Wii is a cool concept, but I swear you must need 5-6 people to come over to play it and have the same amount of fun the people on tv are having. My wife and I would turn it on, box each other for 15 min then say "that's enough of that". I think it's been turned on about 25 times in the past year. Not sure what it is about it...I play games on my pc more, and xbox 360 secondly, and wii once in a blue moon.

wii is horrible. I was so bored with the thing after 3 months I sold it. I believe I did the same thing with gamecube. God...nintendo has never evolved, never created more ips/characters/franchises, and since wii is a sales success it might kill gaming altogether if sony and ms decide to emulate the crapitude (which ms seems to be doing).

I wouldn't get into a wii for more then $100

No HD support
Controllers are expensive as hell (a fully equipped wii costs as much as an XB or PS3 and you need a few controllers because playing the thing is boring as hell by yourself)
I like to play games by myself
I like to play good games

A friend of mine had one, and once he got a 360 he didn't touch it except when he got motivated to mod it. He played "backed up" games for a while and then he went back to the 360.

@nstonep: My kids love the Wii. I've always viewed Nintendo as the most kid-friendly of all the gaming systems out there. I just thought that was the audience that Nintendo was aiming at.

I barely have time to do anything. I've been stuck in Myst: Uru for months and haven't had time to finish it. Myst IV and V are on my laptop and I haven't even gotten to them. I don't have time to play with a Wii. So a price cut will not affect my decision not to buy one.

The Wii has been around for THREE YEARS?

Yikes.

@Saboth: I agree. Wii is only fun with other people, in a party setting of some sort, and then only for a little bit. I own one and have since shortly after release. Its in a box in my closet and has been for two years since the last time I played it with a group of friends.

I have both the 360 and Wii (as well as a number of older systems). The 360 gets the lion's share of my limited gaming time. The Wii is fun when you have a group of people together, but the novelty wears off fairly soon. The games that I've played just don't utilize the controller effectively enough. Even when you have games that use swords or other melee weapons, you just flail them around. Graphics aren't everything, but if a game comes out on multiple platforms I'll generally lean towards the 360.

Non-gamers like it for accessibility. That said, my wife's interest was even more fleeting than my own. She liked the idea of Trauma Center, but I doubt she'd ever fire it up by herself.

I already have one.. I just wish that Netflix would add itself to it so I could use it more oftin.

Price doesn't have so much to do with is as their games library. I have several great and good games for my 360. For the Wii, I can only think of Smash Brothers, Zelda, and, um, nope, that's it.
If Nintendo reverses its decision to only market itself to stay-at-home moms, little kids, and "family" titles, then maybe they'll see a return of the serious gamers and, like myself, the mildly serious gamers who actually enjoy real games instead of minigames packaged together as something else (except Mario Party... which was fun to own once and not something that needs to be released every year or two as a different version)

@Sepp_TB:
I use the Wii for the fitness coach and shape boxing games. Those are the only two games I own, but since I use them daily, my Wii gets lots of use. I've been thinking about getting Rock Band as well.

It's definitely the price for me. Consoles should roll the same way as computers- they basically are computers, anyway. The fact that this feature limited computer has stayed at the same price for *3 years* is just ridiculous. And Nintendo wasn't even selling at a loss in the beginning like Sony was.

I'd buy a Wii for $100, maybe $150. Any more, this long after its release, is just too much.

i havent' played with mine in over a year. However, my fiancee uses it everyday as a workout machine.

@Saboth: Same. I bust the thing out for parties-- people still love the original Wii Sports-- but when I'm on my own I'd rather play games on my 360 or PS2.

I thought I'd love the Wii because I have some yet-undetermined issue where the veins running near my thumbs swell up painfully when I play with a regular controller, but honestly I'd rather suck it up than play Wii games.

I really get irked when people bash any consoles. I own all three, and I admit there are faults in all the consoles. But all the consoles brings something different to the table.

In my opinion the Wii is the most under-rated console among hardcore gamers this generation. I have more Wii games than my PS3 and 360. I love games like House of the Dead Overkill, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, and Nintendo staples like Super Mario Galaxy. There are even some stellar WiiWare games like Megaman 9 [which seriously does not need the HD boost from the 360 or PS3 with it's 8-bit graphics], and Contra Rebirth.

I'm aware there may not be as many AAA titles as the 360 or PS3, but there are enough stellar gems to warrant a purchase if every gamer gives it a chance. Anyone who only claims there are only two or three good Wii games are blind from trying other different games that can be surprisingly as good as games on the 360 or PS3 [or they're just fanboys - which is more often the case].

The controller sucks and makes the games absolutely terrible. I kept buying other games hoping maybe it's just new and people can't code for it.

No, it just sucks. Tried it close to the TV, tried it far away. Eventually, I managed to make the controller suck less by hanging one of the battery-powered infrared light-bars from the ceiling in the middle of my room. It still sucks, but at least it's usable now. But, good god, what a pain and how STUPID to design a product this poorly. Great idea, terrible execution. The only games that are reasonable use the accelerometer for gameplay. *sigh* And some of the games could be plenty of fun if the controller wasn't frustrating the hell out of me.

