What do Wii need?

December 15, 2007 8:19 AM

We bought a Wii for the kids for Christmas and we're trying to find out what accessories are musts.

It comes with the Wiimote, nunchuck, and Wii Sports. We're considering buying Super Mario Galaxy (for the ten-year-old) and MySims (for the seven-year-old). What other accessories do we need? Another Wiimote (or two)? Another nunchuck (or two)? A charger?

I've looked through other AskMe questions about Wii and found some other good game suggestions, but any other advice is welcomed. The ten-year-old loves Zelda, Mario, and adventure/mini-game stuff; the seven-year-old loves Animal Crossing and NintenDogs (and princesses and girly stuff galore).

posted by cooker girl to sports, hobbies, & recreation (22 comments total)

At least one extra Wiimote/nunchuck combo is essential with two kids. Many of the best games for the Wii are multiplayer. Might as well purchase Wii Play ($50 for a Wiimote + minigames, vs. $40 for a Wiimote alone).
posted by Rock Steady at 8:24 AM on December 15, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

I'm assuming you have two kids.

Getting another Wiimote would be a good idea; more if you want to be able to play with them at the same time. At least have 2 though, because games are a lot more fun with 2 people playing at once. If more people want to play, they can pass off the controllers in many of the games (in Wii Sports, anyway).

If it were me, I'd get them the console and an extra Wiimote, and let them know that you'll go to a store with them and let them both pick out a game of their choosing. Wii Sports will be plenty of fun for them on Christmas day, and they can go soon after and get their own game. Of course, that only works if you have a nearby store with a good selection of games.
posted by DMan at 8:26 AM on December 15, 2007

You'll want a total of four wiimotes and nunchucks. We really like our Nyko charger. It charges two wiimotes at a time, and so we always have wiimotes at the ready. I'd love parents to play more games with their kids.

We love Rayman Raving Rabbids and are hoping that someone nice buys us version 2 for Christmas (if not, we will buy it ourselves...)
posted by advicepig at 8:27 AM on December 15, 2007

In Wii Sports and Wii Play, I think that only Boxing requires the nunchuck (and players can't really take turns in this one!). So far I've gotten away with two wiimotes, just one nunchuck, and one gamecube controller--either the wiimote or the gamecube controller works for most Virtual Arcade titles.

Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario are both good Mario games.

If you don't think your kids are too jaded to like older titles, then consider getting some Points for Virtual Console games -- $20 will get you from 2 to 4 games depending what you buy.
posted by jepler at 8:40 AM on December 15, 2007

I would suggest at least two Wii-mote/nunchuck combos. If you want to spend the money I would also get two extra Wii-motes to go along with them so the four of you can play Wii Tennis and the wide range of other four player games you'll come across. When my family was on vacation this summer and we had a blast with Wii Tennis and Rayman's Raving Rabids. Many of the four player games use only the Wii-mote, so four nunchucks wouldn't be necessary.

As far as games go.. it sounds like you have most of them covered. Rayman's Raving Rabid's is pretty fun, and Mario Party works well as a group game.

Have fun!
posted by adustum at 8:41 AM on December 15, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'd definitely recommend 4 wiimotes if you want group games, and you will with Sports, and if you decide on something like Mario Party. But I haven't seen the benefit yet of 4 nunchucks (but I'm far from being an expert). Of the games I've seen and played, 2 nunchucks is useful for Boxing on the Sports game, and 1 for Zelda.

And seconding Play. I've gotten bored of the games, but my kids haven't. And it's a good tool for learning the Wii.
posted by artifarce at 8:43 AM on December 15, 2007

If you're looking for a fun, simple game for the kids, Wario Party (or whatever it's called) is really great.
posted by scabrous at 8:56 AM on December 15, 2007

Nth-ing two pairs of the Wiimote/Nunchuck combination, and an additional two Wiimotes.

I'm expecting Mario Galaxy for Christmas, so I can't offer an opinion on that game. I do have Zelda and Super Paper Mario and they are both excellent. I'm sure that (from your original question) your ten year old will like either.

I also want to recommend Mario Strikers Charged (IGN Review). Strikers is probably the best multiplayer game on the Wii right now, and not too many people seem to know about it. The learning curve may be a *little* steep, but once you turn down the difficulty and realize what fun it is to shake the Wiimote to whack the other team off the ball, you'll become enthralled. Each player does need a Wiimote *and* a Nunchuck, so keep that in mind.

