I got a Wii

[versapak]

Well, for where I live and have mostly lived (New England, Maritime Canada), any forecast beyond about 60 hours is useless.  Most forecasts of 48+ hours are considered 50% reliable at most.  The weather changes way too fast without warning.  Technology has improved that somewhat in the past decade but it's still not unheard of for an experienced New England weather forecaster to say stuff like "uh, we just can't tell for sure what it's really going to do the day after tomorrow".

Yeah, I don't find em all that useful here in Maryland either. I just found it interesting that the Wii doesn't have them for anywhere but the US.

[Mr. Greenjeans]

You know, people are some greedy 's. Two dudes I have known for over 20 years are both managers at game stores. I know they have their own wiis and have sent some to the ebay market. They know I'm looking for one as a Christmas present for my son, and they know I cannot afford an eBay price for one. The asses still won't even as much as give me a heads up on one. They have no children of their own so that might be it. Maybe I'm just wired differently than most, but when I am in a position where I can help someone out, I go out of my way. Oh well, I guess I should just take this as a lesson to never let monetary gain come before helping someone out.

[AlanS17]

Well, for where I live and have mostly lived (New England, Maritime Canada), any forecast beyond about 60 hours is useless.

Here in Texas, you can just about take a 5-day forecast as gospel. While the way changes wildly (40 degree swings or more in one afternoon), I guess it's not that hard to predict.

[tommy]

It really doesn't get much easier to predict weather here in Florida (FT Lauderdale), hot as hell works 99% of the time.

[AlanS17]

It really doesn't get much easier to predict weather here in Florida (FT Lauderdale), hot as hell works 99% of the time.

It either "hot and humid" or "hot and raining", right? :-)

[tommy]

It really doesn't get much easier to predict weather here in Florida (FT Lauderdale), hot as hell works 99% of the time.

It either "hot and humid" or "hot and raining", right? :-)

Right. Or "hot and burn upon sun contact after 30 seconds of being outdoors" 

[AtomSmasher]

Well I now have a nunchuck and classic controller and am almost ready to get my Wii on Christmas   (still need to find a wiimote so I'll have multiplayer)

[tommy]

BTW, for those who don't know, the forecast channel is live.  Update your Wiis and you'll have it.  It's really cool.

Maybe you saw something I didn't.  It tells what the weather is in a given location.  How this is intriguing is beyond me. 

The "intriguing" part is that the console has more functions then just playing game discs, it's more computer like and this trend will continue, slowly but surely.

[versapak]

On a Wii browser note...

www.noradsanta.org seems to work just fine on there, so any of you with kids can track where Santa is on his journey form the comfort of your sofa.


[EDIT]

Wrong thread, but I'll leave the text here as well, because... Why not?

[Daniel270]

How many of you downloaded Super Mario Brothers this morning?   I know I did

[versapak]

Nope

Can't bring myself to spend $5 on that one.

If it was Super Mario Allstars + World, I'd be all over supporting that with purchase, but just the NES original... My nostalgia isn't strong enough to make me buy that one again.

[AlanS17]

Well I got mine this morning with Zelda. 

My brother is ragging on it already, but he's in the PS3 camp. We'll see, though. Zelda got a perfect 10 from EGM. None of the PS3 games can say that!

[AtomSmasher]

I got my Wii today along with Zelda and Excite Truck.  Today at the christmas party Wii sports was the game everyone wanted to play, and the main sport was two player boxing.  I think Nintendo achieved exactly what they were going for because no one else at the party is into video games, but everyone loved the Wii.  Its pretty much the first time ever I've gotten my whole family to play a video game.  Two people already said that they are going to get one because it was so much fun.

[Daniel270]

Nope

Can't bring myself to spend $5 on that one.

If it was Super Mario Allstars + World, I'd be all over supporting that with purchase, but just the NES original... My nostalgia isn't strong enough to make me buy that one again.

Main reason I got it was for the wife....  she loves that game... now, when Nintendo releases the All Stars, I'll most likely buy that one too....  I liked the updated graphics, myself....

[ChadTower]

Was hoping to get one... got a couple beaten up used DVDs and a CD I already have (and I haven't bought a CD in nearly ten years).

Not even close.

[Buddabing]

I was able to get a Wii today. Only three days after Christmas, my son hasn't minded waiting.

Our strategy was to call GameStop every day to see if they were going to get a shipment. So today they were going to get a shipment between 12:00 and 1:00 in the afternoon. I showed up at the store at 12:00 and the UPS man came at 12:15. Voila.

