A Request for Opinions

[Nate the Great]

Okay, so I have neither a Gamecube nor a Revolution. Since I am still a geeky gamer fanboy, I'm gonna have to buy one or the other eventually. So this is a request for opinions. Refurbished Gamecube or New Revolution? As of right now, the only "killer app" I know of for Revolution is the upcoming Smash Brothers Brawl. Please keep the following in mind:

My disposable income isn't as bad as it was in college, but it's still pretty small.
It would go in my room, my TV is only about fourteen inches, and there's only about eight feet open in front of it.
I prefer left-handed Link, and all of the video game review sites I see are still giving GC TP a higher rating than Rev TP.
I would enjoy using a Gameboy Player. Go Mario Advance 4!

[PointyHairedJedi]

I wanted to buy a PS3, but apparently Sony do hate me after all.

Why not a Wii, Infinite?

[Nate the Great]

Reasons why I don't think buying a Revolution is a good idea:

1. The name "Wii" is absolutely atrocious.
2. I'd rather not break any TV screens, windows, or Wiimotes, thank you very much.
3. They refused to add DVD capability, charge fifty bucks more, and sell umpteen million more systems.
4. They didn't build in rechargable batteries into the Wiimote. Come on, what sort of idiot thought up that idea?
5. My TV is only thirteen inches (I measured this time), so I have neither the floorspace nor the display capabilities to fully take advantage of a Revolution.
6. Right-handed Links are just wrong!
7. The Virtual Console is too big of a temptation.

[AKAArzosah]

I like my Playstation 2, personally. All the 'new, improved, you-beaut' consoles are way more expensive that they're worth, IMO.

Playstation two plays DVDs, and also plays all the original first generation games (Gamecube can't say that, now can it!).

But not really being a geeky fangirl gamer myself, I guess I really can't advise.

[MaverickZer0]

Wii would like to play.

The instant I heard that slogan I forgave them the name. But you're right, Nate. Who would want to buy a console with Metroid Prime: Echoes, the new Zelda game, the new SSB game in the works, and all the new little goodies and stuff like the Wii weather channel. I mean, it has a funny name. Sheesh. And the remote!

...I still don't like the remote, but I've heard you can get controller-shaped attachments for it. After all, it was designed for FPS games, and I'm not into those. I'm a true nerd, not a casual gamer!

But, if Wii don't want to play (I love that so much now. The puns are limitless.) then get a Gamecube. It has SSBM and...uh...Mega Man Anniversary Collection. And some other things that I like but would be even out of my nerd range to mention. Not to mention that it's cheaper.

[Zeke]

One more vote for Wii. There's little point in buying a GameCube now, except maybe cost.

[Nate the Great]

Hey, the cost is a very valid reason by itself! For the $250 I would pay for the Revolution and one game, I could get a used Gamecube and at least six used games. Really.

[ijdgaf]

I own both. Get a Wii.

1) Not buying a console because of it's name is infinitely sillier than the name in the first place.
2) Use a damn wrist strap with the wiimote. It isn't hard. It becomes second nature, like putting on a seatbelt. You're a moron if you don't play with the straps.
3) Neither the gamecube nor the wii has DVD capability, don't you have anything else that plays DVDs? And yeah, initial price estimates for the Wii were $200. Those estimates neglected to predict a pack-in game. It's still tremendous value.
4) Rechargeable batteries/battery chargers are cheap these days. Also, you can buy 3rd party charging stations.
5) I've used the Wii on smaller TVs than that. It won't hamper you a bit.
6) The vast majority of Zelda has forgiven right-handed Link (or didn't care in the first place) -- give it up.
7) The virtual console is a wonderful resource. A great way to get classic games with minimal effort and minimal cash.

I'm all for buying old school systems, but not when newer, better systems do everything the older one does. There's no reason to buy a gamecube now unless you're a bumpkin and are looking to get into games for the first time at a reasonable price. Anybody with any real interest in newer titles should get a current-gen system. And anybody with any real brain would get either a Wii or a 360 between the current-gen systems.

Save up and get a Wii. Think of it as an investment toward the next 5 years of console gaming.

OR

If price is really that much of an object, get a DS. Thirty bucks more than a gamecube, and it's the most popular system on the planet right now. Titles are in over-abundance, and Nintendo's just getting started with it. Amazing system. You wouldn't regret it.

[Nate the Great]

Be glad I've edited the following from it's original version:

1. It's my right to stand by my decision, even if I admit that it's stupid.
2. The straps are perfectly fine, if you have the proper self-control all the time. Not everyone does. All it takes is forgetting to put it on once to smash something.
3. For a second, assume that you can only own one gaming console. Further assume that you have limited space in your entertainment center. Every extra function counts. Besides, I don't hear anyone complaining about the DVD capabilities of the PS3 or X-Box 360, do you? No one's saying "I don't want Blu-Ray in my PS3," are they? Even if it's technically "unnecessary," DVD players are available in the competition, so they should've been in Revolution just to keep up.
4. The existence of third-party accessories was never the point. The point is that if Nintendo doesn't care about basic things like charging their ubercontroller, why should I care about how nifty it is? And it is nifty, but not "spend five bucks on batteries a day" nifty.
5. Again, it wasn't only the TV size, it was the size of my available floorspace. Revolutions require MOVEMENT, right? The ability to make a full sword-swinging motion without knocking over a lamp or something?
6. Don't I have the right to have a preference or be comitted to a seemingly pointless opinion?
7. Apparently someone's Babel Fish is on the fritz. I said that VC is "too big of a temptation." That's it, no more.

