Wii or Not to Wii?

Updated on November 30, 2010
M.M. asks from Duluth, MN
17 answers

My husband and I have been talking for almost a year now about getting Nintendo Wii for Christmas and we are very excited. We have 3 boys, ages 6, 5, and 2 and they will just love something like that! But now I keep hearing about other systems like the Playstation Move and Xbox 360...... i'm so confused. Is the Wii "old school" now? Does anyone own a PS3 Move or Xbox 360? I'm not a proponent of regular video games for the kids and I'm afraid if we have a ps3 in the house, my husband would go back to his college days of playing madden all hours of the night! But an active system we could all use together, I am totally for! So what should we buy?

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A.G.

answers from Houston on

Wii Wii Wii all the way home, its better for families and has adult programs, i like the workout stuff.

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V.B.

answers from Houston on

Wii! We love it! My kids are 2 and almost 5. My son (younger one) is just now starting to play the bowling game, but my daughter is pretty good at it (beats me half the time!). We have other games and some of them are more complicated, but a lot of the sports games are good for kids and it's really fun to play as a family. I have no experience with the other systems, but we like the Wii, so I don't think you can go wrong with that. Have fun!

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A.C.

answers from Cincinnati on

We just bought the Xbox Kinect and it is awesome. My four year old loves to play. It is nice because it gets the kids up and moving. Its extremely fun for my husband and I also. We have a Wii also, but I would strongly recommend the XBox Kinect over the Wii. Either way, Im sure your kids will love either system:)

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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

Wii is great for the whole family. We love ours!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

The Xbox with Kinect is really the way to go. There is no controller at all and the motion sensor catchs your every move. My kids probably won't play their Wii again now they love their Kinect so much. And the Xbox has MUCH better graphics for games like Madden and the Lego series. Well, maybe you SHOULD get the Wii then if you don't want your DH becoming a gamer again. The Wii graphics are not nearly as good.

I don't know of anyone who has the PS3-its always either Xbox or Wii.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Wii.... is best for the whole family.
You can even use it to work out.... for kids and adults. That's what we do.
My kids like our Wii.

We also have the Xbox 360...but that is more my Husband's "toy."
You can also, via the Wii or Xbox... watch streaming on-demand movies and tv shows... via Netflix etc. Which is what we use it for too.

I would opt not for the Playstation.

Either Wii or Xbox 360... is best. To me.

If you go to www.gamestop.com you can see these game platforms and see the games for it, categorized by 'ratings' for kids or teens or adults.

The Lego games... are real fun. For kids or adults.

all the best,
Susan

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Wii! It's a lot of awesome fun!

S.K.

answers from Denver on

I have the wii and the ps3 and am thinking of the ps3 motion. The wii is a lot more kid friendly, the ps3 remotes are kind of tricky, too many buttons. The graphics however are the best on the ps3 and it also has the perk of being a blu-ray player as well. Im not set on the motion since we do have the wii but it does look pretty cool. My husband spends quite a bit of time on his call of duty games so the Madden addiction may come back for your husband, (but they do have Madden for the wii too) If you are looking for a basic family gaming system I would do the wii since mario kart and mario brothers are awesome games for kids. Both the WII and PS3 are free to use the internet, the Xbox you have to pay a yearly fee so if you are thinking of using netflix via a gaming console I'd go wii or ps3.

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A.F.

answers from Columbus on

Go with the Wii. We have the Wii & Playstation 3. Our kids love the Wii (Ages 6 & 4). The PS3 is for older kids in my opinion. And yes, you will lose your husband if you purchase the PS3 :)

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B.

answers from Augusta on

We have a Wii and an xbox 360 and are getting the kinect system for the 360.
The Kinect is more precise than the Wii so it's easier to control.
there are no controllers involved no button timing problems etc. Go to your local best buy they have it set up so you can demo it.

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S.G.

answers from Dallas on

Wii, because trust me, you husband WILL with XBox (drives me freakin nuts!). I love the Wii, and while it does have regular gams and controls, for the most part it is much more family inter-active friendly.

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R.B.

answers from Atlanta on

I own almost every system there is/ was ever made. I think for you that the Nintendo Wii is the best choice for you. The Xbox 360 is geared more toward teen to adults most game for that system are shooters same for PS3. only really good thing about that is that it is a blu ray player. The
Wii is the most family geared with games accessories etc.
I would get the wii. Also if you get the Limited edition Wii, in 25 years it will most likly be worth something. considering they will be 50 then, the red wii is a limied edition due to nintendo turning 25 this year!

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V.M.

answers from Erie on

SOOOO glad you asked this. We are in the exact same delimma, i thought waiting a year or so for WII was a great idea, the kids are at the right age, finances are good, butnow there is all this hype about other systems and i don't know which one to get and i definately DON't want 'regular" video games just something to get us moving and having fun. I hope someone can clear this up for us. And i'd love to know what Wii games are the most fun for a 6 yo boy if Wii's are the Way to go.

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S.H.

answers from New York on

Wii Wii to the Wii! (sorry couldn't resist) It's perfect for little kids.The older kids seem to think it's lame after a while but will still get involved if the temptation to "beat" mom or dad are an option. The newer systems seem to be more geared to older kids and yes they will steal your spouse though our Wii does the same now thanks to the Harry Potter games. He just HAS to beat that dang Malfoy ;) Good luck!

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M.H.

answers from Harrisburg on

I have the Wii & xbox 360. :) I'm a big gamer, lol.
It sounds like your looking for more of a family system.
I would definitely go with the Wii. They have more family games. The 360 & PS3 I would say are more geared for teens/adults. Most of the games they have are shooter games.

I don't have the Kinect and highly doubt I'll ever get it.
As for the PS3 Move, I've heard it's very glitchy.

M.D.

answers from Dallas on

We have the PS3 and Wii, I think with the age of your children they would like the Wii. However, the XBox 360 looks pretty cool with their kinect. My husband loves to play too, and has spent all night on some games with our older son. My 4 year can play both, along with PSP, DSI. Kids are great with these games, mom isn't. I think anyone will be great.

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S.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

The Wii is good for family's. The graphics suck though. But, kids love it! We just bough the XBox Kinect because my husband refused to spend the money on the Wii. The XBox is more expensive, but you don't have to buy a bunch of controllers for it either. With the Wii, there are a lot of accessories (remotes, nun chucks, Wii Fit Board, the tennis racket, the steering wheel, etc). None of that with the XBox. I have no experience with the Move, but I don't think it's really geared toward little ones at all. The only problem we really have with the Kinect is that the menus are sometimes hard to navigate for my 3 year old. She is a total pro at the Kinect Adventures game (the one that came with it) and we've only had it for a few days.
I will say that you have to have a LOT of room to play the Kinect. So, if you have a small living room or a lot of furniture, it's probably not a good fit for your. It wont' even let you play if you don't have enough room. Also, you can only play 2 players at a time. That might be a deal breaker with 3 kids so close in age.
My brother and my dad both have the Wii. The kids love it. They play it all the time at family gatherings. My 3 year old can work the remote pretty well in the simpler games. She's a bowling pro! :)
With the Wii you can sit down and play the games. No matter what the commercial says, there's really no need for a lot of movement. With the Kinect you HAVE to stand up and MOVE. There's no sitting! I was playing yesterday and I had to put shorts on cause I got too hot! (And I work out 5 days a week.)
For us, the Kinect was the better choice. We have the room and I wanted us to be active if we were playing. Not to mention the graphics are much better.
I would suggest going to an electronics store and looking at all of them to see what would fit your family best.

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