Did they only test in living rooms that are exactly 12 feet wide? Perhaps that's a standard in Japan or something...

I should sell mine. I'm pretty much exclusively playing the 360 now, since the controller kicks ass. Don't know about the PS3, since it was way too expensive when it was full featured, and now that it's been neutered to push the price now I can't play my PS2 games on it. I'll pass on it until the full-featured cheap version comes out.

Time for Nintendo to break out the big guns: the assorted color variation of Wii's so that they can tap into the "already bought a Wii but want one of a different color now" crowd.

The Wii market is probably fairly saturated. Everyone that really really wanted one probably already has one.

@nstonep: I agree. I really want to like the Wii, but there are just no good games for it so I'm stuck being bored out of my skull. I also hate games that sacrifice good controls just so they can use that stupid wii-mote, like Okami. I want to sell it, but my husband won't let me, lol.

I've had mine since launch, so this won't affect my decision to buy one. It does, however change the amount I can ask for my used system.

I bought it as a way to try and ease my wife into video gaming, which worked for 6 months or so. The Wii is fun to play with my 3 year old, and my wife and I use our 360 for Netfilx and the occasional game.

The PS3 cut won't make me buy that, either. I don't need more gaming systems, and blu-ray isn't that interesting to me.

@HogwartsAlum: Wow, I didn't think anyone else out there still played Myst. I skipped Uru, but I'm working my way through V: End of Ages now. On reserve is IV: Revelations...which I'll get to eventually. If you're into puzzle/adventure games, though, I'd say the Wii is pretty amazing.

For the last two years or so, I've used my Wii almost exclusively to play NES or Super Nintendo games, which is not something I would have predicted when I bought the system.

@Blinden: People need to stop complaining about HD support. Okami, though a remake, is hands-down one of the most beautiful games ever made, and I'd say it's art direction is leaps and bounds beyond anything I've played on my 360...or anything I've seen on the PS3.

@tbax929: I'd recommend original recipe Rock Band. I got the Beatles one and while *I* really enjoy the songs a lot more than the ones on the normal version, most people my age don't know a lot of them. (Actually, they probably know as many as I knew on regular Rock Band before I started getting forced to play songs I didn't know)

@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: Bite your tongue! The video quality you'd get out of Wii would make you mi.ser.able. I don't think Wii has the guts it needs to stream.

@W10002: +1.

The Wii has limitations, for sure. But Nintendo wasn't making a console to compete with the Xbox or the PS3 for AAA titles as much as they were marketing to a different audience. They targeted to people like me - who grew up with NES and look at the XBox controller and can't figure out why there are so many buttons, triggers and joysticks. They market to women (like me). They market to non-hardcore gamers.

The graphics are minimalist, yes. It doesn't do as well with handling some of the really intensive games like the AAA titles which are all about the video rendering and audio assets. But people like me frankly don't give a shit. We want a controller that doesn't freak us out.

I can handle Xbox, PS2/3 now, but Wii was like a gateway console for me, heh. And that's exactly what Nintendo wanted.

I want one. This price cut will bring it down from the range of "no way" to the range of "maybe". But still low on the priority list as compared to paying off student loans & stuff.

@subtlefrog: Stream=ouch. Doesn't the xbox 360 download movies to the hard drive? That's what I thought.

@Aesteval: You're right about market saturation - Wii sales have been steady for a long time, and now have dropped; word among game developers is that it's reached everyone it's likely to reach. I wouldn't put the multi-color past them though.

And that would just be silly.

@Aesteval: They almost got me that way with my Nintendo DS... almost.

@Papercutninja: Yeah...that's kind of sad. Maybe he should go for a walk instead of do Mr. Roboto in front of the tv.

@nstonep: Not on Netflix. On Netflix, it is streaming for Watch It Now, which is I assume what Kimaroo was talking about. Of course, Wii also lacks DVD player functionality, which is LAME.

@nstonep: No it streams, and the video quality for most movies is ok (specifically the Starz on demand movies streamed through Netflix). A few movies I've watched have been subpar, even with my video quality at the highest rating. Going wireless with the 360 would hurt the video quality immensely (even using the windows media center expander though the 360 was enough to make me run cat-5).

@supercereal:

Um... try playing Okami on your big ass HDTV and not being able to see it because it is all blurry. Try playing Madden and you won't be able to read the words because they'll be too blurry.

@nstonep:

Yeah it is sad. Maybe he should just sit on his ass and eat cheetos while playing Wii.

Motion control is really just a fad. Its popped in and out of the market for years and failed to gain any serious traction as its only really compelling in a very few titles.

Take the Wii which is based around a fad, and its unsurprising that most people have it stuffed in their closet after a few months of use. I never bought one because I saw through the hype and knew it was coming from miles away. Well, at least for people who consider themselves gamers.

