Customer Reviews

Wii Console with Mario Kart Wii Bundle - Black

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Nintendo dropped the price of their console to $149.99. The previous console package included Wii Sports and Sports Resort, and these have been replaced with Mario Kart and a Wii Wheel. Nintendo also rolled out a line of popular titles for $19.99. The titles include Nintendo Selects: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Nintendo Selects: Animal Crossing: City Folk,Nintendo Selects: Mario Super Sluggers and Nintendo Selects: Wii Sports. All of these titles are very good.

This happened on May 15th. The question is, all three systems are out and have motion-based gaming. Which console is best to purchase now?

I say Nintendo is an amazing system and still a notch above the rest, especially given the price drop.

Why? One reason is games. Nintendo has games that appeal to children, teens and even older folks (I'll get into that later). I have an Xbox 360 and PS3, but I find myself playing Wii more. Why you ask? I love my Xbox 360 for Halo/Modern Warfare and other FPS games. That said, when playing games with a group, Wii wins hands down. From racing Mario, Luigi and friends in Mario Kart to battling with Marth and Link in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo has cornered the market on group-friendly games. Plus, Nintendo has many of the same FPS like Call of Duty: Black Ops geared towards older gamers that the PS3 and 360 have. To top it off, Nintendo has accessories like the Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board that not only integrate gaming and exercise, but make it fun and user-friendly from 5 years of age on up.

Side-story: I bought the Wii for my parents who are in their early 50s. They thought it was a gag gift. A few days after I bought the gift I got a call, "You're father and I have taken up tennis and we love it!" I thought she was referring to playing tennis with a physical racket, they were referring to Wii Sports.

Who has the best motion-based system? Nintendo's revolutionary motion-based gaming was first to market. Now 360 and PS3 have motion-based gaming as well. All are impressive, especially the Kinect for 360. However, neither the 360 nor PS3 have a great number of games that use their motion-sensor equipment. Nintendo on the other hand has been out for years and has a huge number of games that are motion-based. Buy Nintendo for an established motion-based gaming library.

Graphics? PS3 and 360 win this hands down. Wii graphics are not superior to the 360 and the PS3. However, a visually beautiful/realistic game does not equate to being a fun game. When you are racing at top speed in Mario Kart, you are not paying attention to how realistic the environment is on the side of the road, you are trying to shoot your opponent off the road. Fun games make you pay attention to gameplay, not graphics and Wii does this.

Nintendo is a great system and at $149.99, this is a great entry point. Be sure to buy an additional Official Nintendo Wii Wheel (Mario Kart for 1 isn't as much fun without two players). You'll also want to buy another Wii Remote Plus - Black and Wii Nunchuk Controller - Black controller. The system only comes with one set in the box. Take a look at the titles that were reduced to $19.99. You can't go wrong with any of these games.

Hope this was helpful, have fun gaming!

First, if you have an HDTV, you will need special component cables, found here: Component AV Cable for Nintendo Wii to HDTV.

Second, this system only comes with one controller, so you might want to get a second one if you hope to have more than one person playing at a time: Wii Remote Plus - Black. And if you buy a second controller, you'll want a second Nun-chuck attachment: Wii Nunchuk Controller - Black. And maybe a second WiiWheel if you want for Mario Kart: Official Nintendo Wii Wheel. You might also want to get rechargeable batteries for the controllers: Energizer NH15BP-4 Rechargeable AA Battery 4 Pack.

Third, the Wii Sensor Bar can easily be knocked down, so I used Poster Putty to help keep it secure. Duck Poster Putty, Removable/Reusable, Nontoxic, 2 Ounce/Pack (PTY-2)

Finally, the most common complaint you'll hear is that people get tired of playing with the Wii. "There's no good games," or "I'm tired of playing Wii Sports." If you only use any system to play ONE game, you're going to get bored not matter what you're playing. Paying $150 just to play Mario Kart is ridiculous. You need to optimize your investment by getting more games. So here are 52 of the Wii's notable games.

