I'm a noob in terms of the Wii and as I'm purchasing it as a Xmas gift for my nephew and niece, I wanted to find out what are the must have accessories for the Wii?

For example, I see the sports pack with the various attachments for the tennis racket, baseball bat, etc. Are these simply just cosmetic add-ons or do they serve a function? Also, I see that there are recharging stations...are these a must have?

Thanks in advance and Happy Thanksgiving!

Nah sports pack are just cosmetic add-on. Depending on how many ppl would use it but you need an extra remote and nunckuck. You can buy wii play comes with the remote but you need to spend for the nunchuck. Charging station is a real smart buy. but other than that unless I am forgeting something thats it

The tennis racket, baseball bat, etc. are purely cosmetic and serve no real purpose.

I don't have any experience with the recharging stations, but from what I've read they're a pretty good thing to have (I just use rechargable batteries instead).

The only truly must-have add-on is the nunchuck. You'll need one for each additional Wiimote you're getting.

Sports add-ons are cosmetic. I've never used them but they seem mostly redundant to me. Some people probably like the little bit of added weight they provide for swinging the racket, bat, etc, but I don't think I've ever known anyone personally who had them.

Chargers: most people here will tell you to skip the charging station and just get rechargeable AA batteries instead. That way when your remote needs more juice you don't have to set it down and wait for it to recharge, you can just swap out the batteries and keep on playing. There's a lot of logic to that, but I personally have a charging station because I found one for less money than getting batteries and a charger would have cost.

Awesome! Thanks for the quick responses!!

The Nyko Perfect Shot gun-handle add-on is the shit. It's perfect for House of the dead...

a 360 or ps3.

An Xbox 360 for when you want to play games.

If it's for the both of them, make sure they have two regular Wii controllers, two Nunchucks, and, optionally, a Classic controller and/or Gamecube controller (for playing older, downloadable games).

If you want to buy an extra Wii controller, Wii Play is only $50 ($10 more than the controller alone) and includes a lot of games. The arcade controller and the nunchuks are $20 each (I think), and a Gamecube controller should be about the same price.

Don't waste your time on tennis rackets, etc.

If you buy a game, please be very careful as the average Wii game is likely to be much, much worse than the average game on the other systems. Consult something like Metacritic's list of Wii games to see which are good.

This is not to say the Wii's library is terrible, it's just a minefield filled with great games.

Just to make sure you are aware, the Wii comes w/ 1 Remote and 1 Nunchuk. So I would 3rd, 4th, 5th, whatever Wii Play along w/ a 2nd Nunchuk. Just realize that you will already have a complete Wii remote / Nunchuck combo out of the box.

Oh, I think I'd say it's terrible.

Thankfully I have an internet connection at my fingertips when I am shopping so I can quickly check reviews. 9 times out of 10 when I see an interesting Wii game in the store and I look it up on the spot, it's either an abysmal rating like 4/10 or no reviews at all which is usually not good either.

I bought the Psyclone charging station, and I like it except for two things:

-It flash bright blue as it's charging so I have to put it behind me when I am watching movies or it's distracting as well.

- I have to remove the glove and wrist-strap for the Wiimote to fit into the dock.

I also have the official Nintendo crossbow that came with the Link game. Not really too fond of the gun though - may have to check out the Nyko one.

The Nyko blows the official "crossbow" out of the water.

Is this the one?

http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Perfect-Sh.../dp/B000X2RKOO

Yup.

Did everyone get those remote covers? I was too lazy to actually get em and kind of just got used to them now. Are they necessary?

I never got mine, and had sold my Wii anyways. I never felt they were necessary...

Nyko Wireless Nun chuck Adapter. I got mine for $10 at Gamestop over the summer. Amazon has it for $18. Not only is it wireless but since it takes batteries (2 AAA), it adds a little weight putting it on par with the Wiimote.

Instead of a charging station I highly recommend getting the Sanyo Eneloop Power Pack which can be had for $20 at Costco right now with a coupon.

It comes with a charger and eight AA Eneloop batteries (plus 4 AAAs and some C & D adapters). I use the Eneloops in all my Wiimotes.

I love you guys!!

I got an Xbox 360 for myself already! The Wii is for my niece and nephew, who are the greatest things in the world!

Based on everyone's feedback, I'll make sure to get extra remotes and nunchucks and also a recharging set.

Thanks all for the timely and great feedback!!! Happy thanksgiving to all!!!

Get a component video cable, if the TV supports it.

Great point! They do have component video inputs on the main TV. Thanks.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Just had to agree with everyone and say the Perfect Shot is great. Plus it's only $10 new at Gamestop.

thanks - ordered 2 at that price!

$14.99 at mine.