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Fun Club My 5yo nephew asked me for my Wii, dunno if I should give him my WiiU instead. Advice?

Dash Kappei

Dash Kappei

ARCADE FIRE 🕹 🔥
Sorry about the long post, bear with me if you can :)

My 5yo nephew asked for a Wii (!) for Christmas (I’m also taking him to Gardaland - Italy’s amusement park - but he doesn’t know yet), I’m torn between giving him my Wii (with GCN bc, softmodded) or my WiiU (softmodded). Both are in pristine condition, boxes and everything and tons of add-ons. I would also add 20 or so of the best games with each (I also have about 89 VC installed on Wii and 20+ on WiiU, but we are not going to give every game at once).

On one hand I’d prefer giving him my WiiU simply because I’m a big retro gamer and I’d like to keep my Wii which gives me proper 240p RGB via Scart on my CRT Sony Wega and it’d be easier for them have decent IQ via WiiU’s hdmi.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t be able to play my WiiU collection anymore (tho I haven’t turned up the thing in 2 years and 90% of it I have on Switch now) and I fear the U might become pretty pricey even used in the future (or maybe it still is), and it’s a pretty great emu machine.

Is the Wii with GCN bc still super cheap to find? What about WiiU?
This isn’t about giving my nephew a Switch or anything because parents don’t want to, and he’s excited about Wii since he played it at my place, I’d have no problem buying him a PS4/Switch/whatever but not possible.

I just don’t want to get rid of WiiU and then having to spend more than for a new Switch or something if I want to get one again down the road.

But I also don’t know how easily it is to find something else that can do 240p for Sega/Nintendo consoles with proper RGB via Scart, like my Wii does.

Any advice?

Tl;dr:
Is it easy to find a new/used in great condition PAL Wii with GCN bc, without being scammed and is it pricey?
Same above but for PAL WiiU.
 
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Giving him the Wii U is like giving him both consoles.

So, that's a win for the little dude.
 
The Wii U is going to be a ton more expensive to replace, since that seems to be your main concern. There are tens of millions of Wiis out there, in an audience who is more likely to sell it on.

Everything about the Wii U hardware screams that it'll be prohibitively expensive in the future.
 
I'd think giving the WiiU would be simpler.
  • They can play both Wii and WiiU games
  • They don't have to worry about having a TV with composite cable ports since WiiU displays via HDMI
But WiiUs may be more expensive since they are in very limited supply compared to Wiis.
 
Just out of curiosity, why don't his parent want you to give him a switch, but are okay with a Wii?
 
Worth noting that you can still play Gamecube games on non-BC Wiis with homebrew, though you'll have to rip your games since they don't have the right drive to play actual discs.
 
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He's 5. Get him a Wii. They are cheap and plentiful. Wii Us gamepad may not survice a child and will be way more expensive
 
grab a used Wii U (they can be had for pretty cheap right around now still, good time to get a back-up, imo which I'm planning on doing myself to softmod it) and maybe give him that one but also softmod it beforehand so it's ready to go for Cool Uncle to install a new batch of cool stuff during a visit.
 
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Leo said:
Just out of curiosity, why don't his parent want you to give him a switch, but are okay with a Wii?
Click to expand...

Maybe they're worried he'll break it, since 5yo's aren't generally great with handheld electronics. Or they want to monitor what he's playing and a TV-only console is easier.
 
Linkstrikesback said:
The Wii U is going to be a ton more expensive to replace, since that seems to be your main concern. There are tens of millions of Wiis out there, in an audience who is more likely to sell it on.

Everything about the Wii U hardware screams that it'll be prohibitively expensive in the future.
Click to expand...

If it were a new console, no problem giving it away. I just get pissed at the thought of having to spend more or close to new current-gen hardware to get an old console I once had but gave away. I’ve been burned so many times with this shit, like with giving away my modded NTSC JPN/US NGC+Component cables and modded component cables to get RGBHV and RGB Scart of it, or my Neo-Geo AES + 2 joysticks!
 
