Nintendo Wii?

Question

My child wants a wii for Christmas and I just wanted to find out a bit about it. I know its lke a virtual thing kinda. But I also found out that the wii never sleeps because its always downloading new games from the computer. So can you play the downloaded games or is it not true? Oh and If you have any other info I'd love to know about it. Thank You In Advance

Answer 1

Wii is not a virtual thingie.
If i have to reduce the explanation to the most simple one, it will be a video game console with a remote control as the controller.

Wii actually sleeps when you turn the power off (offcourse). It DOESN"T always download games (otherwise you will be bankrupt
because wii will charge you some money for those games).Wii has the ability to connect to the web via wireless DSL/Broadband (you will need a router for it).
But, once you download the game, you will be able to play it. O BTW, you will be required to purchase a controller to be able to play downloaded games -this unique controller is not the remote control one neither it is the nunchuk one. I believe its retail price is $19.99. and This controller is NOT included when you buy wii.

You can buy wii games at any game store. Or you can download old games from Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Old ATARI by going online with your wii.
Wii is backtrack compatible. Meaning that you can play Gamecube games using Wii.

To download games, you will be required to purchase some wii dollars from your local game store or provide your credit card number via wiichannel (online using wii). When you want to go online using wii, the console will ask you to sign an affidavit that you are above 18 years old to check wiionline store.

Wii has a parental control set up that will help you a lot. When you set it up, it will BLOCK playing any games per your filtering need (you set the password and the filter -whether you will block games rated C, E, T, M, or A). Offcourse, you will still need to check up on your children's game. You can't depend on wii entirely to do parental jobs.

Wii is somewhat better than PS3 and Xbox 360 because it offers you and your children an interactivity. There will b many games in the future that make the children move during the game (Wii sport for example). The way you play the sport in that game is to actually move your arm and body to make the character in the game respond. when you play golf game for example, you will be require to hold the controller like you're holding golf stick and literally swing it to hit the ball (try finding that kind of interactivity in PS3 or XBOX360- this is sarcasm BTW ^_^).

Here comes the downside of wii:
Wii's graphic is very poor compared to PS3 and 360.
In fact, there is not significant upgrade from gamecube to wii.
their graphics looked almost identical.
So, your child probably will get bored soon with it. especially, when they are enticed with PS3 ad.

Although wii is the cheapest Next generation console (PS3 is 599.99, Xbox is about 399.99, wii is 249.99), it is still relatively pricey, especially when you start to buy an extra controller for the 2nd player, another controller to play the downloaded game and gamecube game, a component cable to those who own HDTV,
an SD memory card to save your game file.
I bought wii with an extra set of remote and a nunchuk plus 2 games, and voila it cost me about 460 dollars already.

Ok hopefully that'll explain most of your Question.
Finally if you need to choose between those three next gen console. I think you should go with wii for now especially if you have an underage kid.

Answer 2

Its not downloading from your computer, but rather it will download specific games you purchase on the Wii menu board for a nominal fee, usually between $4-5. It is virtual in the sense that when you move the controller it moves on the screen, kinda like a mouse on a comp screen but handheld and wireless. It will download other people's mii's they've created. A mii is a character you customize to your liking not in any game but on the Wii menu board before you get into a game. Its all around a good game system with lots of kids stuf. Get Elebits, ExciteTruck and Zelda, they're all good games for the kids. The one it comes with though will keep 'em entertained, and yourself entertained, for hours. Wii Sports is fun for the whoel family.