Wii Sports
Wii Play
Wii Sports Resort
FlingSmash
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy 2
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Mario Party 8
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Punch-Out!! (Wii)
Metroid Prime Trilogy
Pikmin (Wii)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Mario Kart Wii with Wii Wheel
ExciteBots: Trick Racing
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Animal Crossing City Folk
Red Steel 2
Zack & Wiki Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
Wario Land: Shake It!
A Boy and His Blob
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Boom Blox
Boom Blox Bash Party
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
Monster Hunter Tri
Little King's Story
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
Okami (Wii)
GoldenEye 007 (Wii)
Sonic Colors
Klonoa (Wii)
Disney Epic Mickey
NBA Jam
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
WWE All Stars
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Lego Indiana Jones
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean
Lego Batman
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
No More Heroes
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
MadWorld
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Resident Evil 4 (Wii)

KEEP IN MIND that you should always check a games ESRB Rating to make sure it's appropriate for the person playing it. Most games are rated Teen and under, but there are some Mature rated games that you might not find appropriate. I also am NOT guaranteeing that you'll automatically love every game listed. Some people don't like sports games. Some people don't like First-Person Shooters. Some games are too hard. Sometimes, they're too easy. Or maybe you don't really like "games" and you bought this to do the Zumba (Zumba Fitness) or to Just Dance (Just Dance), that's okay, too. But, like I said, if you want to get the most for your investment, you should consider building a nice size library of games.

I hope I was helpful, and at least, those One-Star Reviewers aren't going to be able to say the Wii "has no games" with this block staring customers in the face.

I've been a Nintendo fan for years. Generation after generation they put out amazing consoles with excellent games. So it comes as no suprise that the Wii continues the tradition started back in 1985.

The Wii was codenamed the Revolution becasue it was supposed to revolutionize the way we play games. I'm not so convinced that it accomplished it's goal per se, but I do think that it did introduce some new ways to play. When I first heard about the system I didn't think it would be nearly as successful as it was. I thought odd name, last gen graphics, and strange (ablbiet interesting) controller, yeah, good luck with that Nintendo. I was convinced that it would turn out much like the GCN, reasonably successful but nowhere near it's competition.

Well here we are 5 years later and we all know how it turned out. Much to everyones suprise, the Wii turned out to be a tremendous success. People were calling it the Gamecube 2 because it didn't have HD graphics. While the Wii may be similar to the Gamecube (GCN) in terms of archecture, in nearly every other aspect it is a completely different system. It was given marketed as family centered, rather than specifically to the gamer, where the GCN was fairly powerful for its day the Wii was quite underpowered, and the GCN had a focus on contectivity (GB link cable, GB player, Limited LAN support) the wii focused on motion controls.

The motion controls are the heart and soul of the Wii. While the PS3 and Xbox 360 have their respective options for motion controled gaming, it is hard to argue that the Wii not only started this "revolution" but they also have the largest library of motion controled games. So it goes without saying that if you want motion controlled gaming, the wii is not only the best option, it also happens to be the most affordable.

The purpose of this review is not to compare the Wii to it's competitors, it truly is a stand alone system, and is not fair to do so.

In my opinion, the Wii will largely appeal to two large contrasting groups: non gamers and core gamers.

On one hand you have the non gamers, they will immediatley be attracted to games like Wii sports, Wii fit, Kriby's Epic Yarn, Just Dance, Lego Star Wars, and things of that nature. These are games that anyone can pick up and play and have very broad appeal. The reason for the Wii's success is the non gamer, Nintendo captured an audience that no one knew even existed. Games like these are the reason that you will see the Wii in nursing homes and hospitals.

On the other had you have the hardcore or core gamer. Games like Metroid Prime 3, Donkey Kong Courty Returns, No More Heros, Red Steel 2, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and Mad World are games that appeal to them. Many of these are hidden gems that only the core know or care about they are every bit as good as the better known Wii titles.

Peronally I am somewhat of a rare breed in the fact that I enjoy both, but most gamers will fall under one catagory or another. I think the real diffrenece between the two is the casual gamer will purchase the Wii as a an only system, whereas the core gamer will buy it to go along with a straight hardcore system. But it's that broad appeal that makes the Wii as successful has it has been.

