What extra sort of stuff do I need when I buy a Wii?

When you buy the Wii, it should come with one Wii remote, one nunchuck, one sensor bar, the actual unit, a stand, a power cable, and an a/v cable. Make sure you have all of those.

If you want more than one person to play at a time, you’ll have to buy additional nunchucks and remotes. You may want to get some covers for them, I don’t know what they’re called. Anyway, they help pad the remotes for when they get dropped, which is often enough.

Some games require the use of a MotionPlus accessory that attaches to the remote and gives better movement tracking. You’ll have to get more than one, if you want all players to be covered.

There are other accessories I consider to be optional. There’s a wheel you can use for driving games, sports equipment attachments (tennis, golf, boxing), amongst others. The balance board and Wii Fit are pretty cool and I’m going to get them when I can afford it. I particularly like the yoga. Then, of course, one of the band games.. those are super fun. :)

Thanks. What’s the difference between a nunchuck and remote?

The controlling system of the Wii is what really sets it apart from the other consoles and it also makes it easier and more accessible to all levels of gamers. You essentially have two controllers, the nunchuck you hold in your left hand, the remote you hold in your right. They each have a limited amount of buttons and it’s all very intuitive, so it makes playing easy for beginners. This is something I’ve come to really appreciate in the Wii because I find the other kinds of controllers to be complicated and frustrating, yet with the Wii, I can jump right in and play.

Thanks. I’m watching the Amazon videos now so I’m learning about them.

I believe what comes in the box is the Wii, the connectors, sensor bar, and a remote and a numchuck. I bought mine several years ago but I’m pretty sure that it comes with everything you need for one player; one player at time. But there are a lot of games that can be played more players so if there something that if two or more of you want to play you will need to purchase one remote and one numchuck for each additional player. I would advise to to get at least one extra remote and numchuck. I also like using the Nerf accessories for playing the sports games. That set includes a golf club, tennis racket something else…. I don’t remember. Maybe a wheel. The wheels are nice for the driving games but if you are thinking about getting Mario Carts the game comes with a wheel. And a gun is nice for shooting zombies. You pop the remote into one of the accessories it seems a little more realistic, well as realistic as lobbing invisible tennis balls at your television with a pint size plastic and foam tennis racket can get.

And regarding youR statement;

I’ll probably play with it a little, but I’d limit my time.

Let me know how that works out for you. :-)

If you want to go the Wii Motion Plus route, I’d invest in the Wii Remote Plus, which has that functionality built in. Alternatively, you would have to buy the big bulky extension block that hangs off the bottom of your Wii Remote.

Thanks @Ivan

@lillycoyote Well, for me recently the rate limiting step has been that I get motion sick playing these games. Maybe I’ll get lucky and puke and so I won’t want to play with it.

Game-wise, I highly recommend the Lego series.. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter. They’re really fun.. Harry Potter is very puzzle-oriented, if you like that kind of game.

OK, wait. If I get an extra controller, do I have to get an extra numchuck also? Do games need both?

@MissAnthrope Damn. Why did you have to tell me Harry Potter has puzzles? I like Harry Potter and I love puzzles.

@Rarebear Good luck. I’ve never been a gamer and I bought my Wii because of the balance bar and for the sole purpose of exercising only to discover that I loved racing monster truck and shooting zombies and other things. The balance bar is gathering dust but I do occasionally hear it mocking me. I am ever hopeful though. I bought the Wii Zumba fitness package a couple of weeks ago because there no Zumba classes in my area and I have yet to take the damn thing out of the box. And Dance Party is actually kind of fun. It seems to be a big hit with the 10 and under crowd.

@Rarebear Not all games need both the controller and the numchuck but it’s probably good to have a full set of controls for each person. And if you do puke from motion sickness, you should try to get a good solid splash of bile on your wallet because between the games and accessories and add-ons and attachments that little demon in a box will continue to suck money out of you at the rate of between $9.99 and $69.99 plus, one trip to Game Stop or Best Buy at a time.

If your wife wants it for exercise, I’d recommend Wii Fit. It’s a set of fitness games that comes with a “Balance Board”. It a lot like a bathroom scale, but it actually senses motion and translates it into movements that your mii (your wii avatar) does on the screen.

EA also has fitness games called EA Sports Active and EA Sports Active 2 which are less expensive and also use the balance board (but they do not require it).

@lillycoyote Did…did…did…you say shooting zombies? Oh crap, I’m done for.

@buckyboy28 That’s what my wife wants—the Wii Fit. I found a deal on Walmart.com that is the cheapest I’ve seen. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Nintendo-Wii-Console-w-Wii-Fit-Plus-Balance-Board/15188126#Specifications

@lillycoyote Is Dance Party the same as Just Dance 2? That’s the other thing they wanted.

@Rarebear Bundles are definitely the way to go. I’m not sure if you live near a Costco (or have a membership), but they always have Wii bundles with Wii Fit and extra controllers/extra nunchuks. They always have the best deals, I’ve found.

@buckyboy28 I do. I checked Costco.com and I didn’t see a bundle, but I can check my local Costo.

