Which Wii for nearly 7yo?

[TantieTowie]

DS (6.5) is really keen to get a Wii - he started being helpful in August because he'd decided on his own that that was the way to get one for Christmas.

I don't know much about them - but if I do get one, do I need a Wii or a Wii U? And why is this one twice the price of this one? If I get the first, can I then buy older Wii games second hand for it? Or might I just as well, at that point, get a secondhand Wii?

Any advice gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

[GameHub]

++< For ease of reading:
A) Wii U Premium 32GB Pack - Black with Nintendo Land Game (Amazon)
B) Nintendo Wii Console (Blue) with Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Argos) >++

Hi there TantieTowie!

I rather admire the lad. Being helpful to his Mum and with clear goal in mind as to what he would like for Christmas, good for him! :)

The Wii U and the Wii are actually two different consoles, something that Nintendo have not been very good at all at communicating to their customers. Even the gaming press were confused when it first came out So the answer as to why B is a different price to A is because it A is a WiiU, the new console launched in 2012, whilst B is the old console originally launched in 2006. In tech speak, the WiiU is a whole "generation" more modern than the Wii. Without boring you with lots of nerdy numbers, the difference between the two devices is quite substantial. If this is your first Nintendo console for your home, I strongly recommend you go with the WiiU.

With a WiiU, you will get the WiiU Gamepad. This is a flat, Ipad-like controller with a camera, touchscreen and microphone, designed for games that don't suit the physical "flail about" input method. This means that the WiiU is a far more versatile console than the Wii, suited to lots of different kinds of games.Its what makes the WiiU completely unique compared to any other console on the market.

The WiiU is also "backwards compatible" with the Wii, which also means that you will be able to play any games which say on the box that they are made for a Wii, including second-hand games. The Wii will not able to play WiiU games, or use the WiiU Gamepad.

In the WiiU box you linked, you would get the console and gamepad, lots of cables and stands, and free game called Nintendo Land. To make the perfect present, I would recommend you get him another 1 or 2 games for variety. I can advise on what titles are currently popular, or, if you can tell me a little bit about your son's preferences and interests, I can come up with a more tailored list of suggestions. And if you have any more questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer them!

[TantieTowie]

Thanks GameHub - that really helps. He mainly wants to get the Star Wars Lego game, and he's also previously played on Wii Sports Resort too and particularly liked the flying helicopters round bit.

I think I was thinking that I'd buy the WiiU 'for the family' so I can keep control of it (limit playing time) and so there's no arguments about sharing with his sister in the future, and then buy him a couple of games for Christmas... Do you know if they'd need to be Wii games rather than WiiU? Any other suggestions gratefully received...

Thanks for your help.

[GameHub]

The WiiU will run both WiiU and Wii games. WiiU games run on the WiiU gamepad, whilst Wii games need a Wii Remote. In order to play Wii games, you will need a Wiimote (properly called a Wii remote,) but as you are buying a WiiU as a family item, it would be advisable to get a Wiimote per family member anyway, so that you can all join in on games that have a multi player mode. (I was a little surprised that neither of the bundles you linked to had a Wiimote included, that's a bit cheeky of them.)

The Wii Sports Resort game requires a Wii Remote with the Wii MotionPlus hardware expansion. Some copies of the game come bundled with the Wii MotionPlus, but you do need the Wii Remote to attach it to.

[TantieTowie]

Thanks GameHub, really useful advice there.

[GameHub]

Glad to be of help.

[bruffin]

They are not making many new games for the Wii and none of the new lego games will be compatable with Wii, only WiiU

[frazzledbutcalm]

bruffin ... that's shocking! They're doing to the wii what they did to the ds! I'm not happy

[flatmum]

Yep that's exactly what they're doing. I would say anyone buying new now has to get a wiiu or a 3ds as the new games like Lego marvel superheroes will only come out on them. They can't keep supporting nearly 10 y old consoles for ever I guess. saying that, my dc love their wii and are perfectly happy with all their existing Lego games. Problem comes when they want the new one and it's not available..

[flatmum]

Also bear in mind the wiiu is expected to be fairly heavily discounted in the run up to Xmas so it may be wrong waiting a bit (low take up, confusing with the wii, competing against barns new Xbox/play station)

[KatoPotato]

tbf the Wii is a seven year old console. Phasing out games is the norm, think of the NES, Super NES, Megadrive etc?

[bundaberg]

we have a wii u and personally i wouldn't recommend it!!!

it's NOT worth the extra money, the gamepad is a massive faff and the memory is not as much as you think it'll be! we got the 8gb version but once you've actually got everything set up on it you only end up with 3gb, so if you want to download games you end up needing a bloody external storage device.

the wii is great. I wish we'd got a cheap second hand one when our original broke, instead of upgrading to the wii u!

you can also play gamecube games on the wii, which is cool because there were great games for the cube :-D

[bundaberg]

they are still making games for the Wii btw... the new skylanders for example, is available for Wii or Wii U

[KatoPotato]

We love our WiiU! use it all the time, with great games like Pikmin 3 and the Netflix app.

[bundaberg]

the kids do love ours, but I just don't think it's worth the extra money

[makingparentsrealise]

Wii U is a good choice I recommend the deluxe version and it will run more smoother get a external hard drive and your set also a couple of wiimotes.

[NumptyNameChange]

didn't realise salespeople openly frequented and posted on here now!

i'd just get the wii personally, still loads of games and for the age your child is it'll see them through fine till the 'next big thing' in a few years time.

[makingparentsrealise]

Numpty do you no realise that Nintendo made wii games such as Mario Kart Wii have shutted their Internet capabilities down.

[NumptyNameChange]

most people don't want or need their 6yos to be on the internet anyway. perhaps different for op but i wouldn't be allowing my 6yo to connect to the internet.

[makingparentsrealise]

*Know.

www.gengame.net/2013/07/several-wii-servers-shut-down-as-expected/

[makingparentsrealise]

It isn't your browser type Internet it will shut down games that require Internet to play.

[NumptyNameChange]

tbh though hearing that nintendo are screwing over wii owners in such ways i'd be inclined to steer clear of them altogether and go for another brand. they're not the only option for good interactive consoles now.

[OddFodd]

I don't think that's true makingparentsrealise - we got an invite yesterday to compete in an international mario kart game on our wii.

[NumptyNameChange]

you don't need internet to play mario karts unless you want to go on the internet and play strangers.

[NumptyNameChange]

yeah there seems to be some serious spin going on on this thread.

do be aware OP that there will be paid individuals asked to look out for threads like these on forums and post on them.

[makingparentsrealise]

But you are missing the point Nintendo are family friendly most of the time do you want pedophiles stalking your child on PS3 and do you want your child be shown bad language on Xbox.