Pros: Good indoor fun, several different Sports games can be a good workout
Cons: Expensive, especially if you want to add controllers; limited workout potential and lame graphics
The Bottom Line: I've enjoyed the Sports games (except boxing) and got some good workouts, but I'm not sure the Wii has lived up to all the hype, especially with its high price.
Okay, you probably won't find any earth-shattering information in this review. It's what, the 178th review of the Wii on this site? What could I possibly add to the discussion at this point? I think the best I can do is get specific about my personal experience with it, figuring that I can help guide people like me. My experience wouldn't really inform the decision of the 40-year-old ex-football player anyway. He can go hunt around in the other 177 reviews!
My background
I'm not a serious video game player. I can sort of sympathize with how they feel violated by the Wii. I think I felt the same way in high school when celebrities started knitting. And more recently, when I saw an article about steampunk on the front page of the NY Times Arts section. It can be unpleasant to see a specific activity that you're interested in go mainstream. So, gamers, I'm sorry that I'm intruding in your world, and I apologize ahead of time for writing this review with the credentials I have.
I have never owned a video game, let alone a video game console. Other than the occasional fling with online puzzles, I have never played online games. I'm also not particularly well-off. Yet I for some reason stood in line at 6 in the morning to pay $250 for a video game.
I was pretty athletic in high school, mostly focusing on cross country and tennis. A bit later, I got into karate. But I moved away from all my tennis partners, so that skill gradually declined. And then I dislocated a kneecap while running, and had to stop everything. Now, I've gotten completely out of shape, to the point where it seems like a massive undertaking to start karate practice again.
We live in Oregon, so any sports that require dry ground are out of the question for at least half the year. This was what really got us interested in the Wii: the ability to play indoors. For me it was the tennis and boxing, for my husband the baseball -- we each had a particular interest. So we decided we could splurge. This was in March, and I think cabin fever and boredom informed our decision. Now that it's nice out, the Wii is less appealing.
The Buying Experience
If you're looking to buy a Wii, I'd recommend using a site like wiialerts.com or wiitracker.com. The first site will actually send you e-mails or text you when Wiis become available online. This works especially well if you're around a computer all day and can make a purchase quickly. I know a couple of people who had success with this method.
I'd also recommend asking at your local stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, etc. And don't forget retailers like Target and Sears -- they have them too. We actually bought our Wii from Fred Meyer (a chain run by the Kroger company). I just asked the guy in the electronics section how to best get a Wii. He told me they'd be getting a shipment in, and that I should show up at 6:30 AM to get in line. It worked perfectly: 9 people showed up that morning, and there were 11 Wii's available, so everyone got one.
Buy a video game console? Me?
I never imagined I would, but I did. Maybe it was hype, or maybe it was a rational decision about the benefits the Wii could offer. Either way, I ended up with one.
As most people probably know, the Wii console comes with the following:
• Wii Remote
• Wii Remote Nunchuck Attachment
• Wii Sensor Bar
• Wii Sports Video Game
• A/V Cables and AC Adapter
The single remote and nunchuck are enough for one person to play the games; each additional player will need their own Wii remote (and nunchuck, if they want to box). We bought one additional controller; they're available for about $40 new online, but you can find them for under $30 used.
Setup
Setup is extremely easy; I think my grandmother could do it. It was probably 15 minutes after we walked in the door, and the Wii was ready to go. The one sticking point was the television: we had to elevate ours on some shelves to get it nearer to eye level. This is a rather important point that we hadn't thought of before: most TV's are set at eye level of a person who is sitting down, but if you're playing Wii, you want the screen to be higher. This wouldn't be such an annoyance for someone who had either a really big TV, or a dedicated, shall we say, "Wii-V." (sorry)
The graphics are generally lame. They remind me of playing Super Mario Brothers in grade school. But I didn't buy it for the graphics. They do what they have to, which is provide a visual representation of what you're doing with the controllers.
Home Screen
This is where you navigate to get to the game you want to play. You can set the Wii up for Wi-Fi access, so you can do things like go online to check the weather, too.
The first thing you'll probably do is create your "Mii," the avatar you'll use in the games. This is kind of fun, although some of the facial features are pretty weird, and it would have been nice if they had more options. We did ourselves, of course, and later went back and created Miis for our pets, Audrey Hepburn, The Dude from the Big Lebowski, and several Red Sox players. (In case you're wondering, you can get a pretty rabbity looking Mii by using the ponytailed hairstyle for ears, and the facial wrinkles for whiskers.)
Wireless Access and Power
The fact that the Wii can hook to your wireless internet is nice, I suppose. We've had it for several months, and all I've done is check the weather forecast with it. I'd just rather use an actual computer!