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Wii is better than Wii U for everything but playing Wii U games, and there aren't many good Wii U games not on Switch. Don't be the uncle who gives the thing you didn't ask for
 
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Thanks for all the replies guy, I think I’m going with the Wii, I think it’s perfect as a first console. He won’t be bothered by IQ, tho it’ll look like shit obviously, I wish the Wii had some mod to make it digital video output via HDMi, I guess RGB via scart will have to do.
 
Dash Kappei said:
Thanks for all the replies guy, I think I’m going with the Wii, I think it’s perfect as a first console. He won’t be bothered by IQ, tho it’ll look like shit obviously, I wish the Wii had some mod to make it digital video output via HDMi, I guess RGB via scart will have to do.
Click to expand...
Wii actually has better colors than Wii U's emulated Wii, believe it or not
 
Dash Kappei said:
Thanks for all the replies guy, I think I’m going with the Wii, I think it’s perfect as a first console. He won’t be bothered by IQ, tho it’ll look like shit obviously, I wish the Wii had some mod to make it digital video output via HDMi, I guess RGB via scart will have to do.
Click to expand...
You could try an mClassic via a Wii HDMI port to help a little with the resolution but that'd drive up the cost
 
SuperFakerBros said:
You could try an mClassic via a Wii HDMI port to help a little with the resolution but that'd drive up the cost
Click to expand...

Yeah, mClassic is $100 and while I haven’t tried this model specifically, for a while I was into external postprocessing upscalers for my projector and I’ve never found one that I was absolutely certain it looked flat out better on every level than og image, at least for my taste. Although surely there’s a difference in pp a computer generated and interactive image vs film.

But anyway, thanks for the advice, if it were for me and I had no means to use a proper CRT EDTV or for my brother I’d consider it, but for the kid the thing is kinda overkill. ;)

Brock Reiher said:
Wii actually has better colors than Wii U's emulated Wii, believe it or not
Click to expand...

Sucks, but I have no trouble believing that, not unheard of, when you are considering the differences in handling color space/specifications/different output.
 
Dash Kappei said:
Yeah, mClassic is $100 and while I haven’t tried this model specifically, for a while I was into external postprocessing upscalers for my projector and I’ve never found one that I was absolutely certain it looked flat out better on every level than og image, at least for my taste. Although surely there’s a difference in pp a computer generated and interactive image vs film.

But anyway, thanks for the advice, if it were for me and I had no means to use a proper CRT EDTV or for my brother I’d consider it, but for the kid the thing is kinda overkill. ;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I figured it'd be a little overkill, especially at that price point, but, hey, if not that, hopefully some component cables or something instead so the image quality could at least be not complete trash 😅 Hope they have fun with the Wii and no problem!
 
Brock Reiher said:
Wii actually has better colors than Wii U's emulated Wii, believe it or not
Click to expand...

I have no trouble believing that, not unheard of, when you are considering the differencing in handling color space/specifications/different output.
SuperFakerBros said:
Yeah, I figured it'd be a little overkill, especially at that price point, but, hey, if not that, hopefully some component cables or something instead so the image quality could at least be not complete trash 😅 Hope they have fun with the Wii and no problem!
Click to expand...
Yep yep, I’ll provide both component in case they have an open slot, and also RGB enabled scart to get PAL60 as the second best option
 
Johnzyboi said:
Ask him where he learned it from and go from there.
Click to expand...
He has seen the console and plastic toys add-ons (MK ‘wheel’, Wii Fit board etc.) in the entertainment room I still have set up at my folks’ place, last time they were staying there, and he went crazy for it and declared “Wii is the best thing in the whole world!!” “please zio (“uncle”) can I get one if I behave well, it’s the only Xmas present I’ll ever want!”, lol.

And he has more than earned it, he’s a sweet (also a bit of a prodigy) kid!
 
