Wii system, accessory, virtual console pros/cons?

So I think I'm gonna get myself a Wii.  I really like the virtual console concept, and it looks like a lot of the games would be fun.  Plus the GF likes the "easy" games (hell, so do I.  I'm a TERRIBLE gamer).

I swore up and down I'd never get one when they came out, but it appeals to me more and more all the time.  

I have a PS3 slim that I never, ever touch except for streaming Netflix, and it seems that the Wii has the same exact capabilities.  Might as well sell/trade the PS3, get a Wii (that I'll probably actually play) and I think I come out as a winner.

I do have questions for you guys, though.  I've read the Wiki and some reviews, but I like to get the experts' opinions as well.

What are the pros/cons of the different controllers available (classic controller, nunchuck, Gamecube controllers, etc.)?

What about the system itself?  What will I hate about it?  What will I love about it?  I know it's hard to answer that because everyone has different needs/wants, but basically I want to play the VC games, the main platformers, and the fun/easy games.

And the VC itself....what are the drawbacks?  Pros?

Thanks guys!

Comments

  • Well the bonus is the motion control, when and only when accurately programmed and used intuitively and/or originally in a good game disc or wiiware based (from Zack and Wiki, to Tiger Woods Golf, or Wii Sports Resort, and even a solid FPS like that brand new Goldeneye.) Another bonus would be that virtual console which has a ton of games on it for a good many systems and a few other computers and arcade units too. Wii also added Netflix which I put there, it's limited and sucks compared to the PS3 one but it works great if it's an only option.



    The primary controller is great as is the nunchuk, again when shit is coded right they work fantastic for pointing, weird motions, or even an awesome flight stick (at least in) Sky Crawlers (by the Ace Combat team.) The classic controller/pro is a solid device a bastard child of snes/dual shock pads that works well and is comfy enough. No real reason to comment on the GC pad other than it works as it did on GC unless you never used one but only some games use it.



    The down side of the unit really comes down to a few aggravating things, some can't be changed, others Nintendo are douchebags about. What can't be changed if you're an HD-crack head it isn't. Also, the storage is a complete turd at 512MB shared so you end up having to keep a couple gig SD card in the slot and while you can load, read, and write off it off a submenu, it sucks and is slower but it's a fair work around. The thing that's twat level, downloaded game's users rights. If your system breaks or is stolen and you replace it, you lose your games. Nintendo's legalese says games are bound to one system, that's it. If you replace for whatever reason, you're likely fucked, likely as I know some have called and successfully got a system delinked and a new one linked but it's not in the rules so it's gambling. They refuse to make a central account like Sony smartly did so you can't just pick up and lift your shit at a click of a button.



    The only other huge primary negative to the system, isn't the system or lack of digital right, it's the games. Nintendo has released some downgraded first party properties sadly, but most of it lies in the two faced underhanded way third parties have treated the Wii. Ignored at first, then scorned for years and still is by some, it gets a shit ton of really bad shovel ware, party games, flash PC game ports that fill shelves up badly. Those you can spot, the problem are those that are made off the name of a good "A" game company/franchise and they rarely put effort into stuff and instead using B-teams in training to do shitty spinoffs and insulting halfassed franchise games. I could go on about a lot, including how EA gave us a rail shooter Dead Space while the team making it had it set as a full FPS (at the same quality) but couldn't get it done fast enough, Capcom and their spongy behavior with lame ports and rail shooter spinoffs, and so on. Sadly I'd dare say that less than 5% of the 3rd party games are worth buying at full price let alone in the 50% off bin.



