Should I keep the Wii, or return it for an XBOX 360?
 

My wife got me a Wii bundle for Christmas.

I've only had the original XBOX up to this point. My favorite games are the Halos, Splinter Cells, GTAs, NCAA Football, those types of games. I'm not an online gamer, so no matter what I have it will likely never be hooked up for that.

My parents recently got a Wii and I've only played the bowling game on one so far. It was cute, but I got bored quickly.

Will the Wii grow on me, or should I just go with an XBOX 360? The Wii just seems more childish, and I'm 34.

I'm looking for honest opinions from those who have or play both. No console bashing please.

Thanks.

It all depends on the individual...no one can tell you what you'll like. If you like shoot 'em up games, you'll probably be a big fan of Call of Duty 4 and CoD: World at War, since just about everyone and their dog is playing those.

I think I'm getting a Wii (I almost always figure out all my presents) and I'll be very happy with it. Interesting you got bored with the bowling, because there are a lot of different aspects of that Wii Sports which are really fun and challenging, but if you played two games and got bored, yeah, you probably won't like the Wii, then. I myself love the bowling game and had real fun trying to get better and better scores. I've only bowled a 300 twice thus far, and the multi-pin fitness mode and the obstacle fitness are pretty fun.

I also love Mario Kart Wii and think it's pretty much the greatest Mario Kart since the original.

Like I said, you have to decide, because nobody else will be able to tell you what you like.

Those are for the Wii?

The Call of Duty: World at War is available on the Wii, although I would guess the 360 version is superior due to the 360's better graphics and proccessing capabilities.

Based on the types of games you said you liked on the original XBox, I think you'd be better off with a 360. There are some good games on the Wii, and even some good FPS and sports games, so I'm not saying it's a bad system, or even a system that you couldn't have fun with. But if you can only do one system, it sounds like you'd be better off with a 360.

Yeah, I think I've pretty much made up my mind. Just looking for opinions to back it.

Plus, my dad has a Wii if I ever want to play one. He just got NCAA Football, Fishing and some other games for it.

Sorry, I should have clarified that you'll lean more to the 360 due to those.

Even though if you like those, I'd go Playstation so I'd at least have a Blu-Ray player, too. 360 has nothing I'd want that's not offered on PS3.

For me, even though it's underpowered and less expensive, I'd rather have a Wii than a 360. So much more fun, and I'd just take a PS3 for my other system.

I already have a BR player. And Halo 3 is only for the 360, which is the first game I'd be buying. So I really don't want a PS3.

How is the Wii so much more fun? Is it just the interaction of body movement? This is the kind of opinion I'm looking for with elaboration on.

Based on the games you mentioned, the 360 is easily the better option. Halo, Splinter Cell, GTA are all games that doesn't really have an equivalent on the Wii. I'm sure you might find a few games amusing on the Wii, but honestly I haven't found the Wii controls to make any game more "involved" versus a standard controller.

you said you aren't an online gamer. If you get a 360 and purchase either call of duty 4 or call of duty world at war...you WILL become an online gamer.

I like the 360 best (I have all three) because of the online community and how easy it is to navigate online. XBLA is brilliant and my kind of gaming. I have spent tons of time with a handful of XBLA games. I use the PS3 99% to watch Blu-ray movies. I haven't used the Wii in ages. My preference for games is 360->PS3-Wii.

From one husband to another: Keep. The. Wii. My wife bought me The Adventures of Indiana Jones DVD box set for my birthday in 2003...in full screen. To this day she chides me for exchanging it for the widescreen edition, even though I have since converted her to the format.

honestly I think the wife you got the wii, so she could play some games with you. (and family/friends)

Not sure its the best move to return it for something else.

You were the only other person mentioning keep it based not on the console, but how it was received and how it will be used. Like the reason you said, and the reason I brought up. Keep the Wii

If you want a xbox 360, you are a adult, go buy yourself one later :)

It was my wife's suggestion to exchange it if I want to. She doesn't really care. She'd actually prefer I get the XBOX because it may even be a bit cheaper. She doesn't really care about games.

get a 360, good games on the wii are pretty rare

Xbox all the way... however if you wife doesn't really MEAN what you put up there and will end up holding a grudge over this, keep the wii. :P

I have all three consoles. I LOVE my 360 and think its library outclasses the other two consoles. With that being said the Wii has a lot of games that my wife and I play together. I think she uses the console more than I do though with Mario, Wii Fit, Zelda, Boom Blox, and several others.

If she went through the trouble of getting you one I would keep it and make due with what you've got. It's something you both can enjoy and if you have kids its probably even better. Then again, if you're looking for a straight up "which is better" kind of thing just for your use I have to go with the 360 110%.

There will be no grudge. She actually feels guilty having spent so much and almost took it back herself before today (found out after that we're preggers again).

If my daughter was older, I'd probably keep the Wii, but she's only 16 months.

