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At Long Last, Wii Try... and Wii Like!

Wii console courtesy Nintendo

The Nintendo Wii seems to be the system for casual gamers, but it's also infamous for being hard to get. Is it worth the bother?

To find out, I recently borrowed my goddaughter Virginia's Wii during her college break. Part of the success of the Wii is ts ability to draw people together. It did this effortlessly with our sprawling family together during the holidays. Unlike other systems that encourage you to focus just on the gaming, the Wii encourages human interaction. You can play it solo, but it really shines when other people are around.

THE SCOOP Though unlikely to satisfy the hardcore gamer, the variety of interest from casual users means you'll have to either pony up some extra dough, find a place that isn't trying to fish your entire wallet or just get up early and go to the Nintendo World store in Rockefeller Center and hope they have one. I spoke with an employee there last week and he confirmed that Wii wannabes were lining up outside the store as early as 7:30 a.m. for just the chance to snag a unit. That's better than last month, when I was told people were lining up at 6 a.m. for the chance to buy one. Did I mention that Nintendo World opens at 9 a.m. and that they're sold out before the doors open?

THE DESIGN It's a simple white cube, weighing a bit under 4 lbs with a few neatly hidden places to connect the Wii to various controllers and the TV. A power button, a reset button and a slot for your CD-ROM grace the face of the unit, which takes up a bit more space than a cable modem. Its bright white case is a little like something from a creepy futuristic sci-fi movie, but is more charming, though (as I'll explain later) the Wii can hurt you.

WORKING IT The Wii passes the WRTFM (Why Read the Freakin' Manual) test pretty easily. A few cords to your TV and a couple of plugs out to the power and the antenna for the controllers and you're ready to go. For non-gamer fogies such as myself, the simplicity is attractive. Setting up the wireless Wii Remote (basically the game controller) just requires inserting a pair of AA batteries and you're pretty much ready to go.

To start the action, you just insert the CD-ROM of the game you're playing, switch your TV to the correct input mode and point your remote at the screen to move around the menus. There's an assortment of game titles available for the Wii, but I spent most of my test playing Wii Sports, which comes with the unit.

Wii Sports is a mix of pantomime and traditional gaming as you use the remote to control the action on the screen. For games that require two hands such as boxing, you'll also use the Nunchuck controller. Swing the remote like a bat and you can make contact with a virtual baseball; swing it like a tennis racquet and you'll be able to serve and volley to your hearts content, etc. The motion of your wrist and hand are mimicked and translated to the screen.

Just be careful how you swing that controller. My wife, while pitching baseball wound up giving herself a good crack on the knee. "I think I'm the first person to hurt their knee on the Wii," she said. Hopefully that's true, but using the Wii Remote can be a bit unwieldy at first as you learn how to coordinate your use of the controller. Besides transferring your motions to the screen, the remote also provides rumbling feedback depending on what game you play. Overall, the Wii's rich sounds, graphics and colors definitely draw the casual user in to a unique and involving experience.

You can even create a personalized Mii (an avatar for the games). Now, if you're really sensitive, you might want to do this by yourself, as your family and friends' opinion of your physical features might vary from yours.

PAINS It is probably the most physically strenuous gadget out there, so go slow if you've been a couch junkie for the last few years. Wii Sports boxing, for example, will definitely get your heart racing as you have to use both hands to throw punches. And if playing with others, keep an eye on the Wii Remote, as even well-coordinate people might flail about at first.

As for the unit itself, I've heard some complaints that the wireless controllers go through AA batteries pretty quickly, so you might want to take them out between uses.

THE PRICE A Wii lists for about $250, but it's difficult to get at that price. The lowest price for a used one on Amazon was $389 as of Thursday. Overall high demand for the Wii means that you'll find prices more than three times list at some stores. Additional accessories for the system can range for several dollars to about $50 for additional game titles. It comes with the console, cables, a stand and a Wii remote and a Nunchuck controller.

OVERALL The Wii is tons of fun, whether it's with a group or solo. You can burn a few calories while having fun. It can bring you news and weather reports and connect you to the Net. And recent news reports have even stated that the playing certain games on a Wii can actually improve the accuracy of medical residents on a virtual surgical training tool, so it might just be a boon you even if you never use one.

— David Flores