Unfortunatley, the Wii's best years are behind it. 2010 may have been a great year for the system, but 2011, thus far has been very weak. With E3 coming around the corner gamers will see what will be the last major software to be released for the system, and of course it's successor with be there as well. But not all is bleak, Nintendo just recently dropped the price of the Wii to $149 and swapped out Wii sports and Wii sports resort for Mario Kart Wii. Furthermore they rolled out their Player's choice lineup albeit under a different name. As they say, good things come to those who wait. Now is a great time to buy because the better price, better software bundled, and there is a fairly large library of games avalable.

The reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars was because I do feel it is missing in some key areas that make it hard to give a perfect score. First, I do feel the online aspect of the Wii is very weak. The setup makes it near impossible to find friends online and communicate with them. Very few games sopport voice chat.

Second, because of the popularity of the system there is a TON of shovelware. Shovelware is (as the name imples) garbage software that gets shoveled onto the system so the developers can make a quick buck off the popularity of the Wii. Generally, I would say stick to first party titles if you want to be safe but even some of these aren't worth getting. Games like Wii music are terrible. Do your reseach and you wii be fine. Finally, even though the library is impressive, there are some holes in there. You will be hard pressed to find ambitions RPG's or M rated action games. Don't get me wrong, they do exist, but few and far between.

Overall the Wii is a wonderful system with a lot to offer. The new bundle is excellent and Mario Kart is a game with universal appeal. The price is appealing, for $150 you can't go wrong. Unless you're holding out for Cafe, I would reccomend it to anyone looking for a balanced system with a good library.

Last XMas on a whim I bought my sisters a shiny new red Wii. We had a lot of fun playing with the Wii Sports game that came with it. So much fun that I thought I'd buy one for myself too.

But after months of trying various games and accessory items, I now mostly use the Wii for the Netflix streaming. I can honestly say that Wii Sports is the best game overall, which is sad considering it's over four years old and the one that comes with the system.

The reason is that the motion control that made the Wii Sports game so fun doesn't work that well on other games. Even some of the minigames on the sequel Wii Sports resort don't work all that well. Just try playing the Wii Sports Resort golf versus the Wii Sports golf and you can see the difference.

I think the biggest problem is that other game manufacturers haven't really found a way to make very good games for it. Most of the ones I've tried you wind up just shaking the remote now and then. Or else with some sports games they ask you to do too many motions at once to throw a pitch or make a shot and it becomes tedious. Really the closest I got to the fun of Wii Sports was EA's Grand Slam Tennis, though only if you don't use the advanced controls with the nunchuk.

The nunchuk is the biggest drawback of the system. Specifically that they made the nunchuk so you have to plug it into the controller with a cord. What happens then is the nunchuk restricts how much you can move your arms around without losing your grip on it or whipping yourself in the face with the cord.

I've also found most of the add-ons to be a waste of money. First I bought a tennis racket but found the Wii didn't read my swing about 40% of the time. Later I bought the Dance Dance Revolution game. But the pad is so small that my feet (which are below-average size for an adult male) overlapped the buttons so it would constantly say I was hitting B or A when I wasn't.

Then I bought the Wii Fit Balance Board. That was a huge waste of money. A lot of people like it, but I found it to be an overpriced exercise video. Because here's the thing with that and "Just Dance" and other games: the Wii isn't really following your whole body. The balance board just reads your feet and the way you shift your weight. "Just Dance" type games just read the controller in your hand(s) so that you can be sitting on a chair shaking it and it doesn't know the difference! So yeah those can work for exercise and stuff, but so does any DVD you buy for $5 at Wal-Mart.

So when all is said and done, I feel disappointed. The promise of Wii Sports in my mind has never really been delivered upon. Plus the graphics are very much inferior to the XBOX 360 or PS3.

Basically if you want to really play games, buy either of those systems. Or if you want something cheaper for watching Netflix and playing minigames then buy this.

That is all.