"WE'RE preggers again" aww :D

Well, I DID have something to do with it (I hope). :p

I got rid of my Wii in November and I feel great about it. Go get yourself a 360!

I know money is different for everyone, but based on Snowmaker's wife's reservations about the purchase already, you don't "make due" with a $300 purchase. If you are spending that much you get what you know will get the most use. In this case it sounds like the 360 is the clear choice based on what games/previous consoles Snowmaker is into.

The Wii is a great system, but I have my reservations about it being able to be someone's ONLY gaming system. It's a great companion piece to the PS3 or 360.

And congrats on the new kid!

well done.

But I would echo what dragon said. If you can swing it, keep the Wii, and get the xbox for yourself. My fiance was not a game player, but once we got the wii, she really got into super mario galaxy, boom blox and the wii fit.

Not even an option. I was lucky enough she let me get all I wanted this year for my HT in the basement, and I still need rear speakers.

I can guarantee that would never get used. My wife bought a $600 treadmill that has gone untouched for about 2+ years now. It just stands in the corner. My wife played all the Harry Potter games on XBOX and tried The Hobbit. That's about the extent of her game interest.

this isnt even a question...360!

Get the 360.

we did the same thing, it was bought last xmas for the kids and they stopped playing it after a few months. I've now got a 360 again and haven't regretted the purchase.

Even without the online component, based on your past experience you should go for the 360.

Better graphics for one, and just a hell of a lot of good games compared to the Wii.

I like having the Wii around, but I really don't use it nearly as much as my PS3 or 360.

Most days I'd rather just play with a controller than swinging my arms around and stuff. :)

I have all three and definitely get the 360. The Wii gets used about 5% of the time compared to the 360 and PS3.

Sell the threadmill and get an XBOX 360 and a PS3 :D

I've got both a Wii and a 360, and even though I have a six year old boy, the 360 sees most of my and our gaming activity. Only a few games on the Wii have really captured my attention the way that many more have on the 360, and there are plenty of family games on there as well. You say you're not into gaming online, but if you hook it up to Live, you then have access to hundreds of great classic or new games on XBLA.
If you like FPSes and GTA type games, definitely the 360. RE4 was great on the Wii, but there are tons of great FPSes on 360 (not my favorite genre, so I can't personally recommend any except Bioshock and Fallout 3).

360 for sure. You could try a game like "Scene It" to play with your wife (movie trivia). There are a handful of games on the 360 which work quite well with couples or with kids I think. I'm interested in Lips, the karaoke game, but I heard the song list isn't the greatest.

Return it for a 360

The Wii is going back!

Now I just have to figure out which 360 I should get.

my wii is collecting dust, i do all of my gaming on my 360 and PS3

I have both and if I had to choose to keep 1, I definitely would keep the 360. Not only because it actually has games to play, but the Netflix streaming feature is great. The Wii's gamelist, imo, stinks. It's gimmicks first, games second.

I'll go against the crowd a bit and disagree with this opinion. Especially for shooter games (FPS), the Wii is *far* more immersive. Why? You are actually pointing a gun (wiimote, or zapper, or perfect shot gun accessory) at the targets/enemies onscreen and pulling the trigger. That is completely different than moving a cursor around with thumbsticks, etc.

If youlike FPS/lightgun games, the Wii is worth keeping for that alone. I don't see how people equate the 'experience' of moving a cursor around with actually aiming at the screen and shooting. (This is apart from the other comments about game selection, etc. For me, the Wii has enough interesting games to keep me busy.)

Some sports games have similar control benefits on the Wii. For example, I FAR prefer performing a golf swing on Tiger Woods to make a shot than timing signals with button presses. The Wii is far more realistic/involving in that way. Also, throwing punches in Victorious Boxers is a fun workout. (Wii Sports Boxing is gesture-based and does not follow actual punching motions, and is not good for a workout.) You don't get this type of control (which is notjust a gimmick) on the Xbox/PS2.

I own a few light gun games (Ghost Squad and House of the Dead 2 & 3) as well as two Perfect Shot's, and while I find them a nice diversion for 15-20 minutes at a time I just don't find FPS games that involving despite actually holding a "gun." Maybe it's the floaty accuracy and the mediocre graphics versus a FPS on the 360, where realistic environments make the games feel a bit immersive.

And I agree there are some sports titles that are suited well to motion controls, but I don't care for Golf. The more complicated sports like football and basketball that i'm in to haven't seemed to work well with the Wii.

I'm far from being athletic, or even a big fan of boxing, but I have frequently tried the Wii Sports boxing (often as part of my fitness training). I am often frustrated that, of all the games on that disc, boxing is the one that seems to least mimic what I am doing. So, what you're saying is that I should find Victorious Boxers more rewarding to play?

I'm not looking for anything particularly involved; i.e., I don't care about customizing a character or following his boxing career. I just want to throw some punches once in a while and feel like my video game character is actually doing what I'm doing.

The 360 is the way to go.