    I like, no longer love the Wii. I can barely stand to buy games for it anymore after pissing way i'm guessing a few thousand bucks in shit on a disc insults from third parties lying to game websites saying 'we tried hard this is our test game for future efforts' and being a sucker and buying a turd. I buy really just first party now and maybe 1-3 third party games a year in the last 2 years thanks to that. As is I'm fence sitting on Epic Mickey and Goldeneye, and have ignored a lot of supposedly great games out of sheer lack of trust and fear as I'm on a budget (Red Steel 2, Tiger Woods Golf, CODMW Reflex, Anno Dawn of Discovery, and multiple others.)
  • Only reason I have one (or the main reason, at least) is the hackability factor. This thing is ten times easier to hack than the regular Xbox (the former king of the emulation consoles) only thing that isn't done well is the arcade emulators, but everything else is gold. Believe it or not, I only hacked it to play emulators and install VC (& injected VC) & Wiiware games. I bought NBA Jam the week it came out plus I plan on getting DKC Returns and SMB All-Stars along with other games again. It's a solid system if u get it for the right reasons :-)
  • The cool thing about hacking your Wii, is that it won't cut you off of other features like most consoles. You can still play online. I have a hacked Wii with an emulator for about every system out there. Plus I have a controller adapter for NES, SNES, N64, and Genesis. Also a hack that lets me play DVDs, or files from USB flash drives. I have it hooked up to a matching white 320 gb hard drive. Have Netflix as well. It really is a complete home entertainment package.
  • The Wii can be a really good system, it really depends on what your looking for.



    Tanooki and JBO have said it pretty well on the pros and cons of the Wii. I have had one for a few years now, and I mostly just use it now to watch Netflix on my TV in my room.
  • I guess I've just been really ignorant about the hacking stuff. Makes me uncomfortable, ya know?



    My main thought process is this:

    I have a $250-ish machine that I don't use except to stream netflix.



    I could have the same Netflix streaming, plus a system I'll actually play, plus $100-$150 in my pocket.



  • You should get a special edition Red Wii on Sunday. I've got mine pre-ordered and I'm psyched! Can't wait to play Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, New Super Mario Bros, Super Paper Mario, Metroid, Mario Kart and the one I want to play the most? Donkey Kong Country Returns. Why did I wait so many years to buy a Wii anyway? Oh right, I wanted a color variant before I bought one. Red Wii=Score!
  • Honestly I wouldn't buy one unless you have some titles in mind you "have to play". I hate the motion control, personally. It still feels like a cheap gimmick to me even though everyone is doing it now. I bought my Wii, played Brawl, NSMB, Metroid, a little bit of Mario Kart and Mario Party (I much prefer the GC versions of both), and that was it. That said, I am looking forward to Donkey Kong Country Returns and Goldeneye to a much lesser extent. I might pick up Kirby some time too.



    You should be able to pick up a system with cords and a Wiimote for $100ish easily if you look around a bit.
  • I don't like the motion control stuff either, except for Wii sports. Honestly though every game I am interested in lets you use a standard control scheme anyway, so it isn't really an issue with me. It's not like I got the system to play Cooking Mama.
  • Yeah I always thought motion control was kinda stupid as well, not interested in that whatsoever. I guess it was fun to be a little buzzed and play some bowling with friends (not buzzed enough to put the controller through the TV, though!) but I couldn't imagine sitting in my bedroom doing motion-control gaming
  • Virtual Console pros: You can play some old classics on your Wii, and the Wii controller works well with the NES, SMS and TG-16 games. Also, you can technically save your state in each game (The game stays paused wherever you last hit the home button).



    Virtual Console cons: Can't re-download your games if your system explodes, gets trampled on, or gets stolen. Prices really aren't very good overall, considering the above. Oh yeah, and they very, very rarely add new content.
  • Oh Nintendo also does NO sales on their wiiware or virtual console games. Exceedingly rarely they may do a freebie but it's mostly just to whore out an app like that net browser or like on dsi when they had that awful photo dojo or the excellent flipnote hatena (dsi follows same poor rules of wiiware.)



    I see a few here hate the motion controls, I get that, hell I feel it, but when it's done right in a unique experience (Zack and Wiki) or to bring life to a sport (Tiger Woods w/WM+), and to make a FPS just feel more realistic(?) while shooting/aiming/moving it really can be fantastic. The problem is, stuff like that is in the 5% I said so most of them will piss you off due to bugs and stupidity of design turning you off big time.
  • I like Wii Sports Resort and disc golf on Tiger Woods '10 and a couple Wiiware games (Dart Rage, the Beat.Trip series and Muscle March) as far as motion controls go. The classic factor is where it's at with the wii. Spent the extra doe and got a Club Nintendo Japan Super Famicom controller that goes into the wiimote. Well worth the extra scratch if u have the money for one (they ain't cheap).



