WeKnowWii.com keeps looking at all of the new games that are out, and wishing we could buy every single one to play – obviously we aren’t made of money, or we’d be writing about how much we’re enjoying all of our new games.  There are lots of stats out there regarding the crisis – people are playing more, people are playing less, less games are selling, new titles are coming out, and more Wiis are available this year than in previous years.

We’re finding that sitting home and playing a few games of Mario Kart or Wii Sports has been just as much fun, if not more, than the thought of dropping fifty bucks on dinner and a movie.  We’re also carefully considering which titles to purchase around the Christmas season, and carefully, hawkfully watching for deals to post here and exploit for our own enjoyment.

What have you found to be the effects of the current economic crisis on your gaming?  Please post in the comments, we would really love to know how the situation is affecting everyone.

Since I’ve been playing Wii Sports so much lately, I figured I’d post about some of the Sports Accessory Packs that have been making their rounds for retail lately.  I’m still using my good ol’ sense of imagination, but who knows – perhaps Santa will be good to us this year!

The Wii Grand Slam Sports Pack, by CTA Digital:

The Wii 9 In 1 Sports Pack, again by CTA Digital:

The Wii Sports Pack, by Core Gamer:

The Wii Nerf Sports Pack, which also comes in RED, BLACK, and GREEN, from PDP:

The Wii Soft Sport Kit, from DreamGear:

The Wii 6-in-1 Sports Kit from ICON:

and last but definitely not least or final on this list, the Wii 3-in-1 Sports Pack with Glow-In-The-Dark Effects, from Hyperkin:

Wii Sports for Nintendo’s Wii calculates your scores after every game you play – if you rock it and continue to improve your game, you’re rewarded with certain little nuances, like a star-studded bowling ball, a silver tennis racket, or silver gloves.  This WeKnowWii editor loves this game, and I play it a lot.  My bowling score is about 1392 and my golf score is around 1400.

What are you scoring on Wii Sports?

In Wii Sports, the more you play and the better you become at achieving higher scores, the more you are rewarded for your progress. Score more than 1000 points in an event – you reach “Pro Status,” and it comes in the form of a label on your Mii when you are playing the game in which you achieved Pro status.

At the end of each round of golf, for example, that you play on your own (two player games don’t count towards your Pro status), you are given points based on your performance. If you had a particularly bad round, you might have points taken away. Achieving Pro status on the Wii comes with a bit of a challenge as well – if you happen to have a couple of rounds in which you had poor performance and you lose several points, you can lose your pro status as well. You can always regain it by doing well and raising your point value. What the Wii giveth, the Wii can taketh away!

There are also some cosmetic embellishments that come with Pro status – the one glaring example that we’ve noticed is with bowling. Once you achieve Pro status in bowling, you are given a star-studded bowling ball to hurl down the lane.

Good luck!

I have, as of late, found myself very much addicted to Wii Sports‘ Golf.  I have driven my score well above “pro” status, and it’s a ton of fun every time I start playing.  The basic gist of Wii Sports Golf is nothing terribly fancy – either a 3-tier, 3-hole challenge that places you on 3 holes of the course based on their difficulty level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), or a 9-hole game.  Controls for Wii Sports Golf are pretty basic, and I have found that they actually work more efficiently and consistently if you swing the remote like you would a golf club.  I have had some difficulties with putting, which seems to be the most complicated bit of Wii Sports Golf – the velocity and angle in which you swing the putter seem to be a bit of a challenge from time to time.  However, this gets better with each game, and I’ve been hitting in lots of 30 to 50 foot puts lately!

There is an accessory if you so choose to purchase it – a little golf club head extension for your remote.  It’s cute.  The best value seems to be to purchase Intec’s Wii Ultimate Action Pack – it comes with a baseball bat extension, a tennis racket extension, a little sword extension, and the golf club – all for under 20 bucks.  Check it out.