Anybody bought a Wii?

[Chesspiece_face]

I just cannot get over that ridiculously annoying Wii controler. I don't want to have to swing piece of plastic around to get stuff accomplished on the screen. I want to sit on my couch or chair and just play. That is it. Oh why oh why have you done this to me Nintendo.

have you actually used the controller or are you just being curmudgeonly about new stuff? there is no reason you wouldn't be able to just sit on your couch or chair and play. most of the advertising material with the controller is exagerated and not required to play. you don't need to do a full swing to hit a ball, just flick your wrist. although i would warn you that if you are going to invite friends over to play and then not go through the embarassing motions you will be dismissed as a bad sport.

[Munkay]

although i would warn you that if you are going to invite friends over to play and then not go through the embarassing motions you will be dismissed as a bad sport.

Not if you're this guy's friend.



First broken TV casualty to be reported. Check it out over at SA

:P

Cheers,

Munk

[Munkay]

A virtual conductor program would be awesome... You could conduct a virtual symphony with your little wand. The music would swell, slow, speed up, etc, with your movements, and you could point to various secions of the symphony like if you wanted a cello solo or something.

Er, probably a stupid idea. Never mind. Younger people these days have no music appreciation.

The Museum of Science in Boston has one of these (not a Wii, a motion sensored conductor baton). I'll warn you Doc, it gets boring really fast. And I even know how to conduct music. Nothing's a good substitute for the real thing :P

Cheers,

Munk

PS. The more I think about it, it might be at the Childrens Museum near South Station. Hmm.

[Chesspiece_face]

Not if you're this guy's friend.

First broken TV casualty to be reported. Check it out over at SA

:P

Cheers,

Munk

although the breaking of the wrist strap is unfortunate, and could be manufacturing error, I attribute this to user error. after playing "pretty much nonstop for... 24 hours" it's obvious that responsibility has been thrown out the window. or more appropriately, thrown through the tv.

edit: I also should add that I do have a Wii, I have played the bowling game that they claim is the culprit, and for them to be making motions in that game that would both break the wrist strap and damage the tv to that extant they must have been acting like fools.

edit 2: not that i take issue with acting like a fool. it is one of the best things going for the Wii, but common sense should decrease instances like this to umm lets say 0.

[DeeBye]

Not if you're this guy's friend.

First broken TV casualty to be reported. Check it out over at SA

:P

Cheers,

Munk

Haha, I read that thread this morning and laughed my ass off :D

[Rhydderch Hael]

Not if you're this guy's friend.



First broken TV casualty to be reported. Check it out over at SA

:P

Cheers,

Munk

Now, that's what I call interactive feedback!

I still don't know about the swordplay aspect of the Wii-mote. It may work all fine and dandy if your idea of swordplay involves duelling in white stockings and powdered wigs like a stuffy fop. I mean, who fights with their sword hand leading in the stance? Cultured gentlemen who are living well outside the Dark Ages? Thou art a witch, I say!

How will the Wii-mote interpret the travel and orientation of a Zwerchau, I wonder? Imagine holding the controller in a batter's stance in front of your right shoulder, buttons facing in towards you. Now imagine, while using the same grip on the controller, holding it near the left side of your head with the buttons facing downwards. Now, imagine the transition from the first position to the second position, while stepping forward with your right foot to switch your leading leg in order to stay on target. Basic zwerchau (cross-strike): protects high while bringing edge and point to bear against your opponent's left openings. Will any such game be able to interpret that motion, or mark your strike being made on the short edge of the blade instead of the long edge? (you're essentially twisting the sword in travel)

[DeeBye]

Here's a proper reply to Roland now that I have some time to do so.

Well then, you obviously won't need to worry much about wearing down your Wii. I wouldn't make DVD playback a make-or-break choice in terms of a gaming console, but that's me. Ultimately, it's your money, your family, and your time and involvement. If you feel that DVD playback is enough to avoid getting a console, by all means, wait. However, if you can live without it for the time being, especially since it would appear that it's a software solution, and so can be patched in in the future, you might be better served getting one sooner.

I've already stated in this thread that DVD playback isn't necessary. It's more of a "it would be cool if" instead of "I really need this feature!" I have enough DVD players as it is.

There's always an Xbox 360 to consider. Yes, it's more money, and probably not as kid-friendly as a Wii, but it will do DVDs, and with an add-on, HD-DVDs.

I don't really want an Xbox 360. It's been out for over a year, and there is exactly one game that interests me and I already have the PC version of it. HD-DVD is a non-feature for me because I don't yet have a HDTV.

The Xbox 360 isn't just "more money", it's a LOT more money. One of the major reasons I am interested in a Wii is due to price, but even if the Xbox 360 dropped to the same price as the Wii, I'd still prefer the Wii.

Not to mention Live Arcade, which does have some old classics, and games that anyone, including your son, can enjoy.

