Decision: Wii or PS3 w/Move

cncaudata

Ok, I have been hemming and hawing for a few weeks now, and my 10% off whatever I want coupon came in the mail today, so I need to decide. My situation is: I have a 3 year old that I'd like to introduce to some games sometime soon, preferably some active and/or learning oriented (this includes learning to strategically acquire mushrooms, coins, legos etc.), and I have a wife that is completely willing to try games, but never really likes any of them. So, my thought process is that I need some motion control, but I want it to be "not the Kinect" because I want it to be useful for my purposes as well (shooting people).

I like a bit of everything, from Gears to Viva Pinata. I've looked through all the recommended game threads for both systems and all I see is that both systems have an awful lot of awesome stuff. My current Pro/Con list for each:

Wii: Pro: Wife friendly games like Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, and maybe some that I've never played but she may like: Trauma? Little King for my needs.
Con: Not HD (this is kind of what is holding me up - if the Wii was as pretty, I think I'd be decided), I'm hesitant about how the Wiimote will work for non-motion control centric games.

PS3: Pro: HD, one device in my living room instead of 2, rechargable controllers, needs different controllers for Move (but can use PS3 controller for nunchuk), Valkyria Chronicles, Awesome PSN games like Flower, Flow, and that one coming out next year.

There's not a lot of cost difference, because I'm also in need of a Wi-Fi Blu-Ray player - though accessories and games for the PS3 will likely eventually make it more expensive. There is a rad deal for the Mario edition Wii this week, though.

So... Yeah, I'm still undecided. Which one would you buy?

badpoet

I've had both. Sold the Wii after having it a few months to buy the PS3. I like having the BluRay player, most good games have a version on both 360 and PS3, and there are some great PS3 exclusive games (Heavy Rain, Gran Turismo 5, Uncharted 1 and 2, etc) that to me are far better than 360 or Wii exclusives.

That being said, the Move just came out and there aren't going to be a lot of great games for it right away. Motion controls on games on the Wii did get annoying, but you can classic controller a lot of games or use a Gamecube controller. If I had a kid and a wife that liked those "kiddie" type games, I would seriously look at the Wii first. For you, it will be far worse. For them, it's probably more up their alley.

bsjezz

most of the move games are still quite adult and technically oriented: even sports champions requires a lot of skill and strength to get anything out of.

i suppose you could check out if your kid would enjoy eyepet, but other than that the wii is a much more appropriate choice for very young players

cncaudata

Y'all may be right. It seems like there isn't much kid friendly Move stuff yet.

Also, hey there, fellow blizzard dweller.

MushroomStick

I have both and the PS3 sees the most use by a large margin. I pretty much only play the wii when a new mario game comes out.

maximumzero

3 Year Old? You need to pick up the 25th Anniversary Mario Red Wii and the 25th Anniversary Mario All-Stars set. Get him started right as I and I'm sure you did.

Essentially what it comes down to is that, in my opinion, you're better off buying the $249 Wii and a $149-ish Blu-Ray Player (To Match the $399 PS3 Move Bundle Price)

With the Wii you've got 4 years worth of a library to pick out of, whereas if you're looking for Move titles you've got maybe a dozen to pick out of.

Cire_Arodum

I think the fact that you have a 3 year old makes the choice easy.

I burst onto the gaming scene when I was 5 or so with an NES and Mario. I see no reason why any kid who will play video games should miss out on the earlier masterpieces (plus I seriously worry that if they jump right into modern graphics games they won't be able to appreciate 8 bit ones). I have a 4 year old cousin, who has an XBox 360 at home, but his mother says he goes nuts when he finds out he's coming to see me so he can play the Mario games I showed him. Once he gets the controls down well I'm going to show him Mario 3 and blow his tiny mind.

Go for a Wii, download the classics onto it from the virtual console, and give him a relatively kid/wife friendly classic controller. He'll play and love it, and you probably will too.

ExpiredHero

Game wise... We recently got the PS Move starter pack and "Start the Party", and it's great fun and pretty kid friendly when you have it in solo play mode (and then you have the more competative party mode for adults)

Peen

Considering how expensive getting a two person Move setup is, you could practically buy both consoles and kill two birds with one stone. Frankly it's what I'd do.

maximumzero

Cire_Arodum wrote: »

o for a Wii, download the classics onto it from the virtual console, and give him a relatively kid/wife friendly classic controller. He'll play and love it, and you probably will too.

On this note I keep seeing these on Amazon.

Looks pretty cool and makes me wish I had kids to buy 'em for.

ChopperDave

The Wii may not be the best choice for hardcore gamers, but since you're shopping for your family as well I'd say it's the best choice. Between its library and the Virtual Console, you've got a treasure trove of kid- and wife-friendly games both new and retro.

It's not going to be great for your "purposes" though. The only worthwhile shooter I can think of on the Wii is Sin & Punishment, and that's a SHMUP not an FPS. You could get a rail shooter like House of the Dead or Umbrella Chronicles, though, and the Metroid Prime trilogy is solid as well. Nothing in terms of good online multiplayer, unfortunately.

Still, there are a number of hardcore gems here and there on the Wii, and again the Virtual Console has some nice offerings for that as well. If you're just buying it now there should be a nice backlog of "games for gamers" that you can play when you're alone.

maximumzero

Edit: Define "Hardcore Gamers" that's one of the biggest misnomers of this generation IMO.

If you're looking for First-Person shooters there's actually quite a few good ones. Call of Duty: Black Ops, World at War, and Modern Warfare: Reflex are all great Red Steel 2 is great, with it's prequel being playable but nothing exceptional. There's a few others I forget off the top of my head.

And Goldeneye, of which my copy should be arriving tomorrow, is supposed to be one of the standout titles this holiday season.

ChopperDave

I consider "hardcore" games games designed for gamers. They're the type of things that are really difficult for people who just don't have the hand-eye coordination and/or practice to handle even the most "basic" of button combinations or timing exercises. My girlfriend likes some video games, for example, but she can't really handle anything too "hardcore" because she has a really hard time with platforming and pressing the buttons she needs to press. She really enjoys puzzles, point-and-click adventures (see: Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton), simple RPGs like Pokemon, and stuff like that.

Speaking of, one really good reason to get the Wii: Kirby's Epic Yarn. It's far from the hardest game you'll ever play but it is almost absurdly adorable and a fantastic wife-game. My girlfriend, who I'll remind you really doesn't do well with platformers, enjoys playing that game with me a lot.