Great Innovations: Nintendo Wii

I'd never previously played Nintendo Wii before this past Sunday, however I went over to a friend's for lunch and we ended up spending all afternoon playing Wii together. There is something strangely appealing about the system, forcing you to stand up and actually get (somewhat) involved in what you're doing, not just sit down and mash buttons. Granted, one of the games we played was ping pong, something we could have just as easily found in the apartment clubhouse, and another one was a fishing game. I've never gone fishing in my life (okay, not true, I went twice at Monroe Lake during my time at IU, but that wasn't real fishing) and would choose just about anything over going out fishing, however playing on Wii was (again, strangely) exciting and fun.

Nicely enough, the blog, Hotpoter, has provided excellent, succinct advice on how to buy a Wii in Beijing. I don't often agree with his other posts, but I really appreciate this one. My friend has had her Wii for awhile and it worked great, the only problem being that everything is in Japanese (read Hotpoter and find out why). While Hotpoter suggests Zhongguangcun, hers was purchased at Gulou DongDaJie. The price she told me for hers was above the Hotpoter price, not sure if it has come down, Hotpoter is a great bargainer, or Zhongguangcun is just cheaper. I'm currently considering buying my own (thoug PS3 is also tempting, when will someone come out with a buying guide for that?) and not sure which way I'll go (probably Gulou because its closer), though I definitely WON'T be buying it from XiuShui, Hongqiao, Yashow, or Wantong. Get your own Wii or come over and join in the fun, there isn't a much better way to wile away a cold, Beijing winter day.