Live Arcade games are nice and all, but when I was explaining to my wife how we could buy NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, and Turbografx-16 games and play them on a Wii for between $5-$10, her eyes really perked up and warmed to the idea of buying a Wii. Before we were married and just dating, we used to rent SNES and Genesis games and stay up all night playing them together. We'd hit the local Blockbuster after school, pick out Breath of Fire or Shining Force, and then go home and put on a pot of coffee and play games until the sun came up :wub:

But I know that was not the object of your inquiry, and I don't expect you to change your mind. Personally, if I didn't have a 360, I might be tempted to get a Wii first. But, then, it'll be much harder to get one over a 360, and although I own VERY few games on my 360 (cost being factor #1, limited selection being #2), I have gotten plenty of mileage out of my system, and am comfortable enough with the monetary investment I have put into it. Live Arcade has greatly expanded my gaming library and my enjoyment of the system, and serves as a solid interim solution between major game releases. But, then, I'm probably a bit stronger gamer-at-heart than you, so having multiple consoles would fit with my tastes and desires more than yours, I am guessing. And, I don't have any children to worry about, so I can afford to base my decisions based solely on what I want out of the system.:)

The child factor is a big one for me. When you're a parent, it always is. My son LOVES watching me play PC games. Any time I'm playing something new, he pulls up a chair beside me and asks 50 questions about it.

"What new game is this daddy?"
"What is your new game called daddy?"
"Is that guy a good guy or a bad guy daddy?"
"If I see bad guys, I'll see them and I'll tell you I see them"
"Don't go in there daddy it's dangerous"
"Does your guy have friends daddy?"
"I like your new game daddy"

It's just unfortunate that most PC games are way too complicated for him. He can't read yet, and can't use the keyboard for anything other than typing in his name. He's great at using the mouse to point and click at things. The Wii's motion-sensing simplistic remote and the impending abundance of kiddie games is a HUGE feature for me.

-snip-
A PS2 may finally be in the works for me, doubly so if they cut the price again (although I doubt they will). I'll probably pick up a silver one, just to be different.:)

I speak as someone who works in a store that sells PS2s - everyone is buying the silver one now. If you want to be different, buy the black one.

Let us know how your decision goes, and if you do choose a Wii, what you think of it. I'm eager to have some more hands-on experience from someone, as media outlets generally suck for reviews and previews.

I'll definitely do that. A good friend of mine bought a Wii on launch day and is really happy with it so far. The only hiccup is that she has had trouble connecting to the online Wii thingamajig. It connected to her wireless router just fine, but she can't download updates or anything from the online Wii shamozzle. We both figure that it's due to the Wii farflugen being overwhelmed. She'll try again in a day or so and report back to me.

The bad news is that there is a possibility that my store won't get any more Wiis prior to Christmas:(

[Chesspiece_face]

I'll definitely do that. A good friend of mine bought a Wii on launch day and is really happy with it so far. The only hiccup is that she has had trouble connecting to the online Wii thingamajig. It connected to her wireless router just fine, but she can't download updates or anything from the online Wii shamozzle. We both figure that it's due to the Wii farflugen being overwhelmed. She'll try again in a day or so and report back to me.

The inability of the Wii to connect through wireless routers is a reported issue although i'm not sure if it is all wireless routers in general, only certain routers, or only certain production numbers of the Wii that are affected. keep an eye on the usual sources as i'm sure more info about this will roll out over the next week. Nintendo may have to ship firmware disks out to game stores etc. Their original plan was to do so with many of the launch systems but they were able to get a great majority of the early production units updated with the newest firmware for launch.

[NiteFox]

The inability of the Wii to connect through wireless routers is a reported issue although i'm not sure if it is all wireless routers in general, only certain routers, or only certain production numbers of the Wii that are affected. keep an eye on the usual sources as i'm sure more info about this will roll out over the next week. Nintendo may have to ship firmware disks out to game stores etc. Their original plan was to do so with many of the launch systems but they were able to get a great majority of the early production units updated with the newest firmware for launch.

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if it's down to incompatability with routers. I know it's the case with DS wi-fi (Though in my case I use the Nintendo Wi Fi dongle, sometimes tempremental, but that usually has something to do with the bizarre software rot of the drivers and connection software that forces a fairly painless reinstall (would be completely painless if I had the sense of downloading the latest software and keeping it somewhere safe).

Incidentally, it appears that the Wii will be able to connect to the Internet using the DS Wi Fi connector. Pretty useful information for those of us who don't even own a wired router and prefer to connect our PCs directly into the phone line.

[Mithrandir]

Physical activity. Scary.

If I want physical activity I will go outside and play football. Labeling the Wii controller as "physical activity" is a stretch enough as it is... it's just plain horrible.

have you actually used the controller or are you just being curmudgeonly about new stuff?

