Doh! I'm so tempted to buy a Wii!

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I don't know why exactly, but I'm being really tempted to go to the store after work and pick one up (supposedly there's a shipment today). I shouldn't, since it'll blow most of my store credit there, and it's really not built for me.

+ I'd like to play Elebits, Super Paper Mario, Zelda, and Metroid
+ I've got a handful of Gamecube games I haven't played yet (Chibi Robo!)

- not HD
- no games past Metroid Prime 3 that I'm interested in (well, Maybe Super Mario Galaxies)
- is the so-called "sensor bar" safe? Probably, but that bugs me...

+/- I would but one just for the virtual console...except that it's still tied to just one system! I don't want to play games that I'd lose if I ever need to buy a new system for whatever reason.

I've had a Wii since they came out, and the sensor bar hasn't led me to believe there is anything unsafe about it. It's nothing but a receiver for the signal that the Wii remote sends. My mother-in-law got one for my wife and me for Christmas (even though she wouldn't give us anything to eat when we had no income for three months).

However, aside from Elebits, I don't think any of the games you're interested in are that different on the Wii--aside from Zelda, of course, because it's a whole new storyline. It's not so much a difference in the games as in how you play them, for most of the games you mentioned. Of course, there is Wii Sports, which is a whole new ball game. Pun not intended.

I enjoy the Wii a lot, and it even appeals to my mother-in-law, which is amazing because she's never touched another video game in her life, but I suppose it's not for everyone. I suggest you play someone else's and get a feel for it before deciding to spend that much money on something about which you're not entirely sure.

Problem is I *DO* play my systems heavily. I'm probably going to go blind from the IR strip if I buy one, and get cancer from the bluetooth controllers

Sounds like me with Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on the PC... I yelled "OBLIVION TAKE YOU!" at my cat yesterday. I get way too much of that game.

Well, I got one

$355 all together...for basically a Gamecube

I don't know, I'm still half torn between taking it all back, and just keeping it. I would like to play Metroid Prim 3 when I saw more of it. And I think I'm giving up on PC gaming since Bioshock even has "activation" in it.

i dunno...i think it was a bold gambit to go in the direction of the wii...and i know that when it succeeds, the graphical updates will come with the next system as well as the dynamically new gameplay.

i'd rather go for it and push for a new controller style and a new way of taking in games rather than just polishing up graphics and not touching the gameplay experience.

Gameplay does change with more power though. We're already seeing a ton of new gameplay in upcoming games that couldn't have been done on the last gen systems. And the Wii so far hasn't added anything much to games except in the realm of minigames. It's yet to prove it's going to bring anything new to full length games for gamers.

And regarding the Wii...it's still sitting there. Can't decide whether to open it or not. It's basically $355, which is kind of tough to stomach. I would like to play Chibi Robo though...

Pointing to aim isn't exactly new. We've been able to do that for years with a mouse and keyboard, more acurately too.

Whatever you want to call it, games like Bioshock, Oblivion, Fallout, Mass Effect, etc. aren't possible on the last gen consoles, and are exciting because of their GAMEPLAY.

Just love that random insult Yes, because I dare question Nintendo's marketing department I MUST NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT GAMES!! ! Right.

Anyway, anyone have anything real to add? I'm still undecided. If I keep it I'm going to have to order an Ethernet adapter for it, and maybe Super Paper Mario since Amazon's got it for $10 off.

EDIT: Oh, and has anyone else noticed how these Nintendo fanboys in stores and whatnot proselytize to you? I’m in EB Games yesterday, and this guy is going on and on about the Wii, with complete religious fervor. Some random things he said:

-You have to buy extra hardware to play PS2 games on the PS3! (Me…uh, no you don’t, you do on the Wii though if you don’t have the ‘Cube stuff)
-Well, you have to buy extra hardware for the 360! (Me, no you don’t, you just need a hard drive which you need anyway…although the backwards compatibility is far from complete).
-[Proceeds to show me a bunch of poorly reviewed first person shooters] These are way more fun than on the PS3/360! (Me, uhh…they weren’t reviewed very well, although I’d still like to try Red Steel…)
-Resident Evil 4 is great! (Me, well, yeah, but I’ve already played through it twice…)
-What kinds of games are you interested in? (Me, I guess mostly Zelda and Super Paper Mario and Elebits) OH, so you like animated characters! (Me, well, not per se, I just like good games…)

He was actually one of the more reasonable zealots I've run into.

Well, I cracked it open last night. Here's my random thoughts so far:

-The controller is actually surprisingly neat in the menu system. I'd actually like to try it out in a real (full) Wii game to see how it handles. It's a lot more accurate than I was expecting, and doesn't seem to jump around or anything. I also like the tactile feedback that it makes when "clicking" over an onscreen button. It's a little thing, but it adds a lot.

-I'm still worried about the IR emitter. I know it's probably low power, but it still concerns me. IR causes damage to eyes, and part of the problem is your eyes don't realize they're being hit by light, and don't react to protect themselves. I guess theoretically the Wii's lights are so low power it dosen't matter, but still...

I honestly felt weird pressure in my eyes after using the Wii for a half hour or so. I'm particularly sensitive to various types of radiation (I can "feel" many types of electromagnetic radiation, and radioactivity-my high school science teacher said that was impossible, and tested me...and I could instantly and easily pick out the container with a radioactive substance in it...he said Andrew...that's just weird, it shouldn't be possible")
So, yeah, I'm worried about it, even if I'm the only person on Earth that's concerned. I tried using it without the emitter, and sure enough, it didn't work at all.

-Wii Sports is lame. Super lame. Not my thing at all, and doesn't work well for me. It also doesn't seem to work when sitting down, which isn't my thing.

-I also don't like the design of the system. Like the 360, it has a HUGE external power supply. At least this one dosen't have a fan on it, but the cord is too short to actually reach my floor, which means like the 360, I have to have a weird setup.

-I also don't like it's kind of lame implementation of backwards compatibility. It's as lame as the DS Lite's compatibility. It works, but it basically just switches it to being a Gamecube. You can't use Wii controllers or memory cards, you basically have to power cycle the thing to get back to the menu, etc. Right now I've got the Wii on the floor since my Gamecube pad has such a short cable.

Weirdly, the so-called "sensor bar" has a super long cord, but the power cable is super short. Apperently people are using their Wii's on the floor?

Also the system's size really isn't that impressive. It's not much different from a Gamecube IMO (though quieter), and it's larger than my Playstation 2. It takes up more room in my setup than a Playstation 3 will because of that huge external power supply. So not too impressive. I kind of like it's looks the best of the three though, I guess, and the included stand is surprisingly nifty.

Overall, I'm very nervous about the health risks, but I do think Metroid Prime 3 may end up very interesting. I like the idea of physically manipulating things in the game world. It's been done before on PC games, but this might work better. The control pad also feels better in the hand that I expected it to-but judging by Wii Sports I'm not sure how well it actually works.