[ijdgaf]

You really don't need to take an offended tone here, I wasn't aiming any of my condescending tone to you. But regardless, a few rebuttels that aren't really number synced with yours as before.

1) Really, this whole breaking-expensive-appliances-with-flying-wiimotes thing has been overplayed and exaggerated to no end. It's not a realistic concern. As I said, using the strap becomes second nature, just like wearing a seatbelt, for all but the most mundane of tasks -- for example, creating miis. And if you're really that aggressive when creating a mii....

2) Nintendo built a system that, brand new, costs 150 bucks less than the competition. In order to do that, it makes sense that they had to cut a few costs here and there. So I'm not too concerned that it doesn't play DVDs or charge my wiimotes. There are two additional points I'll make about DVD playback. First, assuming this will be your first sixth or seventh gen console (Gamecubes/X-Box/PS2 are sixth gen, Wii/360/PS3 are seventh), none of your old systems play DVDs either. It's not like you're losing functionality. Second, everything I've heard leads me to believe that using a console as your default DVD/UMD/Blu-Ray/Whatever player is a bad idea. It taxes the laser unnecessarily, and limits the lifespan of your system. You're better off using a dedicated DVD player that you'll be using only to watch movies, and perhaps to play music.

3) You really don't need that much space to move around in to use the Wii. That's not really too big a concern for me, as my TV is about 2 feet from the bed I sit on to play games. You don't really need to use exaggerated motions with the systems, and I've never encountered any problems here.

4) I simply expressed my thoughts on VC. I understood what you were trying to say, I was merely giving my input... is that a problem?

You titled the thread "A Request for Opinions." Nobody is saying you don't have the right to having your own views on silly/pointless/profound matters. But when you solicit the opinions from others on a public forum, you're... uh... bound to get a few? That might not mesh with yours? Hmm....

[Nate the Great]

Uh, yeah. Moving on to a lighter topic...

It sort of comes down to what you want versus what you need. For example, you may only NEED to move a Wiimote a few inches back and forth for a full sword motion, but what do you WANT? You want to jump around like the guy on the commercial, right?

[ijdgaf]

Well I don't mean to say you should get a Wii, but only if you're going to make slight movements. Unless you live in a broom closet, I'm sure you'll have more than enough room to move around comfortably. As long as you're not playing like Chris Farley as the van-by-the-river motivational speaker on that one SNL skit.

[Nate the Great]

Apparently people aren't grasping the concept of "this isn't a perfect world, people will go too far if they get sucked into a game enough to neglect common sense."

[ijdgaf]

People? You mean me.

I've played the system. I own it and use it regularly. I have many friends who do the same. Just because you see a small sample size of crazy-ass injuries/property damages which is exaggerated by the amazing prowess of the internet, does not mean this is the norm. The people on wiihaveaproblem are insane. And a small minority.

Of course, if you're intent on convincing yourself not to get a Wii, then by all means buy something else. Just don't use this "high probability of damages to self and/or objects" as an excuse. It's bogus.

[Nate the Great]

Never said "high probability." I said "probability." It IS there. If you mess up with any other wireless controller you aren't going to be flinging it into a TV or window, you'll just be dropping it on the floor. That's replacing a controller, not a TV or window.

I've found that plenty of "unlikely" events can happen much more often than people think.

Have you never been totally sucked into a TV or video game so far that you have no idea where you are or who you're with, and all independent thought has stopped?

[AKAArzosah]

Oh yeah... normally when I play video games, any question aimed at me has about a thirty second delay. Fortunately for me, I'm not one of those people who swings the controller around. I occasionally punch it in frustration, though, leading to all sorts of difficulties when needing an analog stick...

[ijdgaf]

Number of incidents posted on wiihaveaproblem: 214

Number of wiis sold worldwide: 6.03 million

Chances of wiimote related catastrophe (estimated): 1 in 27,000.

According to this site, those odds are slightly greater than dying in a bicycle accident, and slightly lower than dying in while playing soccer (football..?) in Britain.

Also, do keep in mind that a lot of the recorded incidents occured before Nintendo beefed up the straps. The newer ones have a much lower chance of being broken.

[Chancellor Valium]

What kind of bicycle?

Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

[Nate the Great]

I'm gonna return to an earlier arguement. Can anyone explain to me why they apparently never pulled in people from the outside to test the system under real-world conditions to find out these things?

[ijdgaf]

They must've to some extent. Every damn Wii game comes with a plea to, for the love of Nintendo, USE THE DAMN STRAP (yeah, it's about that blunt).

But yeah. Working at a children's museum, you can try to test new exhibits and such as best you can to see how they'll hold up. But it's really damn tricky to out-crazy the crazies. Particularly when they're children.