    JBO, with the adapter you got, are the Genesis buttons mapped properly for VC games (as well as the other system controllers)? Emulators aren't an issue cause the buttons are mappable, but I've been holding off cause I haven't found any conformation that the buttons are correct for VC.
  • Originally posted by: g_block

    I like Wii Sports Resort and disc golf on Tiger Woods '10 and a couple Wiiware games (Dart Rage, the Beat.Trip series and Muscle March) as far as motion controls go. The classic factor is where it's at with the wii. Spent the extra doe and got a Club Nintendo Japan Super Famicom controller that goes into the wiimote. Well worth the extra scratch if u have the money for one (they ain't cheap).



    JBO, with the adapter you got, are the Genesis buttons mapped properly for VC games (as well as the other system controllers)? Emulators aren't an issue cause the buttons are mappable, but I've been holding off cause I haven't found any conformation that the buttons are correct for VC.


    I'll check it out if I remember tomorrow. I know the Z button is moved on the 64 due to the way they emulated the controller on VC.
  • The wee just doesn't do it for me, had some good times when Brawl came out but it kinda lost its lustre, I really had trouble picking up games that I felt I actually wanted to play, rather than felt an obligation to play because of a purchase. However, it does sound right for you. Dr. Mario on Wii also owns. The G/F and I put a lot of time into that one.
  • Plus that sexy new Red Wii would be cool to have, if not an eyesore.
  • Well, I got one last night - I like it a lot so far. Unfortunately the 2nd Wiimote we bought used from Gamestop didn't work so I have to return that one. Seriously, for all the trouble they go through to test your stuff when you trade in, wouldn't you think this would be alleviated?



    Definitely gotta get that classic controller, though.
  • Did you sync it up to the wii? Near the SD slot there is a red button, and under the battery cap on the wii mote is a red button...press both and it should work. Pretty sure Gamestop tests all of the peripherals before selling
  • Yeah man I did that with both Wiimotes. The one they bundled in the system works great. The third-party one I bought separately does not.



    Yeah I know they test stuff, it's rare that I go in there but I always see them spending forever checking stuff out. That's why I was so shocked that this didn't work.



    Family Feud would have been a lot more fun if I had kicked the GF's ass instead of "teaming up" with her against the completely retarded computer opponents.
  • Blatant advertising for NES and SNES -> Wii controller adapters image http://www.retrousb.com/index.php?cPath=22 Works great on VC!



    Other great accessories I have are wireless nunchuks (small receiver plugs into wiimote) and wireless charging pads for the wiimotes.

  • I had a Wii for a long time and just got a PS3 and one thing I noticed is that none of the decent Wii games ever go on sale. The decent PS3 games are rereleased as "best seller series" or whatever and are cheaper when they get old, but the old Wii games seem to stay the same price forever.



    My wife and I were pumped about wii sports (tenis), but it was just a tease and they never followed that up with anything else.



    Good things: The Virtual Console is great. Some of the WiiWare games are great too (mega man 9 and 10 for instance) the first party games are good fun, Mario Kart was a blast.
  • Yeah Nintendo has cheaped out so far this generation as there's no Players Choice stuff at all.
  • Yeah Tanooki, that has annoyed me. By all rights, the first Super Mario Galaxy, Twilight Princess, SSB Brawl and Mario kart (w/o the Wii Wheel) should be "Player's Choice" titles by now.
  • Yeah I agree, I never got the old Wario Ware game as $50 was bullshit and I figured it would go PC, obviously not going to happen or if it does still too late to care now.
  • I should have pick it up (Wario Ware) when I saw it at Sears on clearance for $20, but the title never intrigued me. Check your local Sears out every now and then, mine in the mall near here has a steal every now and then (ex: Metroid Prime Trilogy $20 clearance last year)
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