The problem with having four controllers

OMG Nintendo examines the financial burden of owning four controllers to get the most out of your console.

The problem with having four controllers

Extra Wiimotes don't come cheap

So, if I've done my math correctly, Nintendo moved at least four million Wiis in the November-December Christmas shopping season. That's four million new Wii owners popping up, pretty much overnight. (You guys are all gonna read my site, right?!)

Now, a lot of those Wiis are moving into households where they'll occupy a privileged position in the family's living room, to be enjoyed by all. Despite this, a lot of parents are making a cheapskate mistake that probably dates back to their own limited experiences with video games back in the 80's: they're trying to get by with just two controllers, usually the system pack-in and then the one that comes with Wii Play.

No, no, no. If you ever intend for your Wii to be played by groups of people, buy four controllers. Yes, this tacks on about an extra hundred dollars to the cost of the Wii. Yes, you won't use that third and fourth controller every day, and could've bought two (or more) games instead. Still, when you've got gobs of company or your kids have friends over, you'll really wish you had those extra two Remotes. Consider the Guitar Hero World Tour saga of sadness, if you must find some way to justify the purchase.

When you own four Wii Remotes, there are no unpleasant surprises with the Wii. Virtually no games outside of Virtual Console call for any more. You can get by with only two Nunchuks easily, though it's not really prohibitively expensive to own four and certain party games easier to set-up for everyone. You only really need two Classic Controllers, at least for now. If your family seems likely to enjoy a lot of Mario Kart Wii or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it is frankly not a bad idea to have up to four GameCube controllers sitting around.

Any parents reading this are probably looking at that pile of controllers and just seeing a big mountain of dollar signs. Well... yeah. Video games are a pastime where expenses are all front-loaded into the price of your game-playing widget. Take these expenses into account when deciding to buy your Wii, and you'll be fine. If you try to get by in a ridiculous situation like having two Remotes to go round for your three kids and everyone else who drops by and wants to play, your Wii is just going to be a source of endless frustration.

Individual Wii titles tend to be entertainment bargains, but only if you've got all the best controllers for that particular title. Playing Wii games is an experience that can draw a family together, but you'll find everyone is more eager to play when they know they'll have their own controller. Your kids will have more fun, you'll have more fun, and you'll deal with a lot less in the way of fights, crying, and unpleasant surprises.

The trend in video game design, since about the mid-90's, has been a move toward four-controller systems. Only the Xbox 360 has bucked the trend since the Dreamcast hit with its built-in multi-tap, and I'm sure that's only because USB hubs are pretty cheap compared to the expensive, neglected multi-taps of decades past. The only way you can justify owning a console and only one or two controllers now is if you know you'll never be engaging in offline multiplayer of any sort, and if you're that guy, you don't want a Wii to begin with.

Related Links

Comments [15]

post a comment

greensabre

I only bought one extra Wiimote (with Wii Play), one extra nunchuk, and one classic controller. I honestly couldn't imagine crowding four people around the screen, all of them flinging their Wiimotes in the air. In fact the only game where I've even wanted to try it was tennis in Wii Sports. We just use GameCube controllers for Smash Bros. and Mario Kart, and that's all that gets played anyway.

war02orc

maze1914 wrote:

first

My god, can't you people post something intelligent for once? Seriously, no one cares if you are first.

It's a simple fact of gaming on any console if you have friends that you will need more than 2 controllers. My typical MO is that I start with only 2 controllers, and buy more as needed. For example, I bought 1 extra controller for my PS3 at launch, and only just now bought a 3rd one because little big planet can have 4 people playing simultaneously (if at some point I have 4 people playing LBP I will then buy a 4th, until then I stick with 3). What you have to consider is that many games now only support 2 people max offline, so 2 controllers is usually more than enough.

