What Comes with the Wii and What Else Should I Buy?

The newer retail version of the Wii includes

Wii console with stand (to help with stability if you want to place it vertically)
Wii sensor bar
All necessary A/V and power cables
Wii Sports game (includes tennis, boxing, bowling, baseball, and golf)
513 mb internal flash drive of storage space
1 Wii remote with jacket and batteries
1 Nunchuck contoller


What else should I buy with my Wii?

You will probably want at least one extra controller, since much of the fun of playing the Wii is playing along with your friends and family.

A second Wii Remote costs $40 and will also come with a remote jacket, but if you pay an extra $10 you can get the Wii Play pack, which includes both a remote and a disc of mini-games for $49.99. I haven’t played this, so I can’t review it, but here is the Amazon listing with some customer reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Play-with-Remote/dp/B000KRXAGE

Though some games only need the Wii remote, many others require the nunchuck, so you will probably want a second one of these too, so you can play your friends in games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Wii Boxing (part of Wii Sports). A second nunchuck will cost $20.

You can buy more remotes if you want to play up to four players on some games, but they are not necessary for many games, and remember that not all games support more than two players. Also note that certain Wii Sports games that involve taking turns like bowling and baseball allow players to share a Wii remote and take turns on it if necessary.

Wii remotes are powered by two AA batteries, which are included with each remote you buy. There are rechargeable battery packs and charge stations that you can buy, but they are rather expensive and unless you play all the time, you may find it sufficient to buy a bulk pack of AA batteries as they will have a decent life in the controllers and don’t drain as quickly as some people claim.

The Wii classic controller is not necessary for any Wii titles, though you can use it for some games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It costs $20 and is used for games downloaded from the Wii Virtual Console.
The Virtual Console is part of the Wii Shop channel. You must have your Wii connected to a wireless Internet network to access this. It is an easy to use and search and allows you to download titles from all the pre-GameCube Nintendo systems and Sega Genesis directly onto your Wii. The games are purchased using Wii points, which you can buy right on the channel using a credit card or buy in a store with a Wii points card that will include a unique code you can enter to retrieve your points. However you buy them, 100 Wii points = 1 dollar, and games on the Virtual Console cost between 500 and 1,500 Wii points ($5 - $15). So you can download tons of classic NES, SNES, N64, and Sega Genesis titles for relatively cheap. You will need either a classic controller or a GameCube controller to play most games, but NES games can be played by turning the Wii remote sideways. Note that the classic controller must be plugged into a Wii remote in order to work. The Wii Shop channel also includes WiiWare, which are original Wii titles you can download and play with the Wii remote. If you’re not interested in downloading and playing games from older systems or don’t have a wireless network, don’t bother with a classic controller, but the Virtual Console is a really fun feature of the Wii.

The Wii storage space is not huge like the hard drives found on other new consoles, but is sufficient to download quite a few games. If you really think you’ll run out of space you can buy an SD memory card to store your Virtual Console games. However, once you purchase a game from the Virtual Console you can delete it and re-download it any time at no additional charge, so a memory card is hardly necessary.

Okay, so your starter pack for Wii so far includes

Wii console with Wii sports ($250)
Wii Play for extra Wii remote and games ($50)
Second nunchuck controller ($20)
Classic controller ($20 + whatever you want to spend on VC games, let’s say $20 to start out)

That’s $360, which should provide lots of fun all on its own, but if there’s any room left in your budget, you should consider investing in some additional games. Here are some good starter titles:

Super Mario Galaxy – An Amazing new Mario game exclusive to the Wii. Makes great use of the Wii controls. There is a second player option, but it’s single player focused. Retails for $49.99.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl – A really fun fighting game for one or more players where various Nintendo characters do battle. You can play by yourself, against friends, or against random people online, which is a really fun feature. Currently on sale at Amazon.com for $39.99.

MarioKart for Wii – A fun racing game, which comes with a wheel that you insert your Wii remote into for fun steering action. The game and wheel are $49.99). An additional wheel can be purchased for $9.99, but a second player can also use the Wii remote/nunchuck combo as a controller. Note that this game is currently in high demand and quite hard to find.

Rayman Raving Rabbids – A really fun series of mini-games that you can get on Amazon.com for $19.99. Good family fun.

There are plenty of other titles for the Wii that are worth owning, but one or more of the above would be a great way to start out before you delve deeper into the vast Wii catalogue.