To Wii or not to Wii

[Uncle Yuan]

I have never owned a game console before.  I am leaning towards getting a Wii for the group/family play aspect, but the game selection seems markedly less than the others.  (I note that Bioshock is not currently available for the Wii.)  Then there's the graphics issue, although I only have a standard TV, so that may not make much difference.

What are folks thoughts and experiences?

[BentonGrey]

The Wii is the only console that I would say is worth what it costs.

[tommyboy]

Wiis the only one I own or know much about or have played, so take with tablespoon of salt, but as I understand it, for group/family stuff, it owns.
For graphics/title selection/processing power the others own it.

[BWPS]

The Wii is awesome. I don't know much about your family (ages or whatever), but everyone loves a Wii.

[Mystik]

well between me, my brother and my gf we have all three in our house hold-
if your the type that likes to beat a game and move on to the next  one I would get the xbox, I only keep my wii because I'm addicted to 3 of  its games. dont get the ps3 not worth it in my opinion- we don't even buy games for it much anymore

[The Hitman]

I personally would only get a PS3 if you were planning on watching Blu- Ray movies. It's the only outstanding quality that the system has. Wiis are good as long as you like... hmm, how to describe it... simpler games, and if your hands don't shake constantly, like mine do.

[The Phantom Eyebrow]

I'll chip in here with a few words on behalf of the PS3 but not before saying that all three systems have their merits.  When I went to buy my console I dropped the Wii from consideration early on, but it is a very fun machine nonetheless.  Even in terms of family-friendly group titles, Sony and Microsoft have learned a lot from the Wii's success and there is a broad range of titles on both systems.

I wanted something with a bit more uumph though, which made it a straight decision between the Ps3 and 360.  Both are amazing machines;

- The 360 has the bigger catalogue of games (not as big an issue now as it was when I bought; as more games are made for both machines, the relative difference decreases)
- The 360 is cheaper (the difference is even bigger now than it was when I bought)
- The PS3 is the more reliable hardware (The 360 has the infamous RROD - there is a good back-up service provided by MS though in this regard)
- The PS3 has Blu-ray built in.

In the end for me, the PS3 got the nudge.  To be honest though, I think the Yuan clan will have a great time with whatever system you go for. 

[AfghanAnt]

As proud Wii owner and soon to be owner of a 360 I would say get a Wii if you have friends and family who like having a good time. If you are focused on playing by yourself, I would buy a 360. 360 has better games and it is really worth the 199.00 US price.

[Uncle Yuan]

In the end I went with the XBox 360.  Since 90% of playing will be solo it made sense to go with the games + graphics side of the argument.  It came with Lego Indiana Jones and I bought the Orange Box.  (Portal is fun!!)