The Wii, however, is a beast all on its own. Most games on the wii support more than 2 players in some fashion, and even the ones that only support 2 people at a time support multiple controllers (eliminating the need for handing off controllers, just choose which player is the active one). Unless you have absolutely no friends over that play the wii you should invest in at least 3 controllers. I myself have 3 currently (with 3 nunchuks, and 2 classic), which was a result of smash bros brawl. The only reason I don't have 4 is because the friends I have that play the wii have their own controllers from their own systems. They tend to bring their controller so they can carry over their Mii.

In short, buy only what you need, and buy more as necessary. Obviously, if you have 4 kids you will NEED 4 controllers, but if you have 1 kid you might be able to get away with 2 or 3 with minimal accessories.

AANTHUNDER

htown4life wrote:

maze1914 wrote:

first

First Fag Yeah!!

He gets first prize, tube steak with a side of balls, smothered in underwear!

phebo

war02orc wrote:

maze1914 wrote:

first

My god, can't you people post something intelligent for once? Seriously, no one cares if you are first.
It's a simple fact of gaming on any console if you have friends that you will need more than 2 controllers. My typical MO is that I start with only 2 controllers, and buy more as needed. For example, I bought 1 extra controller for my PS3 at launch, and only just now bought a 3rd one because little big planet can have 4 people playing simultaneously (if at some point I have 4 people playing LBP I will then buy a 4th, until then I stick with 3). What you have to consider is that many games now only support 2 people max offline, so 2 controllers is usually more than enough.
The Wii, however, is a beast all on its own. Most games on the wii support more than 2 players in some fashion, and even the ones that only support 2 people at a time support multiple controllers (eliminating the need for handing off controllers, just choose which player is the active one). Unless you have absolutely no friends over that play the wii you should invest in at least 3 controllers. I myself have 3 currently (with 3 nunchuks, and 2 classic), which was a result of smash bros brawl. The only reason I don't have 4 is because the friends I have that play the wii have their own controllers from their own systems. They tend to bring their controller so they can carry over their Mii.
In short, buy only what you need, and buy more as necessary. Obviously, if you have 4 kids you will NEED 4 controllers, but if you have 1 kid you might be able to get away with 2 or 3 with minimal accessories.

wow thats long just for telling someone not to say first

war02orc

phebo wrote:


wow thats long just for telling someone not to say first

Read past the first 2 sentences and you'll see that it's not all about the first post...

cabogranato

war02orc wrote:

phebo wrote:


wow thats long just for telling someone not to say first

Read past the first 2 sentences and you'll see that it's not all about the first post...

The "first" thing is a joke on this site so lighten up I don't know who put the stick up your ass but not everyone is a loser who feels they have to give a 1,000 letter comment about have 4 stupid wii controllers.

jstern

cabogranato wrote:

war02orc wrote:

phebo wrote:

wow thats long just for telling someone not to say first

Read past the first 2 sentences and you'll see that it's not all about the first post...

The "first" thing is a joke on this site so lighten up I don't know who put the stick up your ass but not everyone is a loser who feels they have to give a 1,000 letter comment about have 4 stupid wii controllers.

Every person that says 1st has got to be under 15. It's like a little kids excitement that only a little kid gets. As they get older little things get less exiting.

cabogranato

jstern wrote:

cabogranato wrote:

war02orc wrote:


phebo wrote:


wow thats long just for telling someone not to say first



Read past the first 2 sentences and you'll see that it's not all about the first post...

The "first" thing is a joke on this site so lighten up I don't know who put the stick up your ass but not everyone is a loser who feels they have to give a 1,000 letter comment about have 4 stupid wii controllers.


Every person that says 1st has got to be under 15. It's like a little kids excitement that only a little kid gets. As they get older little things get less exiting.

I don't write it myself but this is a lighthearted site people just like to joke around. I rather see someone writing "first" then see someone putting anthor person down like war02orc was doing. And before anyone comments I meant "about having 4" not "about have 4" my bad.

Post a Comment