Yeah, I used it and found it to infinitely annoying.

[the Langolier]

Not if you're this guy's friend.

First broken TV casualty to be reported. Check it out over at SA

So some guy throws the Wiimote at his friend's 60" TV and now he is suing Nintendo for damages!

[NiteFox]

So some guy throws the Wiimote at his friend's 60" TV and now he is suing Nintendo for damages!

And aside from the broken strap, the Wiimote appeared to be undamaged!

I'm suddenly reminded of a video where a Gamecube was generally abused (including being dragged along behind a car on a rough country road) and yet still managed to operate perfectly.

Curse Nintendo for making their consoles and accessories sturdily enough to survive a tsunami...

[Urza-DSF]

And aside from the broken strap, the Wiimote appeared to be undamaged!

I'm suddenly reminded of a video where a Gamecube was generally abused (including being dragged along behind a car on a rough country road) and yet still managed to operate perfectly.

Curse Nintendo for making their consoles and accessories sturdily enough to survive a tsunami...

Bah, Nintendo has been doing that since the days of the Gameboy (ie: that 4 AA-loaded bludgeon of hurt). Those things could be hurled from 3-4 stories, submerged, left in hot cars for days among quite a few other things and *still* played just fine.

Nintendo may have made some odd moves at times, but its products have *always* been top-notch.

[NiteFox]

Bah, Nintendo has been doing that since the days of the Gameboy (ie: that 4 AA-loaded bludgeon of hurt). Those things could be hurled from 3-4 stories, submerged, left in hot cars for days among quite a few other things and *still* played just fine.

Nintendo may have made some odd moves at times, but its products have *always* been top-notch.

Following the nuclear apocalypse, all that will remain will be giant mutant cockroaches playing Super Mario World:D

[Roland]

So some guy throws the Wiimote at his friend's 60" TV and now he is suing Nintendo for damages!

No. Some guy throws a Wiimote at his friend's TV, and then the TV owner posts online about the incident to warn people to reinforce the straps on their Wiimotes.

Get the story straight before you start spouting misinformation. Something Awful has the original posting. He's not suing for anything. He just wants to let people know there could be a problem with the straps, and to reinforce them for safety's sake, so this doesn't happen to them.

[Munkay]

Curse Nintendo for making their consoles and accessories sturdily enough to survive a tsunami...

Reminds me of the time I spilled a giant bowl of Cheerio's on my two day old Gamecube. Needless to say, milk stains and all, the black beast keeps on running strong.

:blush:

Cheers,

Munk

[DeeBye]

No. Some guy throws a Wiimote at his friend's TV, and then the TV owner posts online about the incident to warn people to reinforce the straps on their Wiimotes.

Get the story straight before you start spouting misinformation. Something Awful has the original posting. He's not suing for anything. He just wants to let people know there could be a problem with the straps, and to reinforce them for safety's sake, so this doesn't happen to them.

He did say he was going to contact Nintendo about the possibility of getting a replacement remote, since the strap shouldn't have broken like that. But no, no one is suing anyone.

[the Langolier]

No. Some guy throws a Wiimote at his friend's TV, and then the TV owner posts online about the incident to warn people to reinforce the straps on their Wiimotes.

Get the story straight before you start spouting misinformation. Something Awful has the original posting. He's not suing for anything. He just wants to let people know there could be a problem with the straps, and to reinforce them for safety's sake, so this doesn't happen to them.

I know, I was just mocking how quickly the thread at SA spiraled out of control. It was hilarious to read the crazy ideas people were coming up with. It was like, in one post, the original poster reiterated his purpose of posting, then the very next post somone was like: "I call bull#$%&. They cut the strap and threw the remote into the TV on purpose!"

[DeeBye]

I know, I was just mocking how quickly the thread at SA spiraled out of control. It was hilarious to read the crazy ideas people were coming up with.

Threads like that are why I bought a Something Awful forum account. It's a never-ending parade of hilarity there. Seriously, for the amount of entertainment I get from participating in the SA forums, it was $10 well-spent.

[Roland]

I know, I was just mocking how quickly the thread at SA spiraled out of control. It was hilarious to read the crazy ideas people were coming up with. It was like, in one post, the original poster reiterated his purpose of posting, then the very next post somone was like: "I call bull#$%&. They cut the strap and threw the remote into the TV on purpose!"

Pardon me for missing the sarcasm. That I can fully understand.:)

I got sick of reading it. It's just too aggravating to deal with that much stupidity in any given sitting.

Sucks for the guy, but I really think they were just being WAY overzealous playing the game, and it got out of hand. Regardless of whether the strap should have broke or not, and I'm not dismissing the fact that there could be a defect, I still firmly believe they were just being asshats. Granted, my crew and I can get to be pretty damn rowdy during video games, but at least we admit when one of us throws a controller across the room.;)

What a world...