The 2011 version of the Wii Console Bundle includes a Wii Wheel, a remote plus nunchuk, and Wii Mario Kart. At $149.99, it is quite a savings when compared with the PS3 and XBox 360.

The Wii was amazing when it first came out, with its motion-sensing capabilities, and over the years it has built up an impressive number of games which use those capabilities very well. In comparison, the XBox 360 and PS3 have had a shorter time to get those types of games developed.

The Wii also taps into a vast number of kids' games that are simply not available on any other platform. Mario and Luigi, Yoshi, toadstools and Kart races, it almost seems a rite of passage for kids to play these harmless, skill-learning games.

The Wii also offers gaming for adults, but this is generally not where their strength is. The PS3 and XBox 360 are much better known for their serious, mature content. Also, their online gaming systems and high quality video are geared towards that level of gameplay. They expect you to be able to go online and to handle yourself in that online world.

The Wii on the other hand tends to shelter you from those areas. Any online interaction is strictly controlled. Options tend to be simplified. The Wii is often used as a "starter" system for non-gamers so they can enjoy the exercise games, the sports games, and the casual fun games. The tutorials are generally quite extensive and step you through every stage.

The Wii has never attempted to compete in terms of high quality graphics or intense online experience. That's fine - they also charge less than half than their competitors do! They are aimed squarely at the gentle arcade market, the people who want to play tennis and bowling, who want to dance around to music, and who want to race in go-carts with their friends. They do that job perfectly.

If you're going to get a Wii, accept that the graphics aren't stellar. I'd generally call them "cute". Accept that the online experience isn't as robust as the other systems. But with that said, if you're looking for an inexpensive gaming option that is gentle on newbies, I definitely recommend the Wii!

I'm a Sony Fan Boy to the core. ( Nintendo Fan boys if you can not accept this stop reading this review). I have been playing my ps3 about 2 years now. Playing a lot of excellent games. But even a Sony's Hardcore like me, feels nostalgia about games like Zelda and Mario. Then I decided to buy a wii, when I saw the wii got a Prince drop and 30 dolar bonus , I couldnt resist the offer and I bought inmediately.

The wii , in terms of hardware, is way inferior in comparison to the ps3 or 360. The wii only support up to 480p, meanwhile the 2 other system can go to HD, 1080p (how freaking amazing would have been Link or Mario in Hd!). Also it doesnt have strong online services and this is where the wii fails in the competition. To connect your wii, it must be wireless, if you want to connect you DSL cable, you need to buy another accesory , a minor problem , but for me that is annoying.

Ok now that I have pointed out some little problems of the wii , let move on to where wii shines... Games !!! , Wii have seriously some of the most fun games ever made!. The ps3 have a lot of excelletn games, but if you realize most of these games are the same genre: shooting. While the wii have a lot of variety. Though the wii doesnt have the breathtaking graphics of the ps3 or 360, the game play is just excellent. I must admit the wii it is just as fun as my ps3. Super mario Galaxy 1 and 2, twilight Princesss , are just extremely amazing. Twilight Princess just top as one of my favorite game of all time. These types of game are the one that makes gamers to say: this how a game should be, exploring and having fun. Not like thos FPS online games that have made us into their slaves ( Im one of them , Damn you Modern warfare 2 for stealing my time). After playing enought alone, I bought 3 more controllers and played with my friends... just amazing ! Playin smash brawl and mario party, just makes us remember those time when the n64 was alive, playng against each other and laughing a lot. Those moments are just priceless and the wii brings it back to you. =D

If you want some good games for the wii I can recommend some ( maybe our taste are different but you should at least give it a try) :

Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galxy 2
Zelda: Twilight Princess
Okami
Metroid 3 Corruption
Super Smash Brawl
Mario Kart
Mario Party
Super Mario Bros wii
Murasama
and Many more...
Ps: The Black wii just looks Sexy !

Thanks For reading ... =D

We got the Wii so we could watch our Netflix shows on our TV. Not only did it only take 10 minutes to set up, but we can use our wireless internet, so less cords! We are very happy with our purchase!

