Wii. While I can’t afford all the new consoles out there, I must slowly take my time to decide which would be the best for me and my son. I’m an old school girl; it started with a paddle, ball and a wall, then scribbling two walls on a piece of paper and zipping my pen across the pad until someone turned my head and directed me to the little console in the middle of the floor. Anyway- I think I pretty much saw the dawn and evolution of gaming where I know the Xbox 360 and PS3 is a matter of preference and weighing your importance of bling *I’m leaning towards the PS3*.
As I’m leaning towards the PS3, in the corner of my eye, I’ve noticed the Wii. A gaming platform I was initially against. It sounded like a poser system. “What serious gaming can you do on a Wii? Please tell me.” It seemed like there’d be a limitation of what you can do and it always seemed like a spendy novelty toy. My friends who boast how wonderful it is try to tell me “Well they have regular controllers you can use…” Yeah- but if there’s a shortness of games I’d find worthwhile, why should I bother getting a console that focuses on stupid games so I can throw in a few RPG’s or strategy games that would cause me to wonder why I purchased the Wii.
I poo-poo’ed it long enough and admittingly I’m starting now to take a second look because it is starting to look interesting, especially with the Wii Fit. I can’t really make it to a gym, I’m not completely motivated to work out at home- but put in some cool gadgets, an interactive gaming feel and I can go for it.
I’m surrounded by an Atari (anniversary edition- no cartridges 
), a PSX, a PS2 and an Xbox… I need an upgrade and I need to focus on ONE (and no- no pc gaming for an option since I noticed my embarrassing graphics card residing in my tower- that I’m not willing to change out just yet).
As I’m sitting and thinking about the choices… along with confessional booth’s, please let me know your opinions (good/bad) on personal experiences with the Wii. My son, who has limited movement, would he be able to play the games at all without having to plug in a mundane controller? Of the three main ones out there- which is the best for the money and gaming experience? Help me take the first step in the latest console generation!
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June 14th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I’m a strong supporter of the Wii. It is innovative and it does have an excellent library of games, its backward compatibility with the game cube brings some of the classics back to life, and its cost is extremely competitive. I support the Wii because the other consoles are more of the same – better graphics. But for me personally, it’s not all about graphics, it’s about gameplay and Nintendo has taken that into a new, unique, and positive direction. Excellent system.
Given that I do not know your sons mobility, I can’t say whether or not he could play. Most games can be played sitting down, and can be played effectively in that way.
June 14th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Heh! I remember you adamantly refusing to consider a wii and getting nearly angry about it.
I also don’t know how nimble the boy’s fingers are, so I couldn’t REALLY say how well the Wii controls will work; there are definitely games that he wouldn’t be able to pull off well (the “look at this controller! isn’t it wacky? let’s wave it around like an idiot!” gimmick games) but there are also plenty of games compatible with the Classic controller (which is largely similar to the SNES controller). I guess it would largely come down to how his fine motor skills are in his hands? Many of the miscellaneous “movement” based controls are based on a shake of the remote or tilting it; there are really very few games that require you to have full range of movement (the Wii Sports games that come with it might be impossible, for example)… If you pick one up, you are more than welcome to borrow any of my discs as long as you promise to treat them with care!
It’s tough for me to really say which would be playable and which wouldn’t — though I think you could probably gauge this by checking which controllers the game requires/supports. If it’s Classic Controller enabled, then you should be able to play it without any motor skills greater than those required to play a non-motion-sensitive console game. If it’s remote/nunchuk, or remote only, then it could be a mixed bag. Using the Wii itself requires an IR connection, too, so switching games or using the Internet browser or what have you requires pointing at the screen (well.. the IR sensor bar anyway).
If I didn’t use mine so damned much, I’d say you could just borrow my console and tell me how it works out. There’s probably someone else around the office that has one that they DON’T play much, though..?
June 15th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Forget about the gaming consoles and get a book. Seriously. In my house, we’ve taken out the television altogether.
June 15th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Good for your house- although I see the computer use is in full swing. I’m inquiring about what console to choose because I enjoy gaming. You are assuming I *only* game. How about I rephrase this? “In addition to talking with friends, walking, reading, writing, drawing, bathing, eating, cooking, driving a car, working, going to the store, sewing, refurbishing stuff, feeding cats, taking pictures, looking at pictures, watching movies, day dreaming, scowling at people, laundry, world domination plans, growing my own tobacco, trying to break world records without success, taunting co-workers, vacuuming, clipping finger nails, seeing how long I can look at the sun until I go blind… what kind of console should I get?”
Wait, perhaps I should do another response: “Book? What a brilliant idea!!! How come I never thought of that??? Read literature that someone else wrote! WONDERFUL! I love having all my stories dictated without a say as to how anything plays out- assuming the writer is pure genius.” For the times I don’t wish to create my own stories- I do enjoy a ‘good’ book, a good film and definitely a decent game. I’m certain if I wrote an article on toilet paper you’d probably boast the same “We don’t use toilet paper in our house, we prefer to use a decent book instead.”
