Okay, so not a true mom crisis... but I think it is time to take the plunge and get the Wii for the holidays (we have a GameCube already). I know despite the $249 price tag there are a lot of other accessories you need - extra controller and games to start with... but what else? I am thinking of buying a bundle (and getting some family to chip in) and splitting it up to give to the kids for holiday/birthday. Are these worth it? If so, who seems to have the best deals?
What about those numchucks, wheels & sports stuff?
Do the rechargeable things for the controllers really work, should I buy rechargeable batteries or just suck it up and buy stock in Energizer or Duracell?
What games are the "must haves", avoid at all cost or not worth the Wii price tag just stay with the GameCube games since graphics stink?
Thank you as I try to get a jump start on my holiday plans!
M. G
Arlington Heights
I checked around for all the deals. Warning: Many deals count the Wii Sports in their game bundle count that comes with it and may include games your kid may not want or may be Teen rated or higher games that you may not want them to have.
I created my own deal. I opened a Target Charge Card and got 10% off all my purchases for the day which included a Wii, Wii Fit, an extra nunchuck and an extra controller with Wii Play. The catch was they were having a buy 2 games $50 or less, get the 3rd free and the Wii Play with the remote counted as one of the games and I took advantage of this sale to get the $50 games that typically do not drop much in price due to licensing issues like Mario games and the new Wii Music. If you are in the market keep your eye out for these types of deals.
I also try to go to Target on Saturday and get a rain check for the Wii games that are going off sale as they are usually out that way the kids can use any gift cards they have/get to get at a later date if they want.
I got a dual Wii Remote charger at Costco for $22 and they also have a coupon deal out through the weekend $5 off certain Wii games. Seems to be the $15.99 ones, so I picked up a couple. The more expensive games are not part of the deal.
I shopped Kohl's Black Friday - their Wii games list at $24.99, but were on sale for $17.50 and then used 15% off coupon. I was able to find a game there. Current sale price is $19.99 and there are 15% off coupons out there.
I did check online as well but with the cost of shipping it really wasn't a good deal. I did see one on buy.com recently though that had free shipping and seemed like a good deal.
Hi Michelle
We are also thinking of getting the Wii. I have no idea as well what to get!! Maybe we will wait and buy one after you! Then you could tell us what to buy and what we do not to buy. Talk to you soon.
Karen
Love the Wii. It gets us up off the couch. I am not much help on which games for younger children, mine are in highschool and college. My husband and I like Carnival Games and I love the Wii Fit. The numchucks hardly ever get used. Found the bat to be useless also. Like the steering wheel though.
We love our Wii! It is so much fun for the whole family. It comes with get one controller, nunchuck and a starter game that is ok. I would suggest buying a second controller and nunchuck and the recharging stations. We just stick our controllers on the chargers after we play. This is much easier and cheaper than having to switch batteries. The Wii Sports game is great for all ages. Other games will depend on your families tastes. We have some Mario Bros. games that are fun but a little difficult for younger kids. The Carnival Games is a fun and cheap game for everyone. I would start slowly with the games, maybe just one or two to begin with. Hopefully you have a store in mind that will have Wiis available. We had to get ours from my sister-in-law in Pennsylvania and my sister bought hers on E-Bay. Hope this helps....
Love the Wii- my nephew is in 3rd grade also and it gets him up off the couch, at least for a little while. The Wii sports game that comes with it is more than enough for a while. It has 5 basic sports, plus I think about 15 mini-games. The nunchuck is used for the boxing game. You really don't need an extra controller because you can just pass the 1 back and forth between the kids, unless they want to "box" each other at the same time, which really is kinda dangerous. Better to let them each try against the computer first.
My nephew has a ton of other games (his favorite is Lego Star Wars) but we really do play the sports one the most. Some of the other games aren't as active and that's really the point, right?
My husband and I play a lot also; I like the wii fit, which is really fun, but I'd say it's more for adults, and Wario smooth moves with is a series of mini games, might be a little challenging for your 5 yr old.
The wheel and the bat and all that are useless in my opinion. Just another way to get your money.