I apologize in advance for the length of this review. I can't stand overblown reviews and people who don't seem to appreciate paragraphs. Typically I don't post reviews unless I have new information that isn't available on a product page AND I feel passionately about an item. In this case I'm not sure if the Wii meets both criteria or neither, but I'm going to post anyway. Those of you wanting a cliff's notes version can scroll to the bottom.

A little about me...I'm 26, I've owned and played every household Nintendo system since the NES. I've owned all three PlayStations and both X-Box's, a Sega Genesis and done plenty of PC gaming as well. My perspective is not that of a fanboy. As Kevin Butler (PS spokesman) said at E3 in 2010: "Though we may swear fanboy allegiance to different flags, we are all slaves to but one master...GAMING." So my barometer for whether a system is worth owning is about 20-25 great games and experiences to go with it. That definition has changed a bit now that we're in an era with backward compatibility, downloadable content and online play.

I recently sold my X-Box and PS3's through Amazon's trade-in system because I didn't want to deal with eBay, Craigslist or GameStop and because they weren't the models I eventually want to own of those systems. I then purchased a Wii for the price on this page, but it was still the version with Wii Sports and Sports Resort and this came out two days later. I considered returning it to get this version or complaining until the store gave me the game or a discount, but honestly I got what I wanted at a very fair price with two party games I wanted anyway, plus I didn't want to call Nintendo to deauthorize my Wii Shop Channel account (more on that later.)

I think it's a fallacy of the other reviews you'll see though to get into arguments about which system is best, or has the best games, etc. Honestly I'd be excited to own any of them as they all boast backward compatibility, a strong library in the hundreds and dynamic, lasting single and multiplayer experiences. To me explaining why I love the Wii would be like trying to defend a great band in my music collection that isn't like the genres I listen to the most. Just because it doesn't sound (play) like anything else doesn't mean I appreciate or love it less.

At the same time though, I'm not someone who acts like I've joined a cult-like community when I buy an electronic product. I'm not a Machead, I'm not a member of Club Nintendo, I don't buy X-Box because I'm an American patriot lol, and while I have tremendous respect for Sony's entire philosophy for entertainment, I was among the first to ridicule their handling of the attacks on their PSN network recently and even sold my PS3 here on Amazon.

As I consider the last decade of video games, I have to say the Nintendo Wii has been the complete opposite of the Nintendo GameCube. The GameCube was met with enormous fanfare upon its arrival in 2001 and heralded as being more powerful than a PlayStation 2, having more great first and third-party games than the X-Box, and a revolutionary control scheme that would change the future of gaming. Which obviously today sounds a lot more like the Wii. It turned out to be a decent system with a dozen or so great games, but never lived up to the appeal of the PS2 (that continues to sell to this day on major retailer shelves,) and the mini-discs couldn't match the X-Box's sheer power with DVD's and an 8gb hard drive. The controller was meh; it felt fine but like it was trying too hard not to copy the PS controller, plus you were doomed if you had big hands. Many skeptics actually wondered if Nintendo was heading down the Sega path and if we'd one day see Mario smashing Goombas on a PlayStation.

Then the Wii arrived with virtually no support from the industry or hardcore gamers. In an era where games could finally look like real life, with huge releases having Hollywood-level voice talent and budgets, Nintendo released a system that was technically a mild upgrade to its existing GameCube hardware and added a controller that many Sony fans smirked and called obsolete by the novelty PlayStation 2 Eye camera that allowed motion control. It's gone on to sell about 90 million units and has become the first system since the original NES to open the door to families, neighbors, even grandparents lol, and say 'Come on, you have to try this!'