June 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
How dare you suggest using a decent book instead of toilet paper! Use a lousy book instead and save everyone some wasted time.
Hmm…I wonder if that’s why they use that isnanely flimsy paper in the motel gideon bible, to discourage people from “making it useful.”
The hypocrisy of using a computer with an Internet connection to demand that someone throw out their television is impressive.. why get rid of the TV, exactly? Is it because the TV has horrible messages for your children on it? Oops, nope, that’s on the Internet. Is it because you’re trying to be media-aware and restricting your exposure to advertising? Oh, damn, that’s on the Internet too. Is it because you don’t like South Park? Wait, nope, also on the Internet. I give up. What’s the difference, other than that you get bonus repetitive stress injury from too much time at the PC and you just get eyestrain from staring at the TV?
Having said that, I rarely just “watch TV,” but I wouldn’t get rid of the TV itself in a milli.. okay five years. I’ll get rid of it in five years when I buy a better one.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
In our house, we have both a Wii and an XBox360. Other than Rock Band (which my wife also plays), I’m the only one in my family that plays on the 360. However, it has the games that primarily interest me, such as Mass Effect (RPG), Halo/Half Life 2 (shooters), and various sports games.
My son loves the Wii. We’re currently playing Indiana Jones Lego, and have played through a couple of Spongebob games, plus Meet the Robinsons (which I don’t care for but he loves – so we play it
. Since I don’t know your son, I’ll describe mine and let you see how they compare.
He is eight years old and has Cerebral Palsy, primarily fixated in his legs. He has a good range of motion with his arms and hands, although he also has a strong “startle reflex” which makes him bring his arms to his chest pretty often. He has decent vision (with glasses), and is reading at a higher than average level, to the point that he helps “tutor” one of his cousins.
There are some games he can play and some that he can’t. The Wii Sports games are pretty much unplayable for him, because they use the full motion sensitive aspect of the controlers. However, he can pretty much rock on the Wii Play games. Really, he does well on the games that use the Nunchuck for movement and the main WiiMote for the special stuff. The games I’ve listed above all do that, or at least have it as an option.
Also, there are some games that he still enjoys, but can’t play. Super Mario Galaxy uses the controls like I described above, but the gameplay itself is still a little beyond him. In those cases, he acts as my coach and I go do whatever he wants.
Also, one caution about space. The Wii uses a sensor bar that sits on top of the TV. The players need to be about ten feet away for it to pick up the signals from the controllers without weirdness. For most homes that won’t be an issue, but if you live in a tight space it may be a consideration.
While I greatly recommend the Wii to you, I’m not ruling out the XBox either. Money is always a consideration, and the Wii is my vote if you can only afford one. However, my son and I played through Star Wars Lego on the Xbox, and he played through The Incredibles as well. Overall, it has a much stronger library of games than the Wii, and you are more likely to find games that fit your style and taste.
For comparison purposes, I play on the XBox360 at least three times a week, while we play on the Wii once every two weeks. But, when I went to buy Indiana Jones Lego, I gave my son the choice of buying it for the Wii or the XBox360. He chose the Wii.
June 16th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I have a PS3 and a Wii, Honestly though – I pretty much just use the PS3 for watching BluRay’s and streaming music from my PC to my Amplifier. I play on it sometimes. I bought the Wii a month ago, and have played more on it since I bought it – then on my PS3 that I have had for 6 months or more.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Thank you people so far who have given me very useful information (and yes guy two desks over- I did nay say it- and I admitted to it in the post!)
The library part of it does have me taking that pause and the Wii Fit and curiousity also has me considering it. I think as far as my son is concerned (he has very limited range of motion) I can always still get games on the PS2 and use the old Xbox game to satiate his game playing need until the library either expands for the Wii (should I opt for that) or I could bury my curiousity and just get the next generation of the greater engines of concoles. With the HD tv I’m anxious to try out the latest generation of games… that and they’re pretty much tossing us the crap versions of the latest games for those of us who haven’t upgraded yet.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Might I also Add – that I used to have a XBox 360 – sold it after a few weeks.
I am a multitasker kinda person – and already have a dvd player. So having a console that I could really only play games or watch dvd’s on was a waste of space and power. Sold it as soon as I could.
BluRay movies are really impressive (on HD), and as I said the PS3 can stream music/media from my Kubuntu server in my office, play games, surf the net, and fold proteins for folding @ home.
but the Wii is FUN! and yes the Wii is a Uni Tasker, but it gets me off my arse, and the games are also enjoyed by my GF, who is NOT a gamer. So in this case – a Unitasker is OK
June 19th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I think it really all depends on what you’re going for. If you want to be dazzled by graphics, then the PS3 or XBOX360 is the way 2 go. As for gameplay, I think the Wii beats both of those systems hands down.
April 5th, 2009 at 11:46 am
This advice is really going to help, thanks.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Does anyone else have any experience with this?
April 6th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Ha, I don’t agree with it all but nice none-the-less
July 11th, 2009 at 3:29 am
Like to watch Stargate Atlantis episodes and also Lost. I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
June 7th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Love the Toy Story movies, super animation.
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