Along with the Wii, I bought Metal Slug Anthology today, and he got Zelda and Trauma Center for Christmas from his relatives.

They didn't have any extra controllers, so two-player sports is out until I get one.

W00t!

[mahuti]

The one bummer....

Too bad the Wii doesn't play DVDs. With its support for the internet & the 3rd party alpha of an mp3, video & picture streaming server that would get it pretty close to a half assed media center.

[Daniel270]

Just wanted to let everyone know... I got an email from Nintendo and they're shipping my Wii remote replacement straps via standard mail.   Says I should get them within the next 5-9 business days.

[AlanS17]

Well I have not one, but two submissions for wiihaveaproblem.com... First of all, my brother was playing Wii Sports bowling and bowled straight through a glass on the coffee table. He hit it so hard that the base never moved. The top of it just shattered like a glass grenade and the base stayed in place. He spent 20 minutes vacuuming up the mess.

Then just now, I was playing Wii sports bowling (drunk, but that's besides the point) again when I swung so hard forward that I hit the coffee table with the remote, busting the remote in the process. I totally jacked it up. I split it in half and now the gyros don't work. I'm totally returning it to Toys R Us... 

[koolmoecraig]

I just bowled a perfect game

[Samstag]

The Wii was the big hit of the New Year's party last night.  Four of us owned one, everyone else was trying it out for the first time.  I think every one of them is strongly considering buying one now.

And that's just from Wii Sports.  We never really got around to anything else.

I thought for sure we'd have a Wiimote go through the TV during bowling.  It was missed by inches several times during enthusiastic follow-throughs.

[AlanS17]

The Wii was the big hit of the New Year's party last night.  Four of us owned one, everyone else was trying it out for the first time.  I think every one of them is strongly considering buying one now.

Either all of our friends are as big of dorks as we are or Nintendo really is on to something here. It was the big deal at our party too.

[ChadTower]

These stories are making me reconsider picking one up any time soon.  My living room is small and I have no desire to accidentally punch one of my sons (or wife) in the head.  I'd also rather not fire a controller through the 50g aquarium a few feet from the TV.  The turtles would be a little ticked (and 50 gallons of salmonella water on your living room carpet is bad).

[AlanS17]

Well I'm happy to announce that my controller doesn't appear to be any worse for the wear after I slammed it into the coffee table.

When I first hit the table, I split the controller open. The gyros stopped responding. However, after restarting the machine and the controller, everything seems to be working properly again (minus the little chunk of plastic now missing from the front of the controller after I snapped it back together).

I'll still be using that one as player 2 from now on. I don't think I'll bother returning it to the store, though. It ought to be ok.

I've found that Wii Sports gets the controller moving around more so than the other games. I can bum on the couch while playing Zelda or even Super Monkey Ball (for most of the mini games). It's just the nature of Wii Sports to be up and moving around. That's the game most people are playing when they break stuff.

[Samstag]

These stories are making me reconsider picking one up any time soon.  My living room is small and I have no desire to accidentally punch one of my sons (or wife) in the head.  I'd also rather not fire a controller through the 50g aquarium a few feet from the TV.  The turtles would be a little ticked (and 50 gallons of salmonella water on your living room carpet is bad).

Other than two people getting a little too carried away with their bowling swing, we didn't have any problems at all.  We had 8-10 adults (of varying levels of intoxication) packed into a small room with a small TV.  Children might be another story.

[More Cowbell]

We've had a couple of our kids whack each other accidentally while playing. Our 3 year old is a real liability when it comes to Wii Sports too. She can be no where in sight one second and then right there on your follow through the next. They should make the remotes inflatable like Socker Boppers.

[ChadTower]

Our 3 year old is a real liability when it comes to Wii Sports too. She can be no where in sight one second and then right there on your follow through the next.

That is exactly what I'm talking about.  I'd rather not have a Wii than send my own kid to the ER accidentally or even have to manage them closely enough while playing to prevent that while we try to play.

[tommy]

I don't see how some people would not buy something because they are dumb enough to hit someone with it, why not just explain to kids and adults what the proper behavior is while playing and while others are playing.. not to mention holding on to the damn thing. It's not all that hard.

If all else fails, after a few good hits to the head i would imagine the person would learn where the best place to stand would be and would not be. 

