The Wii Accessories Wish List

The Nintendo Wii is the most innovative gaming console to date. A literal fun factory straight from the box, the extremely portable iPod inspired gadget from the Japanese company is selling like hotcakes across the globe with more than a million units sold since its release in mid-November of 2006. At an affordable price of $250, it is no wonder the Wii is at the top of everyone’s Christmas list. 

The Wii retail pack is inclusive of all the components needed for the setup: the console, the Wiimote, the nunchunk, the sensor bar, power adapter and cables. The old adage goes the more the merrier; Wii can support up to 4 sets of controllers but ships with only one set of controllers – one Wiimote and one nunchunk. You, your family, your posse and entire neighborhood will find yourselves clamoring for at least another set of controllers.

A Wiimote retails for $40 and a nunchunk for $20 or for $60 more, the fun factory is ready for operation. The Wiimote is powered by 2 AA batteries; any AA batteries will do, standard or alkaline. Serious gamers might want to invest in a rechargeable battery pack, they last longer and cost less in the long run. Wii has a built-in memory of 512mb with an expandable SD slot. The more games played, the more SD cards you will need to save those record-breaking scores and to keep track of the nth best of something series that has been going on for a week now.

One of the selling points of Wii is its backward capabilities. The GameCube platform is compatible with Wii and all GameCube titles are fully playable on the Wii. The catch is GameCube games can only be saved on GameCube memory cards at $25 a piece. Other old school games like Super Mario to Donkey Kong are available for download through the Virtual Console.

These games can only be purchased with Wii points at a conversion rate of 100 points per dollar. Wii points can be purchased in the form of prepaid cards or online by credit card.  Another of Wii’s selling point is its online wireless capabilities. Wii’s Wi-Fi settings are user friendly and needs little customization. If you do not have Wi-Fi, Nintendo offers an Ethernet adapter that can be connected to a USB port.

The Wii is a portable fun factory offering a world of features at an attractive price. With a few extra dollars, the capabilities of the console can be enhanced and maximized. Wii offers only a few accessories as of the moment at prices so reasonable the obsessive compulsive can binge and still save some penny for the rainy day.