Wii officially $250 on Nov. 19

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:17 am

I saw the Wii in a retail location for the first time ever on Friday. Costco had bundles.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:49 pm

Leebo33 wrote:I saw the Wii in a retail location for the first time ever on Friday. Costco had bundles.

thanks for getting me one.

jerk.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:16 pm

Sudz wrote:
Leebo33 wrote:I saw the Wii in a retail location for the first time ever on Friday. Costco had bundles.
thanks for getting me one.

jerk.

Second this post.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:22 pm

Leebo33 wrote:I saw the Wii in a retail location for the first time ever on Friday. Costco had bundles.

If I didn't have one I'd swear Wii's were a figment of my imagination. I can't believe they're still this hard to find. I can understand hard to find but not to the point where you never see them in a store.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 5:29 pm

Well there not shipping enough and many people believe it is intentional. I think the VP of Gamestoip is on record as saying it was a forced shortage.

I usually don't buy into this kind of thing, but when you look at it. The Wi is selling great, but almost no one is buying additional games. Almost everyone I know who has one owns Wi Sports and Zelda.

So if it wasn't for the fact that they are still in short supply, driving up demand who exactly would be talking about the Wi? If you could walk in an buy one and everyone had one what would we be discussing?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:20 pm

I think it's definitely intentional as there aren't that many quality games.

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:53 pm

Danimal wrote:I think the VP of Gamestoip is on record as saying it was a forced shortage.

Almost everyone I know who has one owns Wi Sports and Zelda.

If there is someone who can identify shorting the customer, it would be the VP of Gamestop.....

When Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Party 8 arrive, there will be some renewed interest in the Wii.

Personally, I can't wait to see what they can do with hockey on the Wii.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:57 am

rubba19 wrote:If there is someone who can identify shorting the customer, it would be the VP of Gamestop.....

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. Last time I was in Gamestop (my visits now are about once a quarter) a clerk was telling someone that if he didn't pre-order Halo 3 he wouldn't be able to find a copy for at least 3 months.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:16 am

What about Paper Mario? Isn't that supposed to be really good?

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:48 pm

Leebo33 wrote:
rubba19 wrote:If there is someone who can identify shorting the customer, it would be the VP of Gamestop.....
LOL, I was thinking the same thing. Last time I was in Gamestop (my visits now are about once a quarter) a clerk was telling someone that if he didn't pre-order Halo 3 he wouldn't be able to find a copy for at least 3 months.

bullshit.

MS KNOWS that halo 3 will sell systems.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:59 pm

Airdog wrote:What about Paper Mario? Isn't that supposed to be really good?

The writing has made me laugh out loud a couple times, but maybe I'm just a sucker for jokes about Mario's 'stache. I've really enjoyed the game, but I've only played through the first chapter, so I don't know how well it holds up. The art style makes it one of the most visually appealing games I've played in a while and the 2D/3D flipping is a very interesting twist.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:49 pm

Leebo33 wrote:
rubba19 wrote:If there is someone who can identify shorting the customer, it would be the VP of Gamestop.....
LOL, I was thinking the same thing. Last time I was in Gamestop (my visits now are about once a quarter) a clerk was telling someone that if he didn't pre-order Halo 3 he wouldn't be able to find a copy for at least 3 months.

Good ol' Gamestop.

I must say I've never heard anything quite so stupid at my two local Gamestops where I've bought and sold a lot of games over the past four years.

Oh, and I've never seen a Wii at retail, either. Best Buy has a lock box near the checkout with all their PS3s, PSP2 and DS Lites inside, but no Wiis.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:12 am

A very considerate friend who happened to be at Sam's Club when a shipment came in picked up a Wii for me today.

I know that I definitely need another controller, but what else is essential for a "starter kit"? Are there 3rd party component cables, for instance? What VC games are essential? Is there any "must have" other than Wii Sports?

Any help is appreciated, as it will prevent me from going out tomorrow and mis-spending substantial sums of cash

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:47 am

I think I've seen three different sets of component cables at Best Buy over the past few months--the official Nintendo (I have these, they seem fine), Psyclone (needlessly expensive), and React (some other cheaper alternative if that's not the right name). Unless you're running the cables some obscene distance, I can't imagine one set will be that much better than the others. But it is definitely worth getting a set to improve the picture to an HDTV.

As far as games are concerned, I'd say the Wii currently causes more disagreement than any other console, by far. The controls are so unique that some people like them and others hate them, all about the same game. Tiger's a good example--some simply want 1:1 motion and as a result, hate that the game uses timing/directional-based controls instead, which I completely understand, but I like the challenge the game provides as is.

