Nintendo Wii

[Jim]

Has anyone purchased one of these gaming systems for yourself or children, and if so, what are you initial impressions?

Utilizing the controller with all of the hand motions and such, does it overly complicate games?

[gberardi]

Originally Posted by Jim

Has anyone purchased one of these gaming systems for yourself or children, and if so, what are you initial impressions?

Utilizing the controller with all of the hand motions and such, does it overly complicate games?

I have not purchased one yet, but I have played it. And I think the only people who will find it overly complicated will be experienced game players who have to get used to physically moving a device as opposed to hitting the control pad or a button.

People who don't normally play games (the target market of the Wii) will find it natural. I remember playing the Atari 2600 with my family, and people were moving quite dynamicly with the controller even though doing so had no effect. It is almost natural to move the controller in the direction you want your avatar to go. The Wii controller just makes it relevant.

[Jim]

What games did you play? Anything worth purchasing right away along with the system?

The Zelda game looks intriguing, but I've never been much for long drawn out RPGs.

[Strangemagik]

My husband informed me we will be getting one.

I'm not much of a video game person and think the controller will be hard to get used to. Who knows. I don't play that often anyway.

If/when I'm playing a game it is The Sims 2 on my PC.

[Jerigan]

My sister purchased one on launch day and I played it a good bit when I went home this weekend. I'm a long time gamer so it was a little weird at first to have controller movements affecting things but it doesn't take long to get used to (5-10 minutes for me).

The Wii came with a disc labeled WiiSports which has five sports games, Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing. Each of which have their own appeal and were enjoyable but I have to say Tennis was a blast. Each game can be played multiplayer if you buy more controllers, again Tennis was a blast

I also played the Zelda game for about an hour (long enough to get through the intro/tutorial). It was quite entertaining and I would have gone longer but I had to head back to school. The new controller gives a brand new approach to combat which I thoroughly enjoyed. Probably the most fun/engaging combat I have seen.

The Wii isn't a powerhouse for graphics so if you have a large HDTV (ours is 54" i think) you may notice some pixelation and whatnot. The graphics were just something I noticed when I loaded it up at first because it is something I've gotten used to looking for in games lately. After playing for more than a couple minutes though, I completely forgot about them.

The gameplay is very impressive and engaging. I haven't had so much fun in a game for quite a while. The controls are very intuitive and shouldn't take long for most people to learn.

Utilizing the controller with all of the hand motions and such, does it overly complicate games?

I found it actually simplified the games a fair bit. It is very intuitive and feels very natural. There are only a couple of buttons to use which nearly always have a finger laying over them so there is no need to really remember where buttons are like in other consoles, you simply remember which finger needs to go down.

One final thing to note: It will use your muscles. After about 4 hours of play I discovered a small muscle in my forearm that I never knew about. My girlfriend on the other hand had a majorly sore arm the following day after about 1.5 hours of intense Tennis. So while it is fun, I recommend not going too wild with it at first if you don't normally do a good amount of arm movements.

Hmm... I think this is the longest post I've written on a forum lol

[Lotus]

I see repetitive use injuries in our collective future.

It's a risk I'm willing to take... for a Wii.

[Jehosephat]

@Jerigan
Did you find yourself mostly flicking your wrist or were you standing making full arm motions? I'm particularly curious about the sports games.

[Jerigan]

I found myself doing both, depending on how enthusiastic I felt like being. I also switched depending on what muscles were tiring. Wrist flicks to give my shoulder a break and full motions to give my forearm a break.

[Wanderer]

I may well be getting one for Christmas, they really do look like they are going to be absolutely huge.

[Dave Kaminski]

I'm so excited to get it, but I feel it will be more like an arcade system that sits in the corner than a frequented game console. The effort will make it a fun gimmick and not an everyday gaming experience, IMHO. I'm really looking forward to it though!

[Markus74]

3 more days and I probably will finally have one!!!

[ztigerb]

i've had a Wii since launch, and i must say as a long time gamer, this system has provided the most fun i've ever had, especially with Wii Sports tennis. I played it with 2 other people and we just went nuts, its so much fun, oh man, what a great system.

[Markus74]

Originally Posted by ztigerb

i've had a Wii since launch, and i must say as a long time gamer, this system has provided the most fun i've ever had, especially with Wii Sports tennis. I played it with 2 other people and we just went nuts, its so much fun, oh man, what a great system.

Yeah, the first accessory that I will buy is a second game pad!

[toomuchtoabsorb]

I got to play one this Saturday at a friend's house, and I must say that if I could get my hands on one of them, I'd pay up in a heartbeat.
Wii Sports was great fun, though Baseball was really hard (we were four there, and all of us though the same. it might be because baseball isn't a common sport here in Sweden.) Bowling was fun, and Tennis was superb.
He had Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as well, but wouldn't let us play. However, I was still awed by it. I MUST have it!