Buiying a Wii - need help with what it all means...

[kittens]

I've never used a wii so its all so confusing!!

I'm buying one for my DD who is turning 8. Please can someone explain what a nunchuck, wii remote and motions sensor plus is?

Also if I buy a bundle with a game do I need to buy additional bits - if so what?

What games could you recommend for a very girly 8 year old?

Thanks from hopelessly confused mum....

A nunchuck attaches to the standard remote controller so that you can control the game with both hands (ie in boxing) and also has a joystick. The motion plus sensor adds on to the standard remote and picks up the player's movements more accurately (ie Sports Resort pack). Packages usually come with one set of relevant bits - one remote is standard with the Wii itself, one motion plus remote sensor with Sprts Resort, and if you buy Mario Kart game for example you get one "steering wheel" but would need another to go head to head. dd likes the dance games - there's a new one coming out in October.

My top tip with regards to a Wii is not to let your 2yo fill the cd slot with coins. It completely fucks it, and you are left with an expensive paperweight with various ugly, useless expensive accessories.

I'd actually advise getting a DSi instead, more games of a higher quality and less shovelware and casual crap.

The Wii console comes with a Wii-mote the controller that you wave around, which has a few face buttons and a D-pad on it. they also come with a Nunchuck that is an additional controller that plugs into the wii-mote for two handed play, it features an additional joystick and two extra buttons and a tilt sensor, it's needed for some games. and they come with the Sensor bar it's a wireless system the sensor bar sits atop the TV and detects the movement of the wii-mote.

Most bundles now also feature the Motion+ which is an additional gyroscope attachment that plugs into the bottom of the wii-mote to increase the accuracy of the motions it can detect, hardly any games use the thing.

There is no such thing as relevant bits with the exception of the optional control pad known as the classic controller which can be used on some games as an alternative to the Wii-mote and Nunchuck and the dance mats the only other things around are mainly pointless plastic shells for the wii-mote that are nothing more then a set of pointless grips, they are not needed to play any game.

Point of the matter is everything you need is in the box with the console.

yes, don't worry about the motion plus, as few games use it, primarily sporting games. only thing you might want that's not always included is a second wii-mote. It's pretty easy to set up btw even for the non- technically minded like me. shop around for the best deals - even if you aren't interested in free games often included in a bundle, they may have a decent resale value on ebay or at CEX or a game shop.

PS - advantage of DS over WII is that it doesn't tie up a television screen!