Congrats on finding a Wii; they're still extremely hard to obtain this holiday season. Your kids will really enjoy the system.
posted by Third at 8:58 AM on December 15, 2007

By the way, if anyone is still looking for a Wii I just scored one online yesterday at Circuit City. They were on sale for something like ten minutes. I created a free account at wiialerts.com and they sent a text message to my cell every time the Wii was available either online or at any of ten area stores. I missed a few, but eventually it worked!
posted by LarryC at 10:04 AM on December 15, 2007

We have the 2 wiimotes and nunchucks, and for x-mas we're getting a controller so we can play Gamecube games on the Wii. If you don't already have one, that can extend your gaming experience. We're finding that we can pick up Gamecube games nice and cheap, too!
posted by Biblio at 10:08 AM on December 15, 2007

Gamecube controllers (at least 2) & Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart Double Dash, at the very least. Wii's will play Gamecube games, and these two are some of the best ever.

If you have a HDTV, get component cables so you can play in higher def.

I agree with having at least 2 Wiimotes + nunchuks. They'll come in handy, and rechargeable batteries + charging station lessens battery costs.
posted by knowles at 10:10 AM on December 15, 2007

I guess maybe everyone has one by now, but if you don't have one you'll want a wireless router to get to the shopping channel, updates, let you kids email/trade stuff with friends who have Wiis, etc.
posted by sevenless at 10:25 AM on December 15, 2007

My 8 year old loves some of the Gamecube games you can purchase on the Wii online store, with a borrowed old Gamecube controller. It's nice to get a $10 game every once in a while rather than waiting months for him to save enough money to get a new Wii game. And a game at Blockbuster is almost that much for a 5 day rental.
posted by shinynewnick at 10:43 AM on December 15, 2007

If you don't have a wireless router and don't have a need for one outside of your Wii, consider the Nintendo USB Wi-Fi Adapter. Requires a PC.
posted by ALongDecember at 11:01 AM on December 15, 2007

Best GC game ever: Viewtiful Joe

A wireless router is as cheap as the USB adapter, btw.

You definitely want two nunchucks, and at the very least get an S-Video cable. It will eliminate the annoying dot crawl, although it doesn't improve the color reproduction all that much.

The one thing you must absolutely get are Eneloop or other hybrid NiMH batteries. (I think Rayovac also makes some) I haven't bothered with a Nyko charger, but we don't use the Wii enough to make it any more convenient than taking the batteries out and charging them conventionally since they last so long, unlike alkalines.
posted by wierdo at 11:41 AM on December 15, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks to everyone; all these answers are very helpful. I think what we'll do is buy another Wiimote and a nunchuck and let the grandparents buy any others and the charging station.
posted by cooker girl at 11:53 AM on December 15, 2007

As a Wii owner for over a year now, I would strongly encourage waiting on getting more than two remotes / nunchucks until you feel that you're wanting them. A lot of party games have you passing the controller around, and few multiplayer games require the nunchuck to be attached. Start with two controllers (I recommend Rock Steady's suggestion of buying Wii Play for the second) and see if that's enough.

For anyone still on the search, I strongly recommend using AZ Grabber. I was able to get one as a gift for a friend through this site - there's a video on there that explains how it works.
posted by chimmyc at 1:35 PM on December 15, 2007

If you're going to download a lot of classic games, then a couple of the classic controllers are very nice to have, you can generally get by with gamecube controllers, but then you're tethered to the box. And lets face it, the gamecube controller isn't really the best controller ever.
posted by jjb at 4:20 PM on December 15, 2007

Get a data projector, a couple of infrared pens, this guy's software, and turn your Wii into an interactive smartboard.
posted by flutable at 6:21 PM on December 15, 2007

The wiimote chargers have had their share of problems, including over heating and fusing the battery inside the wiimote.

I've been using rechargeable batteries for a time with no issue. I'd recommend buying twice the number of batteries you need (ie, 8 batteries for 2 wiimotes) so you can be sure to always have a set of fully charged batteries on hand.

Have fun!
posted by OrangeDrink at 6:28 PM on December 15, 2007

If you decide to pick up some Gamecube games (and I strongly suggest you do) have a look at the excellent wireless Gamecube Wavebird Wireless Controller. After playing with wireless controllers, using a standard wire-bound controller will feel like being in the stone age. Have fun!
posted by Scoo at 10:11 AM on December 16, 2007

Get at least another Wii Mote and Nun-chuck. Get the Wii Play for an extra $10 or so, it has both, as well as some more games that do not seem to be available by themselves. If you have lot's of people, you can max out with 4 Wii Motes & 4 Nunchucks (1 pair with the console, another with WiiPlay, and maybe two more pairs off the shelf)
posted by Wismi at 11:10 AM on December 20, 2007