I'd like to buy a game console for my 7 YO and I came to the conclusion that a Wii was probably the best thing.
But should I go for Wii or Wii U?
The reviews for Wii U are not that great and it is considerably more expensive than the Wii.
Should I go for the Wii? Are games for that console still being made?
If I go for the Wii, what is a good starter pack?
As I said, total noobie. Would appreciate some guidance.
Go with the Wii U. It plays all Wii-games anyway and plays the "current gen" Wii U-games too, obviously.
There are still games released for Wii, surprisingly, but only like once a year.
There is not really much of a reason for the bad reviews for Wii U. It's a great console with quality (though not as many as people hoped for) games. If you or your son never had a Wii the complains about not enough games are not valid, since you can choose among all the games released for Wii or Wii U. Believe me, there is A LOT to play. =]
I'd say every starter-pack is a good one, but in the next few weeks there is going to arrive a bundle which includes Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon with the system itself. I think you should go with that, since those two games are brilliant and enjoyable for kids (and adults) of all ages. Also good choices would be the Super-Mario-3D-World- and the Super-Mario-Maker-Bundle.
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Wii U is fully compatible with the Wii, so you can run all Wii games on that (you need to buy a Wiimote controller, though) in addition to the Wii U games. Wii games are not made anymore.
There are many truly fantastic Wii U games. I wasn't a fan on the Wii myself, but the Wii U is great.
A good starter pack for a 7 year old, would IMO be any of these games:
If your kid hasn't even requested one then it could be worth looking on eBay for a decent Wii bundle. I got a black Wii with 4 microphones and a balance board for about £10, although I was fairly lucky to do that.
Try that out for size and then potentially upgrade to a Wii U if and when your kid is interested enough.
If you do start with the Wii it's probably worth only getting Wii motion plus remotes as these are compatible with all games on both the Wii and Wii U, whereas bog-standard wiimotes aren't.
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I wouldn't give a console to a 7 year old that is that outdated (the Wii is 9 years old). I mean: He probably invites friends over or probably plays video games at his friends' houses from time to time. The Wii didn't really age that well, graphically. There are good games on there and alltime classics that still are awesome today. Motion controlled party games for example. But from time to time a 7 year old boy will want to play games that don't look old and dusted, I guess. This is why I think buying a Wii would be kind of a waste (except if you get it for 10 pound with game and equipment ), since you can play the fun (but graphically kind of dusted) games also on Wii U and apart from that all the pretty and fun HD games that arrived recently and will still arrive.
Never want to come down, never want to put my feet back down on the ground.
I'd say if you have a budget in mind, stick with that. The truth is you can get a lot more bang for you buck on the Wii, but you will be limited to a handful of new games that are left to come out for it.
Wii U is obviously a better investment, since, like everyone says, it's backwards compatible with all Wii games and attachments. But that being said, the Wii U does not come with any Wii controllers, therefore it's an extra expense if you want to also play Wii games, (some Wii U games require these controllers too, so they will be used, but keep it in mind).
It all comes down to price, and the cost of this "experiment" for your kid, especially if they haven't really played much in terms of video games. If you can find a cheap Wii, you can always test the grounds there, just know that the games you see, are pretty much the games you can get.
cheers.
@farcat: definitely go for the Wii. You won't need to deal with hassle of the Wii U GamePad (which makes using the Wii U a pain in the keister), and Wii has a literal TON of games. But under no circumstances get a "Wii Mini", a heavily cut version of the Wii. Get the original (stands upright) or the Family Edition (looks like the original, but only stands horizontal, not upright).
Wii is still getting games like Just Dance 2016, Skylanders and licensed games like Planes: Fire and Rescue. There's also the "Nintendo Selects" line for some older Wii games at a budget price.
With the Wii, you should check that you get at least one pair of Wii Remote & Nunchuk. The more the merrier. You might also want a Classic Controller Pro for Virtual Console games. Depending on the kind of TV you use it with, you should get a component cable or scart cable for hugely improved image quality. The Wii has some onboard memory, but you should buy a cheap SD card for extra storage, and other applications like MP3 music in some games etc. For games, you should look into:
You won't need to deal with hassle of the Wii U GamePad (which makes using the Wii U a pain in the keister)
Yeah, I'm sure the ability to not have the 7 year old kid not tie up the TV for the entire afternoon would be such a burden. Just as I'm sure a game like Super Mario Maker wouldn't grab them completely. Or the idea of Amiibos. I'm assuming you don't have any kids, nieces or nephews.... hell, you probably don't have a Wii U either
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@farcat: definitely go for the Wii. You won't need to deal with hassle of the Wii U GamePad (which makes using the Wii U a pain in the keister), and Wii has a literal TON of games. But under no circumstances get a "Wii Mini", a heavily cut version of the Wii.
Might as well get the Wii Mini if you want a Wii. It doesn't have online play, but the servers are down anyway. I don't think he's looking for (pretty expensive) GameCube games, and VC and WiiWare aren't probably in his interest either. Plus it has a top loader, much less prone to breaking than the disc drives that are present in the original Wii.
Might as well get the Wii Mini if you want a Wii. It doesn't have online play, but the servers are down anyway.
Some Wii games still have online modes, like the newer Just Dance games or Motoheroz.
And that's just one of the many cut features of the Mini, including the SD card slot and support for the better video cables. WiiWare also has apps other than games, like the just-released Crunchyroll. None of that is possible on the Mini, there's just no reason to get it. You get less for a higher price than what you would pay for an original Wii.
To clear up any confusion (since you said you don't know much about video games), the Wii U is a completely different console than the Wii (much like the PS4 is different than the PS3).
It comes with a tablet controller (called the GamePad, which has the traditional buttons & a touch screen), which allows you to play games on the TV, or the controller itself (if someone else wants to use the TV).
It can play all Wii U games (which you can play with the included controller) and Wii games (you'll need to buy Wii Remote to play these, and you can only play them on the TV, since they weren't made to be compatible with the new controller).
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We've gotta remember we're talking about a 7 year old. So some of the advantages the Wii U has they probably won't care about. The ability to play newer games? The fact that online still works? HDMI out and the improved visuals? You can get away with not giving those things to a 7 year old. They won't care.
But as a parent of a 7 year old you will care about off-TV play. You will probably care that there are more games you can get for it and that the games are more visible in the stores. You will likely appreciate the fact that full retail games, including some old Wii titles, can be purchased from the eShop so you don't have to hunt stuff down. You will probably appreciate the ability to play some of those extra games with your 7 year old. Super Mario Maker, NintendoLand, Super Mario 3D World. And even if your 7 year old doesn't care you will probably appreciate the HDMI output and the fact that it does Youtube and Netflix in HD.
Yes the Wii U costs more and no your 7 year old probably won't care. But it costs more because it's a newer and better system. And the fact that there's full backwards compatibility means you're not really losing anything that the Wii could do.
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