Like many people, I have been looking for a Wii at a good price for years. I must admit I was one of those people who stood in line two years ago for a Wii console. I bought it for $269.00 including tax, only to sell it on ebay for $575.00. I made a quick three hundred bucks for my troubles. Finally, this was the year. The price for the Wii went down, Walmart had a special, and we have a relative who works in Walmart. The cost of the Wii (with Wii sports and one controller) was $199.00 and Walmart gave us a fifty dollar gift card when we bought the system. To sweeten the deal, my brother in law is a manager, and he saved us another ten percent. I believe we paid $192.00 including tax and received the fifty dollar gift card. Not a bad deal. As far as the Wii system, it is a great, and fun system. It doesn't have the graphics of the Xbox-360 or the Playstation 3. However, the games blow the other two systems away. The Wii has a huge variety of family games to choose from. The favorite this year seems to be the new remake of Super Mario Bros. I got another special on this game this past Christmas. (I bought two copies through Best Buy with my American Express card. I paid one hundred dollars for the two copies. I received forty dollars back through American Express wish. Sold the second copy on Ebay for fifty five dollars. I nearly got our copy for free.) The Wii system is fun for all games and it is addictive. I am a war game enthusiast, but I also enjoy playing the free Wii sports games with my whole family. My wife doesn't play video games, but she now plays games on the Wii. My children love video games at three and five years old. They love the Wii system and are completely hooked on the new Mario Bros game. The problem is they fight over who's turn it is to play the game. Even after we bought another controller, the children fight over the games. This is where I find the problem with the Wii.
The Wii is addictive to both adult and children alike. I believe more in children than adults because the games are more family based games. My three year old daughter will throw a fit because her five year old brother is playing the games better than her. My son will throw a fit because his sister is throwing a fit. I'm sure you know the story. I find you have to limit the children'splay and put down some strict ground rules if you don't want to deal with an all out war. I know this is true with all video game systems, but even more so with the Wii. I suggest if you have children, limit their play, and set ground rules for them to follow. I don't find myself becoming addicted to the games because as I said I am a war game enthusiast. Even though the Wii offers war games, I would never think about playing war games on the Wii. The graphics are more important to me when I play my games. As far as the exercise. I agree with most people, the Wii forces you to exercise. When you play the sports games, you have to get up off the couch to play them. The games force you to move your body enough to cause you to sweat. I can't tell you how good the workout is, but it is a workout. I workout all the time, this exercise (on the Wii) is lighter, but i'm sure it can still help you keep in shape. When I play my games on the Playstation 3, I spend ninety minutes walking on my treadmill. This is much better exercise, but most people don't exercise (like I do) when I play video games.
The Wii system seems to be just as sturdy as the rest of the newer video game systems. Our family have played for too many hours in a row before without any problems. However, we have a house in the Philippines, and their electricity is different. The house is on 220 and it fried the fuse in the plug. We had the fuse replaced and they hooked the system through a portable transformer (seven dolar plug) to prevent any more fuse frying.
Yes, you can buy the old fashioned games through the Wii store. Yes, they are cheap. However, remember these games are old, therefore, the graphics are not too pretty. Galaga and Donkey Kong Country have decent graphics, but not as good as the modern games. If you don't mind blurry, buy them, or wait to they remake them with some more modern graphics. You can also play most variety or Nintendo games on your Wii, buy the original controllers, and hook them into the side of the system. As for me and my house, we will stick (not exclusively, but mostly) to the newer games. We will wait for you Nintendo to remake some of our favorite old games for the Wii.
One last note. Enjoy this system for all the fun you can get out of it. If you find you want to pull your wife's hair out because its her turn (and not yours) it may be time for you to take a break.
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