Should You Buy a Nintendo Wii?

I’ve noticed a lot of people asking the question “Should I buy a Nintendo Wii game console?”. Since its release in November 2006, the wii has dominated the current generation console battle, with its combination of a cheap price point, unique control system, and family values. This isn’t to say that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 haven’t seen their own successes, but Nintendo seem to have hit a slightly different demographic of consumer, which has lead to an amazing uptake of their console. To determine which console is best for you, requires you to weigh up the current pros and cons of each platform, which hopefully this article will help you out with.

It’s easy to forget that the current generation of consoles has been around a few years now, and the original appeal of each platform has change over the years. Prices have changed, game catalogs have matured, and event he platforms themselves have seen further developments.

Price

Initially the Wii was the cheapest console of the current generation, but this has swapped around a bit recently. The chart below is ordered by UK recommended retail price price ascending, and includes all current versions of each console.

£129.99/$199.99 Xbox 360 Arcade (256MB)
£169.99/$299.99 Xbox 360 Premium (60GB)
£179.99/£249.99 Wii (512MB)
£229.99/$399.99 Xbox 360 Elite (120GB)
£299.99/$399.99 Playstation 3 (80GB)
£339.99/$499.99 Playstation 3 (160GB)

As you can see, the Xbox 360 Arcade is the cheapest game console available, and it undercuts the Wii by and an impressive £50/$50. The biggest downside of the Arcade model is the lack of substantial storage space, so for UK consumers the premium version is slightly more appealing with its 60GB hard drive, and price point which is £10 less than the Wii. You should note that these are only recommended retail prices, so you can most likely get them slightly cheaper if you hunt around various retailers.

The Wii has been in constant short supply since its release, so appears to hold its value significantly better that the other consoles, and is less susceptible to discounted prices. Also unlike the other consoles, the Wii has not seen a single official price reduction since its release, and is expected not to change until the supply finally exceeds demand.

Graphics

The Wii is often described as being based on the last generations hardware, with it having very similar performance to the Nintendo GameCube. Despite this, it’s proved a very easy platform to develop games for, and Nintendo themselves have shown that they can squeeze every last drop of graphics performance out of it, with titles such as Mario Galaxy, and Metroid Prime.

It’s very obvious that both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have graphics potential way beyond the Wii, and they have already produced some stunning looking games. There isn’t a lot between the two consoles themselves, with cross platform titles looking pretty similar on both bits of hardware. It will still be another year or so before we see the true potential of these consoles, but that’s something to look forward to.

It’s important to note that both the Xbox 360 and PS3 do 1080p hi-def output, which looks great on your massive TV. The wii unfortunately will only do a maximum of 480p, which can’t start looking pretty rubbish on bigger screens. There are many rumours that Nintendo will offer an upgraded version of the Wii at some point, which will correct this limitation.

Controls

As you may know, the Wii has got funky motion controls, which allow the console to detect how you are swinging the controller around, or if you are pointing it a specific direction. It’s certainly not just a gimmick, and can be very effective, although sometimes games do get it wrong. Luckily, the Wii controls are very good and standard style game play, so games designers are not being restricted by it. The controller consists of a remote (WiiMote) and an optional separate analogue stick (Nunchuck), which are connected together by a short cable. The controls themselves are wireless, and include a built in speaker and rumble effects.

The PS3 also boasts motion controls, but they’ve not been implemented as widely or successfully as the Wii Controllers. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have quite standard style controllers, and come in both wired and wireless form. All versions of the 360 controller have a rumble feature, and so does the latest version of the PS3 controller.

Games

Each console has it’s own set of exclusive titles which are only available on that specific system. Nintendo have been around a while now, and have some long running franchises such as Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Sony and Microsoft also have some great exclusives, including Grand Turismo and Killzone for the PS3, and Halo and Gears of War for the 360. It’s important for you to identify any specific titles that you wish to play, and checkout which consoles they are available for.

Online Features

Each console supports a variety of online features, including online play, web browsing, and media downloads. Both the Wii and PS3 are free to play games online, while the 360 requires you pay for their subscription service. Many people consider the online features of the Xbox 360 superior to the PS3 and Wii, although all are quite adequate for online play.

Both the Wii and PS3 have web browsers so that you can access the internet, while the 360 lacks this feature for now.

Download-able content varies between consoles. The Wii allows you to download system updates, applications, retro and indie games. The 360 supports everything that the Wii does, but also includes game demos, and TV/Movie Downloads. Currently the PS3s features are very similar to 360, although movie downloads are only currently available in the US.

Hardware Features

Each console has additional hardware features that may influence your decision when purchasing. The Wii and PS3 come with wireless networking as standard, while the xBox 360 comes with an wired ethernet port, and the option to purchase a separate wireless adapter.

The Wii does not support any formats for playing movies. The PS3 supports Blu-ray and DVD playback, the xBox 360 supports DVD playback, and also the now fairly redundant HD-DVD format via an optional external drive.

The Wii is backwards compatible with most GameCube titles, and even supports GameCube control pads via four ports on the top of the console. Current UK versions of the PS3 only support original Playstation titles, and no longer support PS2 games. The xBox 360 will play a wide selection of original xBox games, but you will require a hard drive to play them.

I’m no audiophile, but it’s useful to note how the 3 consoles support surround sound. The Wii simulates it using Dolby Pro-Logic II through an analogue connection, while the 360 and PS3 both support 5.1 surround sound via digital optical connections. It’s important to note that it really comes down to the games, and how well they are designed to support multiple sounds channels.

Conclusion

There are obviously many factors to consider when buying any console, so it’s not always a straight forward decision. So should you buy a Nintendo Wii? Comparing price and features, you may find that the other consoles are more appealing, but if your interested in the motion control, or Nintendo’s exclusive titles, then the Wii may be for you.