The 90s and 2000s were largely dominated by horsepower in the console systems. Sega released the 16-bit Genesis, which forced Nintendo's hand with the SNES. Sony went 32x with the original PlayStation, Nintendo responded with the N-64. The PS2 was basically a DVD player and computer turned into a console, and the X-Box and GameCube were equally powerful in their own ways. Visit a forum and you're bound to run into an argument about 360 vs. PS3 graphics, when in reality they both accomplish some breathtaking visuals and run most games at a near-seamless 60-fps. Nintendo knew they couldn't afford to write a blank check for research and development like Sony and Microsoft could, so they circled the wagons and focused on providing an innovative experience as well as reaching out to new gamers.
It's no coincidence then that the X-Box 360 was plagued for years with hardware failures and Sony continues selling PS3's at a net loss to this day to catch up and get them into homes. We're entering a fascinating era where the power of computing hardware is no longer the sole deciding factor in how a developer will create their gaming system, but rather how efficiently they can create a tool that their partner companies can use to deliver profitable entertainment to as many users as possible. A cynical person would say this divergence from focusing on making great games for the sake of having great games will hurt the market, and that person would be partly right - just look at the saturation of horrible Wii exercise, dance and rushed titles that end up in bargain bins everywhere.

However, when you create a vacuum of expectation and excitement, it only helps us all. In essence the companies have recaptured why they began producing games in the first place: to make money. Sure, love of gaming or art is a passionate reason to enter the industry, but to make a career of it takes an enterprising focus. So rather than concluding that focusing on one will inevitably hurt the other, I subscribe to the belief that each will feed off the other and ultimately thrive together. A company not driven by profits might delay a game dozens of times or shelve it entirely without the pressure to actually finish the project, while a greedy company thinking only of the bottom line will inevitably damage their franchises by flooding the market with too many sequels (for example, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, every EA title ever, and I fear soon Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy and Call of Duty.) Nintendo is the best example of walking that thin line. Sure, Mario appears in dozens of titles, but in reality he's only had 9 'main' adventures in 25 years, and a few RPGs.

In 2009 I played New Super Mario Bros. Wii with my brother, and something magical clicked for me again as a Nintendo fan. Aside from the realization that classic 2D gameplay done right was timeless and still challenging fun, this singular experience changed the entire scope of my perspective on collecting games and entertainment. I realized I had so many incredible games for all three systems I hadn't played in the last decade, I would stop wasting my money on the newest releases and impulse buys of games that, at best, turned out to be about 7.0 out of 10. Which brings me to one of the biggest reasons I love the Wii.

Through Nintendo's Virtual Store you can download titles from every Nintendo system (and others including the Sega Genesis,) from the 80s through the N-64. In other words, I'm using my Wii as a hub to store and play 10-15 great games from every Nintendo system ever made, with full GameCube backward compatibility as well. Now it's possible to do this through emulators on a PC, but that never captures the emotional fun from childhood or the true quality of a Nintendo product.

As for this bundle and the system itself, if you're like me and never owned a Wii and only played it a couple of times in stores or at friends' houses, I recommend it completely without hesitation. Aside from first-person shooters, RPGs and Mature titles, the Wii has a fantastic library with experiences that cannot be duplicated anywhere else. If you only collected the first-party Nintendo games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Mario Kart Wii and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, you'd still have hundreds of hours of great games to look forward to. However, if you can only afford one system and desperately don't want to miss and end up with something collecting dust, I'd probably go with a budget X-Box 360 or keep waiting a few months for the holidays.

The reason for this is because Sony and X-Box will have to follow suit here and drop their prices within the next 6 months, AND E3 is coming in early June where all the biggest gaming news for the next year will be revealed, including the already-confirmed Project Cafe (Wii 2) that Nintendo is working on. Last year X-Box put out a "Spring Bundle" on their 360 about two months before E3, and then at the conference announced a $50 price drop and a completely new model of the 360 with built-in WiFi and a 250gb hard-drive, as well as the motion controlled Kinect.

So for all we know, in less than a month Nintendo could announce a Wii-slim or Wii HD or Wii with built-in hard drive and is just using this bundle to bump up second quarter sales in the meantime. I'm also a little nervous that Nintendo could choose to shelve The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (their biggest release of the last 3 years,) and make it a Project Cafe launch-title, but when that happened with Twilight Princess they handled it with grace and released it on the GameCube, then updated it very successfully with Wii controls at launch. However, even if that happens I honestly will still feel great about this purchase. Afterall, I have seven other great Zelda games I can play on this system.