There's obviously Zelda, but I haven't been able to get back into the game for whatever reason. At this point I'd much rather put an extra hour into Super Paper Mario instead, a game I'd probably recommend over any other at this point due to its inventiveness (IMO, of course).

But my biggest recommendation for games is to either get a Blockbuster game pass or a Gamefly subscription so you can try out a bunch of games and find out what you like.

There is a buy 2 get 1 free sale at Gamestop/EB starting either today or tomorrow, so there's that option as well; most near me are well-stocked with Wii games.

Drop me a PM if you have any other questions about games, I've played a lot of them but don't want to waste more space/time on them right now.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:02 am

Dave wrote:Unless you're running the cables some obscene distance, I can't imagine one set will be that much better than the others. But it is definitely worth getting a set to improve the picture to an HDTV.

I ordered the official Nintento component cables after getting the Wii but then the next day lucked into some at Wal-Mart. I was genuinely surprised at how better the colors were with the official cables because I too think that it usually doesn't matter what cables you use. I returned the cheaper ones to Wal-Mart. Regardless, component cables are a must with the Wii either way.

I am one of the folks that doesn't enjoy Tiger on Wii, but I do like Madden. In fact, if someone is looking for Tiger just let me know because I've been too busy to sell it. I also really like Sooth Moves (probably the ideal rental rather than a purchase though) and Zelda. I didn't like the Rayman game and Trauma Center is good but not my cup of tea.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:08 am

On the VC, recommend these three classics:

1. ExciteBike
2. Punch Out
3. TecmoBowl

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:23 am

Sport73 wrote:On the VC, recommend these three classics:

1. ExciteBike
2. Punch Out
3. TecmoBowl

The one VC game I always recommend is Gunstar Heroes from the Genesis. Just an awesome shooter.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:18 pm

Leebo33 wrote:I saw the Wii in a retail location for the first time ever on Friday. Costco had bundles.

Same for me today, saw one in Wal Mart this morning. Have been seeing Wii Motes more regularly also, so perhaps the shortage will soon be over for those still looking.

As far as virtual console games I've only purchased Donkey Kong Country and Punch Out, both are pretty good. Also the full version of the web browser is available for download for free, I read somewhere that it will be free for a limited time and then they are going to charge for the download so be sure to download it now if you haven't already.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:32 pm

Great stuff. Thanks, guys.

Gamecocks625 · Post by **Gamecocks625** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 1:06 pm

I saw a few of them at Target this morning and picked one up on impulse. I am not sure if I am going to keep it. My wife may enjoy it (won't know for sure until she gets back in town) but she usually doesn't like videogames....soooo I may end up returning it.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:59 pm

Gamecocks625 wrote:I saw a few of them at Target this morning and picked one up on impulse. I am not sure if I am going to keep it. My wife may enjoy it (won't know for sure until she gets back in town) but she usually doesn't like videogames....soooo I may end up returning it.

i was in 3 targets this weekend....

saw NONE

yeah...i have no life

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:54 pm

If the Wii had a stable of great games I would have probably picked one up by now. Problem is there are very few great games and few good games.

And from looking at the upcoming games, many developers have taken the Gamecube approach to the Wii. There doesn't seem to be many games on the Wii that utilize it's control scheme. Most look like series that you would have seen on the cube. That's a shame. If it wasn't the hype surrounding the Wii, I don't think it would be selling. Certainly the games aren't selling this console.

So the low quantity of games is saving me some cash right now.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 10:41 pm

I still haven't gotten my free one from Sharp's incentive program. It's been about ten weeks.

Sucks.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Mon May 07, 2007 4:11 pm

I'm in a bad mood, and today the Wii is my topic to complain about:

http://blog.digitalsportspage.com/2007/ ... ing-bored/

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon May 07, 2007 5:16 pm

Sport73 wrote:I'm in a bad mood, and today the Wii is my topic to complain about:

http://blog.digitalsportspage.com/2007/ ... ing-bored/

Just as I buy a Wii, I see this post.

Valid points and it is what concerns me with the Wii. But I think you have to look past the initial launch releases. I think the launch games in any system are just there as filler with one or two to really sell the console. Hopefully they don't get into the gamecube frame of mind and sell kiddy games.

At the end of the day, it's still about games being made for this system and not ports. If I had a choice between Tiger 360 and Tiger Wii, I would go with Tiger 360 if it's the same game but just ported. Now if Tiger Wii fully used the Wii control scheme and used Miis like Bill Harris posted on his blog, where all the pros are Miis and the courses are vibrantly cartoony, I would get both games.