[AtomSmasher]

why not just explain to kids and adults what the proper behavior is while playing and while others are playing

You haven't been around too many 3 year olds have you 

[AlanS17]

I don't see how some people would not buy something because they are dumb enough to hit someone with it, why not just explain to kids and adults what the proper behavior is while playing and while others are playing.. not to mention holding on to the damn thing. It's not all that hard.

Hey, if he doesn't think he'll be able to handle it, he's probably right.

[versapak]

My 3 year old did take a couple good whacks during bowling after we first got the Wii.

Fortunately she is a tough one, and no damage was done, but yeah... It is a concern, and those warnings really aren't to be taken lightly.

[AlanS17]

They do give a bajillion warnings. It's up to the user to follow them, though. It seems like every load screen in an opportunity for another warning.

When I feel like my space is being invaded, I just tell people to move. The ruder you are, the more effective you are. 

[ChadTower]

That's the thing.  You're trying to have a good time, and your kid is trying to have a good time.  Small kids are very excitable and they forget boundaries.  It's just not quality time if you have to keep telling them over and over again to move back and always keep it in the back of your mind that on any given swing of the arm you have to watch for the little ones that could be creeping over behind you to get a better view.  You can't concentrate on the game at all yourself so the benefit is weighed down by the cost.

At that point it's better to get a board game out (which we do all the time now).  Or go outside with a football.

[versapak]

That's the thing.  You're trying to have a good time, and your kid is trying to have a good time.  Small kids are very excitable and they forget boundaries.  It's just not quality time if you have to keep telling them over and over again to move back and always keep it in the back of your mind that on any given swing of the arm you have to watch for the little ones that could be creeping over behind you to get a better view.  You can't concentrate on the game at all yourself so the benefit is weighed down by the cost.

At that point it's better to get a board game out (which we do all the time now).  Or go outside with a football.

Yep.

Both times my 3 year old got whacked, it was her moving from one side of the sofa to the other for a different view of mommy bowling.


It was new to the house, and we were not as cautious as we should have been. Now we don't have any problems. We simply show my daughter what we are going to be doing, explain what will happen to her if she gets into that "Wii Zone", and then of course (actually returning to the real world) either my wife or I hold her while it is the others turn.

Seriously though...

It just takes a heightened sense of awareness. The Wii is an EXTREMELY fun family gaming machine, and I am sure that even my 3 year old feels those early whacks were worth it, because even she has a blast rolling the ball down the isles in our very own bowling alley.

[shmokes]

My wife knocked a glass of wine over playing bowling last night.  I'm amazed that the glass didn't shatter, as the coffee table it was sitting on is made of slate tiles and the glass went down quite hard.  Luckily it was white wine, so no problems with stains.  I also smacked a light fixture dangling from the ceiling on the upswing during the power-bowling training where you are rolling at up to 91 pins at a time.  It also didn't break.  Lucky.

Anyway, even with a few bruises and maybe a few broken items now and then, you really need to get one of these things.  They are SO SO SO SO SO much fun.

[hypernova]

Meanwhile, I still lack a Wii. 

Wife bought me a BB gift certificate, and they're always out of stock.

Maybe I should just buy a PS3.  There're plenty of those available...
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[Daniel270]

Target here had 15 Wii's come in today     Seriously debated on picking up a 2nd one....

[AlanS17]

So far I've only found one game that might make you break something/someone and that's Wii Sports. Nothing else requires those flailing arm motions. I think it's unfair to call an entire game console a safety hazard for just one game.

[ChadTower]

Anyway, even with a few bruises and maybe a few broken items now and then, you really need to get one of these things.  They are SO SO SO SO SO much fun.

Despite the fact that we own nearly every video game console ever released in the US (and many from elsewhere), I still only spend about 3 hours a month gaming.  Just don't have time.  Every time I consider buying a Wii the vision I have is of it sitting barely used on a shelf just like the rest of them.

[versapak]

Anyway, even with a few bruises and maybe a few broken items now and then, you really need to get one of these things.  They are SO SO SO SO SO much fun.

Despite the fact that we own nearly every video game console ever released in the US (and many from elsewhere), I still only spend about 3 hours a month gaming.  Just don't have time.  Every time I consider buying a Wii the vision I have is of it sitting barely used on a shelf just like the rest of them.

Yes, but in the visions of Wii, you need to envision that it will be your whole family having a great time with it. Even if it is only little bits every now and then, it is seriously the best family time ever spent around a video game console.