@Rarebear – That’s a good deal, for sure. They’re probably talking about Just Dance and Just Dance 2 – also way fun. Way more fun than I ever expected, actually. My 11-year-old sister got it and I thought, Meh, maybe I’ll try it, play it a couple of times.. Then I got totally hooked on it. I’m going to get that, too, when I have money. Great aerobic workout and really fun at the same time.

Another suggestion… if you are planning on getting extra controllers, keep an eye out for ones that are bundled with games. The game Wii Play comes bundled with a controller (albeit a controller without WiiMotionPlus), but the game ends up costing about $10 extra if you were planning on buying a controller anyway. The game FlingSmash just recently came out (I haven’t had a chance to play it), but it comes bundled with a Wii Remote with MotionPlus built in.

@buckyboy28 Thanks.

@MissAnthrope This is all within my price range. We actually don’t spend a lot of money on a lot of crap (well, except for all my telescope stuff) so it’s not out of control for me. The problem, as @lillycoyote is that once they’ve got you, they ding you for this and that.

You can also check Amazon, if you don’t mind buying used. I bought a used Wii for around $100 and it looks brand new, just didn’t have a box.

@MissAnthrope Great idea, thanks.
Now this is funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iYBmAVuBns

Hastings has the best price on a brand new basic system (bundled with Wii Sports). I have 4 controllers, 2 motion plus, 2 nunchucks, 3 wheels, balance board and dance pad.

The best family games for non-gamers are Mario Kart, WarioWare Smooth Moves, Carnival MiniGolf

Even my dad, the anti-tech, loves all of those and will play for hours.

Here is another suggestion to eat up your time:

I have never wanted to bring video games into my home either. I am in my mid-thirties and none of the popular games were at all inviting to me.

Then I played Guitar Hero. For some reason, this seems to be quite the addiction for parents and those a bit older. This changed my whole perspective on gaming. If you like music at all, then you will want to have Guitar Hero which will require you purchase a guitar. and guess what, the kids love it too – even though they might not know a lot of the “our generation” music.

I found mine at Game Stop with the game for $72. Game Stop is great if you have one in your area because the brand new games can be really expensive. They have used games which you will appreciate once your daughter discovers that there are thousands of other games out there!

Good luck and ROCK ON!

We got a basic Wii, with 1 controller+nunchuck as a gift. I went out and got the Wii Play to get another controller+ games (no nunchuck), and a Wii Fit at the CircuitCity going out of business sale. Then went online for more controllers and nunchucks. No MotionPlus yet. The unit can only handle 4 remotes, so don’t get more than that. I got the component video cable to get the slightly better picture. I think bundles are the way to go. My brother just got us a Rock Band bundle (drums, guitar, microphone, game) for <$200! Costco has a few bundles too.

As far as games, we have Pajama Sam (puzzle), MySims Agents (puzzle), Mario-race knock off, Cooking Mama, Endless Ocean (nausea), plus the games/discs bundled with the hardware above. Our girls like the puzzle games and the bundled games. They would play the dance games if we bought the dance pad, but we barely have time to play what we have.

Oh, and when you’re exhausted and sore from your first day of play and you will be make sure you add on Netflix from the Wii shop. It’s free (but you need a NF account) and streams Instant content beautifully to your TV.

I used the NetFlix feature for a while. It worked well, but was 480p resolution. Not bad for “no added cost”.

I just got a BluRay player with NetFlix capability. I get 720p streaming.

P.S. if you get a band game, my opinion is to get Rock Band over Guitar Hero. The drumset in RB is easier and they seem to have a much better selection of songs.

@RocketGuy Do you have cable internet? Is that how you’re able to stream it?

I have 3MB/s DSL. I connected the Wii via WiFi 802.11g

@Rarebear Yes, I was going to mention the Netflix benefit. You need to have some sort of high speed internet connection and wireless router because the Wii requires a WiFi signal to use Netflix. Also Netflix just introduced a “streaming only” membership that is $7.95 a month. I watch streaming on my Mac, but I think the cost is worth it. I’m going to switch over to that plan as soon as I find the other DVD that I need to return. I’ve actually had the same two DVDs since August of 2009 but I like the streaming feature so much that I’ve kept the account open. Also, in addition to setting up a wireless network in your house, if you want to do the streaming netflix think you will have to set up an account and order the software from them. They have some sort of trial membership so you get to see if you think it’s worth it.

Godspeed my friend! There are so many ways that the the little Wiivil can suck money and time out of one’s life. However, I’m not too worried about you. You seem to be quite well balanced, have your priorities in order and well, you could be in for trouble in the short run but the novelty will run out and you will get your life back in balance in short order. And I think it really will be another, new way to have fun and time with your daughter. Something you can do together. Or something your wife and daughter can do together or all of you. Some people like board games for family time and some are more Wii people maybe.

And you may need to have one of those somewhat awkward conversations with your daughter about why “Daddy sometimes needs some private time with the Wii.” :-) Unless she’s very good about going to bed on time. It’s just that if you do get into some of the zombie games they aren’t suitable for young children; just a lot of blood and body parts flying and splattering everywhere.

@lillycoyote I’m not too worried about me, actually. Like @RocketGuy I have so little spare time at home, that I can’t imagine I’ll be stuck on it for long. My wife, however, is having second thoughts anyway so I’m going to wait for her to pull the trigger.

Don’t tell your wife that Wii Fit has games that make you sweaty.