For the non-gaming masses its not a surprise that the sales are down. Its a non-core interest in a bad economy. That's not to say video games do poorly. People tend to still spend what little luxury money they have on entertainment. More often its on their "favorite" form though, and that doesnt apply to many Wii gamers.

I consider myself an avid gamer and I bought a Wii when they first came out. It was fun and playful and I enjoyed it for a while playing Zelda and Paper Mario. During the height of the Wii craze a guy offered to trade his Gibson Les Paul for my Wii and I couldnt pass up the offer. Despite the fun I had with the Wii, I never bought another one. I played SSBB and Mario Galaxy on a friends system and the satisfied my desires at the time. Nothing else about the system is really compelling to be honest. I fought by the side of my SNES in the console wars of the 90's, but this time Ill stick by my trusty 360. It just has the games i want to play.

@W10002: Hmmm...I only need to name 3 games that the wii doesn't have to prove it stinks compared to other systems.

GEARS OF WAR (1&2)
HALO 3
Fallout 3
Metal Gear solid 4
Resistance (1&2)
Infamous
Prince of Persia
Assassin's Creed
Dead Rising (the real one not the wii-quivalent)
(obviously mixing sony and ms games)

@shepd: It's not. Once you can a functionality in a revision it generally doesn't come back.

I agree, I used to like the dual shock but the xbox controller feels better (except for the bumpers).

I remember the wiimote having like 4 buttons...you can't even play super nintendo ports with the thing. "Just plug in your gamecube controller!" Nope...gamecube controller was functionally retarded.

@Saboth: I agree with you, I bought a Wii right before my knee surgery in March and I was bored with it within an hour. I went on the assumption that since I had so much fun playing with my friends (while drinking) that it would be the same alone, in my house stuck in bed. I sold it a month later.

I love my XBox 360 which i have had for 2 years. I have Netflix, Xbox Live and better games. I like that I can just plug in the internet instead of having to invest in wireless.

@Saboth: I really wanted to like the Wii. I really tried to like the Wii. I couldn't. Every game on it seemed like a half-baked party game, and I really just don't like Mario anything. Plus on top of that, the Wiimote felt horribly inaccurate whenever I used it. Maybe I wasn't flailing my arms around enough, but it never felt like it was an extension of me, but just... a plastic white gimmick. And the games that used it felt like the controls were tacked on more than natural.

I sold it in the end after it sat unused for roughly six months.

@temporaryerror: I did the same exact thing. My PS3 and 360 get the most action. I actually play some games on my DS as well, but as far as my Wii and PSP, I really only do homebrew programming to learn programming for video games.

@Geekybiker: And Nintendo never made any serious games to really take advantage of it, either. I don't mind lighthearted games (I love Peggle and World of Goo as much as I do Gears of War), but the Wii's line-up is disappointing. Nintendo's made party games or re-hash games. Super Mario Galaxy was fun briefly, but it wasn't anything really new.

And that's the problem. Every game that comes out for the Wii just plays off the fad of the controller, not offering real depth. Wii games are great for people who want games to last about 15 minutes a session, no more. Which is why a lot of people get a Wii... and then it just sits there (which is EVERYBODY I know). I'm sure there are some diehard Wii gamers out there, but... I don't know of any.

I've only had nintendo systems all my life. I'm not much of a gamer and I don't play the wii all that often. The DS my go-to for instant game gratification and is probably nintendo's real money maker. I don't want to own any other gaming console, I don't play those 'popular' types of games (and anything in first person perspective makes me dizzy). It was probably smart that nintendo didn't drop their price for as long as they did but I think the wii has probably saturated the market and it'll be impossible to keep sales going at the same pace. PS3 and xbox started off so slow that they could only go up compared to the wii.

One area where the wii wins hands do (among others) is in FPS games. I have played COD:WOW on the Wii and the 360. Graphics and such aside, it's just easier to play with the point and shoot wiimote than the 2 analog sticks. After playing the wii one, it was hard to go back to the 360 version with the 2 sticks. The wii just made it so easy to aim.

People still buy Wiis? Seriously, the system intended to please "non-gamers" doesn't have enough serious "non-games" to keep people interested. There's only so many times you play Bowling with your friends. I'd like some more actual games, like Metroid and Zelda that make effective use of the controller, not just more shovelware titles and "games" intended to get you into shape. I wouldn't buy a Wii today. Not because of the economy, but because it's not a gaming console at this point.

/rant

@mussorgsky112: Stay at home moms can't be serious gamers?

@darkjedi26: Um...what?!?

How about taking that wii version of COD: world at war online! Didn't think so. FAIL! (with xbox 1 graphics)

@nstonep: But not everyone likes first person shooters and as long as the gaming industry and those who consider themselves "hard-core gamers" limit themselves by genre, by style, by marketing appeal, etc., the industry will continue to be a niche industry that appeals to a narrow band and fails to innovate.

The Wii at least provides innovative game play and more than just a couple styles of games. Some of them are busts, yes, but at least it's something NEW instead of the same-old, same-old. And sometimes those new things are awesome and really take off. (Who knew time management games would get so huge? Who knew people would spend hours on life sims?)