Wii or Wii U

knockon

I have kids and for Christmas we all want to play the games together such as Super mario and games for all the family. My question is should I buy a Wii U or a Wii. Any advice would be appreciated. I know with the Wii you get 4 controllers but not with the Wii U - is that correct?

Banjo

How old are the kids?
Up to around 6 they won't know the difference. Unless you have a big feck-off telly, but then it looks so mine-crafty that it's almost better...

Oh yeah, and think about how your Wii, with it's analogue outputs, is going to plug into said telly in this glorious HDMI age. You'd need a scart or component input, don't know how common they are these days.

You don't get 4 controllers with a Wii unless you're buying it 2nd hand off someone who's selling it with 4 controllers.

Bear in mind, if you're getting 4 you want 4 Wii Motes, ideally ones marked "M+" as they have the more sophisticated motion tracking, or older ones with the M+ attachment. Also, you'd want 4 Nunchucks for the 4 WiiMotes. The only other controller worth a damn would be Classic or Classic Pro controllers - don't worry about any golf club/tennis racket/fishing rod plastic housings.

Also, take the manufacturer of the controller into account. I've not heard too much glowing praise of 3rd party WiiMotes.

The Wii U will play any game the Wii can, plus it has HDMI output and can play the fantastic array of Wii U games too. On the downside you can't pick it up for €10 in Tesco like the Wii

If money is no object, buy the Wii U, then pick up some WiiMotes separately - They are not cheap though! it's almost cheaper to buy a bunch of 2nd hand Wiis, take the excess games and wiimotes out of them and sell what's left on.

Riesen_Meal

Personally I dont think there is much point in getting a Wii or a Wii U with the Switch coming in March, why buy into a dead machine?

Maybe see can you get a NES mini to tie over the next few months until Switch comes out?

sligeach

If you can get a good deal on Wii U, I'd buy that before a Wii. It can play all Wii U games plus is backwards compatible with the Wii. So it can do everything a Wii can do except play Gamecube games. But that's another story.

When buying Wii remotes make sure to buy ones with motion plus built in.

The Switch won't be backwards compatible with Wii or Wii U games. Nor possibly its accessories.

If it comes down to money, you should be able to find a secondhand Wii on sites like Adverts and Donedeal with a good selection of games for a reasonable price.

CiDeRmAn

If the kids are young and just want a starter machine, a cheap and cheerful Wii is a good buy.
There's loads of games for close to nothing, I see them at Sunday markets all the time, and if you need 4 controllers you'll find the lot on the likes of Adverts for around €60 with a few games.

OwaynOTT

The WiiU has Mario Maker. Go for the WiiU.

Nollog

I'd say get a wii and a bunch of the games cheap. Then if you find it fun get a switch next march.

The wiiu is kind of pointless if the rumours of all the best games being ported to switch are true. The wii has all the basics of the wiiu. Nintendo built on that with wiiu but it's pretty much a dead console now, and not as cheap as a wii would be.

OwaynOTT

Mario maker is the best game and that won't be ported.

pasta-solo

Wii U also has Minecraft, which could be a big selling point for kids. (And 30 year old kids too)

CiDeRmAn

The Wii can be modded to the nth degree, meaning that you not only have access to the regular Wii game library, with is extensive, full of excellent titles, like the two Mario Galaxy games, but you can also have Snes, Megadrive, Nes, Gameboy and a host of others running on it with ease.
Also, it's smaller, notoriously robust and can be hooked up to a modern tv via scart in the kids room.

knockon

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

The Wii can be modded to the nth degree, meaning that you not only have access to the regular Wii game library, with is extensive, full of excellent titles, like the two Mario Galaxy games, but you can also have Snes, Megadrive, Nes, Gameboy and a host of others running on it with ease.
Also, it's smaller, notoriously robust and can be hooked up to a modern tv via scart in the kids room.

Many thanks CiDeRmAn - I have taken your good advice.

CEX have a load of Wii's for 50-60 euro Boxed and all the accessories you need are also there. Thanks again.