I purchased my Nintendo Wii shortly after Christmas last year, ending a very long and multi-store hunt. I reactivated my GameFly account and rented quite a few Wii games. I purchased Rayman Raving Rabbids, the new Monkey Ball, and WiiPlay. Overall, I was unimpressed. I was hoping for the next-generation GameCube but wound up with a product that tried so hard to be different that its games were gimmicky and one-dimensional. I sold my Wii today on Ars Technica, and here’s a rundown of my six-month experience with the Revolution-ary white console.
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I am typing this from my new Wii. The data entry is via the wiimote and is in between an original cell text entry system and a newer predictive text entry system. One thing it does not do is build compound words if you choose from the predictive text option, i.e. “predict” does not continue to build towards “predictive” once selected.

The most interesting suggestion so far is either texaco or y’all :)

After learning that Target had Nintendo Wiis back in stock thanks to the “Still Need a Wii?” post on Ars Technica, I headed out on a whim to see if the rumor was true. I also needed a travel thermos for Lady Jaye, so at the very least I’d accomplish something. Lo and behold, I got the last one in stock. In the two minutes or so it took me to check out two other people came up, asking if there were more.

Now the problem is finding a second set of controllers. After looking at two Targets, a Best Buy, a Circuit City, two EB Games and a Wal*Mart, I managed to score two Nunchuck controllers but no “Wiimote.” I need both to play Wii Boxing and the Wii Super Monkey Ball game.

I’m holding off opening the Wii until Lady Jaye and I can both play. However, if you need a Nunchuck controller for use with your own personal Wii and not for resale, I will offer the first Gibberish reader who contacts me a crack at it. I am only asking that you pay my costs (MSRP + 5% VA tax + shipping). I am not looking to make a buck here, I just grabbed the extra one in the hopes I could help someone else out.

Well, it’s official: I won’t be waiting for the Nintendo Wii on the 19th. After the disappointing news in September about accessory and game prices, the hands on Wii demo videos from Gamespot staff, and finally write ups like this one from folks who played demo units, I’ve gone from “gotta have it on launch day” to “maybe I’ll buy an Xbox 360 first.”

My decision process has been a slow demoralization. Similar to staying at your folks’ house for the holidays. Maybe nothing big happens; Aunt Betty holds her liquor better this year, and no one breaks out the Trauma Doll so you can show everyone where Father Graham touched you. But tiny bit by bit, the whole affair brings you down. Here are the stones and darts that brought down my next-gen giant.
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The Wii (pronounced “we”), Nintendo’s next generation gaming console that promises a control system based on gestures and a backlog of classic video games, finally got a launch date and price.

Nintendo officially announced this morning at 1:55AM EDT that the Wii will launch in Japan on December 2nd, with a price point of 25,000 yen, or about $215USD. That’s the Japan price — there’s still a chance that Nintendo will bump the price up to $250 for the US release. Despite earlier rumors, the system will not ship with a game. The console will also include other accessories, such as a stand and the sensor bar/sensor bar stand.

The Nintendo Wii console seems like a bargain, in contrast to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, whose Premium model sells for $399 and the Sony PS3, currently rumored at $600+ and a launch date of later this year. Neither the 360 nor the PS3 consoles come with any games. Granted, the Wii won’t have the horsepower or cutting edge optical technology (Sony’s Blu-Ray HD DVD on the PS3), but as I consistently play my underpowered Nintendo DS Lite for four hours a day, I can’t seem to mind that the Wii is a little behind the tech curve.

The next important piece of the puzzle was how much the Wii’s games retail for. Classic games will sell for less than $10 each: NES games for ~$4.25, SNES for ~$6.80, and ~$8.50 for N64 games, with today’s yen-to-dollar exchange prices. A more logical, non-exchange rate based structure would be $5, $8, and $10 respectively. Nintendo’s in-house Wii games are estimated at $40 - $60 for current-gen titles. I hoped that the Wii’s current-gen titles will sell for $30 - $40. This prices the games (depending on the title) slightly below or equal to typical Xbox360 games, which retail for $60.There is still no word on the cost for PS3 games, but I expect them to be in line with the 360’s offerings.

At just $10 less than a 360 and $10 more than the last-gen Nintendo Gamecube, the Wii is turning out to be less of a slam dunk than I thought it would be. After all, you generally only buy one console, but the fun (and $$$) is in buying tons of games. Perhaps I’ll be sticking with my NDSL a little bit longer. ;)

Nintendo’s stated goal with the Wii is to “return [video] gaming to the masses,” and the lower price point and party games seems like a good strategy. However, they have a lot of catching up to do with Microsoft’s Live! service. Live! allows subscribers to play games together online, download demo versions of games before they are released, purchase lesser-expensive games from smaller third-party developers, and will soon enable hojillions of Settlers of Catan fiends to trade wood for ore online.

[edit]
Accessory details have come online:

WiiMote: 3,800Y (~$33)
Nunchuck or NES-style controller: 1,800Y (~$15)

[edit #2]
According to USA Today and a New York Times article that was leaked before the Japanese press conference, the Wii will launch in North America on November 19th for $250. Unlike the Japanese version, it will come bundled with a “game,” Wii Sports, which will feature tennis, boxing, and other mini-games. The consensus among gamers is that Wii Sports is pretty worthless. I’d rather have two controllers and no game for $250.