One downside of the wi-fi is how much power it draws. There was a short article about household appliance power use in a recent issue of Popular Mechanics; it said that if you leave the Wii's wireless connection active, it draws about 10 watts of power; turning it off reduces the draw to 1.3 Since the average cost of electricity in the US is about $0.10/kWh, this means that over the course of a year, turning the wireless off saves about $7.50 (depending on how much you play). Not a huge savings, but I did the math so I thought I'd put that out there! In case you're wondering, when the Wii is on it consumes about 17 watts.
The Controllers
The Wii remote takes two AA batteries, and if you're going to play a lot, you should invest in some rechargeables. The batteries that came with the console lasted us about a month, and since then we've just been swapping our rechargeables.
There was an article in Make Magazine with instructions for making a kinetic remote control. Basically you retrofit your remote into a Faraday generator that you can power by shaking it. This would seem to be a great solution for the Wii remote, but I'm worried about throwing off the balance and ergonomics of the remote. If I see a cheap remote for sale, though, I'll buy it and give it a shot. I don't know how relevant that is to anyone's buying decision, although I imagine the gamer and Maker crowds might overlap a bit.
The nunchuck doesn't need batteries; it just draws power from the Wii remote.
Both controllers have motion sensor functions, of course. That's the whole point of the Wii! But I found that the nunchuck isn't as good as the regular remote -- see the discussion of boxing below. They both have good ergonomics, and are easy to use.
The Games
The console comes with Wii Sports, which includes tennis, baseball, bowling and boxing. The first three are actually pretty good (I'll get to boxing in a minute).
Tennis is surprisingly responsive to actual tennis swing movements. I'm ambidextrous, and in real life my left-handed backhand shots tend to hit the net, while my right-handed backhands pop up. This is reflected in my tennis playing on the Wii (although the game is designed so you don't make many errors). The tennis serve motion isn't as good; you can generate a rocket-like really hard serve by flicking your wrist, but it's very hard to get the same result by actually making a strong serving motion.
My husband wins in baseball and bowling, so I don't play those as much. :) But both of them are good fun, although it's harder to get a good workout; for that, tennis wins. You can exercise your throwing arm, of course, but with tennis you can actually get some cardio work.
We were both terrifically sore after the first day trying the Wii. It really felt like I had just played a lot of tennis. Over time, my tennis muscles developed as they never had before over the winter. The Wii was especially nice during busy times like finals, when I couldn't necessarily make time for a major fitness activity but needed a quick workout. And I think my throwing motion has improved, simply from practicing it in the baseball game.
The big drawback to the Wii is boxing with the nunchuck. I thought this would be my favorite thing, and would be a good way to get me back into karate. Unlike the other sports, though, boxing is not responsive to real-world movements. The system is particularly unresponsive to punches with the nunchuck. I've read other people's hints about how to get good scores in boxing, and they're basically descriptions of the unnatural ways you need to punch. The key to getting your punches to register is not to punch, but rather to flick the remote and nunchuck with your wrists, as if you're in a squealing girly fight. I find the only benefit to boxing is my heart rate goes up immediately because I get all angry at the controller.
When we bought the additional controller, it was part of a package with "Wii Play." This has a number of mini games that require use of the Wii remote, but aren't very active. You can do things like ride a cow, go skeet shooting, play table tennis, etc. It's a nice little add-in, but nothing terribly exciting.
Recommendations
I would not under any circumstances encourage the Wii flippers by paying more than market price. Just be patient, look around, and you'll be able to get a console from a retailer -- which means you could return it, and you have a receipt in case anything goes wrong. Of course, I'm not even sure I'd buy the console. At the time of purchase I hadn't really factored in that I'd need to buy an extra controller, and more batteries. That immediately kicks the cost up to $300. If you have a big family, this could be a huge purchase. I actually happened to see a used Wii being sold on Craigslist the other day, for something like $225. While this is not cheap, it's at least encouraging for future purchasers who may not want to pay retail.
Of course, this is still less than membership in a health club, and it has the convenience of being in your house. We have gotten some good use out of the Wii, and my arms are definitely in better shape than they were. I'm just not sure we've gotten $250 worth of use out of it.
If you're really into video games, then you probably already have the Wii! If you're not, I think this console is a very accessible entry point into the gaming world. It's nice if you don't have much space, although you do need quite a bit of arm room. (I tend to get really into the tennis game, and move around as if I'm on a court.)
I'm really on the fence as to whether this purchase was a good decision for my financial situation. Of course, I can be extremely frugal, so I think that about most major purchases! If you have the disposable income and are looking for an in-home upper body workout, then you'd probably enjoy the Wii. And if you're looking for a video game console, then this may be the best deal, since they're so expensive in general. It can also be a good social activity; I can picture it doing well in a dorm room. If you're on a limited budget, though, I'd weigh other options first. I've enjoyed it and gotten some benefit, but nothing near the original hype.
P.S.
I also bought the Wii Fit, and my review describes the similar pros and cons to it. My disillusionment with both systems is quite recent, so I'll update the reviews if it turns out that it was just the result of nice weather, or a bad mood. Right now, though, I'm thinking about the other things I could have done with that $400!
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