Here's a few quick pro's and con's to help summarize my feelings on the Wii and this particular bundle. The number of + or - indicates how strongly this would influence my decision whether or not to buy.

Pros

++++++++++ When you buy a Nintendo product, game or accessory you know it's gone through endless hours of quality control and is first-rate. If anything ever goes wrong with your system, even out of warranty, Nintendo will help you repair and replace your console or any missing parts. Their customer service treats you more like a friend with a problem than a lousy consumer they're trying to screw.

+++++ At this price point, the Wii is half the cost of the other full systems with a great game included.

+++++ After five years, the Wii has an excellent library of hundreds of games and unique experiences.

++++ The built-in Wii Motion Plus is now more accurate than ever, and more affordable to add extra controllers for friends.

++++ The Virtual Console has hundreds more classic games from past systems you can buy for less than ten dollars each.

++++ This goes to my biggest point, but the Wii is extremely durable. No one I know has ever had a problem with one overheating or dying, and take it from someone who has repaired, sold or thrown away three X-Box 360's, that's a big deal. My SNES and N64 still work great, and I bet in ten years my Wii will too unless the disc reader burns out.

+++ Online play is free, requires no subscription and has lots of great titles.

+++ Multiplayer may be better for shooter fans on other systems, but the Wii owns party games, racing and motion control hands-down.

++ It's likely that whatever console Nintendo creates next will either be compatible with Wii games and accessories, or at least offer them in a digital download format. I mean, the GameCube came out in 2001 and still had compatibility with the original Game Boy lol.

+ Play a few titles with the Wii remote like Trauma Center, Okami or Epic Mickey and you'll broaden your horizons and think differently about games as art.

Cons

---------- Honestly the biggest con for me is Nintendo's general pricing strategy with games. It's brilliant, mind you, but it doesn't help us. They have an amazing reputation for dependable first-party games, but they also know it and wait notoriously long times to lower prices, if ever. As of right now Super Mario Galaxy has been out for almost four years and still costs over forty dollars, whereas a big third-party title on the PS3 or X-Box will hit twenty or thirty dollars within a year, even if it's a huge title like Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy or Assassin's Creed. This cost adds up over the life of the system, and Nintendo knows this. Even now with their "Nintendo Selects" line, only 4 games were reduced in price, and one of them used to come free with the system (Wii Sports) and already has 75 million copies circulating out there with Wii's.

----- There isn't a tremendous amount of single-player third-party developer depth to this system, as companies would rather skip the Wii than spend the time altering their PS3/X-Box release to fit the graphical limitations of the system.

---- This one is a big deal to me; it may be utterly meaningless to you. When I buy an online game, expansion, movie or feature from Sony or X-Box it's tied to my account, an email registration just like anything else. But your Wii Shop account is only married to exactly that: Your Wii. So if you own multiple systems, or sell yours and buy another in the future and want access to all of the games you've already purchased, you're at the mercy of a call center rep from the big N to deauthorize your old Wii and input your new one. Whereas with Sony, I can download as many copies of the PS1 games I've bought on a PC, PS3 or PSP just by logging in. This tells me that Sony is less weary of piracy than Nintendo, and they smartly realize that any money they can make on fifteen year old games is just icing on their already-fat cake so they shouldn't piss off legitimate customers in the process.

---- This one isn't so much a con as a decision. Would you rather play Call of Duty: MW, GTA IV, BioShock, Mass Effect and Fallout 3, or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Twilight Princess and Mario Kart Wii? Some of us are blessed to play them all, but just know if the Wii is your only system what you're giving up in third party support.

--- I can't drive this point home strongly enough: if your favorite genres are FPS, RPG or mature titles, and you don't have friends or family to play with regularly, this really isn't the right fit for you. However, I've seen plenty of people who refused to play anything but CoD and Halo: Reach giggling like school girls after they played Mario Kart Wii for hours.

--- It's 2011 and the Wii doesn't have built-in HDMI slots. You can buy Component cables and the colorful graphics actually are very pretty in 480p, but I'd rather see it upscaled to 720p and enjoy the simplicity of a one-cable connection that Sony and X-Box boast.