Linkstrikesback said:
The Wii U is going to be a ton more expensive to replace, since that seems to be your main concern. There are tens of millions of Wiis out there, in an audience who is more likely to sell it on.

Everything about the Wii U hardware screams that it'll be prohibitively expensive in the future
Click to expand...

Agreed, a Wii would be much easier to replace, a ton more of them were made and you don’t have the issue of the game pad, which are difficult to replace since they weren’t sold separately.

Honestly mate, I’d suggest buying the kid a non-modded Wii in as good condition as you can find, rather than giving away either of yours? Seems like the simplest solution?
 
If you give him a Wii, make sure he can actually use it. Not all modern TVs still have composite or component input. A Wii U is probably a safer bet in that regard. But Wiis are cheap and abundant as far as I know, and if you know it'll work, you can just buy him one.

Kinda wondering how a 5 year old even learned about the Wii enough to want one, though.
 
SuperFakerBros said:
Just get a used Wii for cheap off of eBay or Craigslist or something. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to hack it either
Click to expand...
I don't even know how this wasn't an option.

Wiis are plentiful and cheap. If the kid asked for a Wii and you can afford it, just give him a Wii. Get an used one somewhere, see some ads. I doubt this would cost you much.

He's 5, all he wants is a videogame to have fun. We've all been there.
 
Whelt said:
If you give him a Wii, make sure he can actually use it. Not all modern TVs still have composite or component input. A Wii U is probably a safer bet in that regard. But Wiis are cheap and abundant as far as I know, and if you know it'll work, you can just buy him one.

Kinda wondering how a 5 year old even learned about the Wii enough to want one, though.
Click to expand...
I’ve mentioned above that he just seen the thing briefly at my parents place where I still have an entertainment room. He then saw all the plastic different controllers, MK Wii Wheels, plastic Guitar, shitty tennis racket shaped Wii remote enclosures and so son, and went crazy 😂

As for the advice, thanks I appreciate that! Luckily I’ve been a professional reviewer for AV tech magazines for 20 years so it was the first thing I’ve asked my brother hehe. I know they have YCbCr and even scart, but not sure if the component inputs are already taken by something else, if not then they play in 480p, but if that’s the case then Scart RGB and PAL60. Although even with hacks there’s some ntsc games (and I own a bunch that I’d like to gift him) which will give ‘Red Screen’ on a PAL Wii via scart RGB, so hopefully they can go component (they don’t have S-Video, which is the only other way to avoid the red-screen, there’s an explanation about NTSC Wii’s and color space/encode that I’ll spare you lol!)

Anyway, it’s settled, he’s getting my Wii and everything with it (tho not all at once).
 
PlatinumClover said:
I don't even know how this wasn't an option.

Wiis are plentiful and cheap. If the kid asked for a Wii and you can afford it, just give him a Wii. Get an used one somewhere, see some ads. I doubt this would cost you much.

He's 5, all he wants is a videogame to have fun. We've all been there.
Click to expand...
I had a long reply written but just noticed it was never posted :-/ anyway, I’ve addressed it already, my Wii with GCN bc, no problem reading double layer DVDs, already softmodded with everything set up with ‘child locks’ etc is better than what I could land used, and everything is in pristine conditions like the boxes still have the cellophane wrap, etc. lol
It’s never been giving him the chepeasr thing possible, otherwise the thread wouldn’t have existed since I would have never considered giving him the WiiU instead. Heck, I’d have no problem getting him a new Switch if it were for me, but maybe I didn’t explain myself well so apologies.

Reason I didn’t go the NIB Wii route is because I wasn’t able to find one around here besides the red Wii Mini and I wouldn’t get it on time if shipped from overseas.
 
It's your nephew. Give it to him.
If God forbid something happens to him, you will sit there at home alone with your Wii and will ask yourself the question of why you haven't given him the wii. It's just a device with cables and a chip . Nothing more.
 
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