all be unlocked?

Cheers again. I'm on a voyage of discovery here...

CiDeRmAn

All the figures will work with Giants, but the later figures will only work with the later game, they are differentiated by the colour of the bases. By that I mean the translucent plastic on the bottom of the figures.
The games are all backwards compatible with earlier figures from earlier games, but the later ones only work with that game onwards, so Giants aren't going to work on the original title at all.

gebbel

OK so spyros characters will work with spyros game and giants.

Giants characters will not work with spyros.

Many thanks for all the tips. I'm ready to start ordering.

CiDeRmAn

My son had a blast, he played them on the 360 and the Wii version is broadly the same.
It's plenty of fun, well worth seeing if you can pick up the three level packs for the first game, they add considerably to the original title and add battle arenas to the following game too, as far as I know.
The level packs come with dedicated figures and extra weapons, and is a real blast.
The voice acting ingame is top notch, too, your child is going to have a blast with them.
Keep your eye on Argos too, the later titles, Swapforce and Trap Team both came out on the Wii as well, and are even better.