-- It only plays games and streams 480p Netflix. The X-Box and Sony play HD movies, have music services, comic books, video rentals, themes and a ton of things to do online if you're into that stuff. Personally this doesn't affect me but it's worth knowing.

- Wii Virtual Shop titles can get expensive if you intend to buy a lot of them. $8 is fair for an amazing SNES game like Super Mario World or A Link to the Past, but $8 for Contra 3 which consists of 6 levels and can be beaten in under 2 hours is a reach.

- Cosmetically, the Wii Mii's are hideous and generic compared to the X-Box avatars. They should have updated them, though they are cute.

In conclusion, the Wii remains an amazing system that isn't for everyone, but can certainly appeal to nearly anyone with an open mind and a child's optimism. There's something special about opening a brand new game from Nintendo that honestly you just don't feel when you pre-order and rip open an X-Box or even PS3 game. It doesn't play Blu-Rays, it's not in 3D, the longest RPG on the system is a Paper Mario game and most of the FPS games have clunky controls and inferior graphics, but for a one-console time capsule to play nearly every amazing Nintendo classic of the last three decades, this bundle is nothing short of a steal. If you're skeptical or have a tight budget, wait until the holidays or at least until any bombshell news at the E3 conference from June 7th-9th, but otherwise I'd say go for it and you won't regret it. Hopefully in the next few months we'll finally see some of these older Wii games at bargain prices for collectors and late arrivals like myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Gold Stars to win in the Mario Kart Mirror Cup. ;)

The New Super Mario Bros Wii bundle features the "new Wii" which despicably removed compatibility with Gamecube games and also does not include a stand. This bundle is a FAR BETTER VALUE; it is backwards-compatible, as the original Wii was intended to be, it includes Mario Kart Wii, which all in all is MUCH MORE FUN than New Super Mario Bros Wii, which is a GREAT game with three or four players, but does not even come close to comparing to Mario Kart in thrill and versatility, and it also includes a matching Wii Remote Wheel. Get the good Wii bundles while you still can! They're phasing in the new, stripped-down Wii, starting with the New Super Mario Bros Wii bundle.

As a side note, for competitive gaming with this bundle, I recommend KMD Shockwave Gamecube Controller, and for additional Wii remotes, I HIGHLY recommend Remote, Nunchuck Controller and Case for Nintendo Wii, which includes a remote which looks just like Nintendo's remote, a protective remote jacket, and a nunchuck for under $20. I own one and it works perfectly. You can't beat that value.

I have seen some bad reviews but I don't know why. I have owned my wii for 60 days and I use it everyday, I even watch netflix and surf the web with no troubles at all! I love my wii, the system itself seems heavy duty, it is heavier then my PS2. I bought the wii for my daughter on her 6th birthday and I bought me the wii fit plus with board and I love it, it is easy to use, I can track my BMI and weight in the wii fit channel without putting the disk in (I have lost 20lbs in 30 days!!) the wii has the shopping channel and you can purchase wii points and download games from previous nintendo versions like NES,SNES,64,and sega genesis ect, they don't have all the titles but there are still alot to choose from, you can also play the nintendo gamecube games, nintendo wii has 4 ports to plug in nintendo gamecube controllers and 2 gamecube memory slots, and 2 usb ports in the back, and a place in the front for the SD card so you can store the games you download from the shopping channel, the only thing I noticed is you can't use a usb mic for a gamecube karaoke, but I think that is minor. Only other downside you can't play DVD's. I seen in a review about the motion sensor, the motion sensor wire is thin and it does seem to be flimsy, but you don't move the sensor, it stays either above or below your tv, I haven't had any tracking trouble with the remotes.
The remotes have a speaker built into them, so when you play super mario bros and you "get big" or "Shrink" your remote makes a cool sound, when more then one person is playing mario bros and you get in a bubble you can shake the wii remote and the bubble will float to the nearest person and your remote will say HELP ME!! You need the wii classic controller to play some of the games for the SNES and 64, when you purchase the classic controller all you do is plug it into the bottom of the wii remotes and you are still wireless.
Hope this review helps!