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In 2026, the Wii turned 20 years old. It's been a long time since Nintendo released the family-friendly system, and over a decade since its ill-fated successor the Wii U materialized. Since then, Nintendo has discontinued manufacturing these aging consoles, and current owners are trying to use their Wii in clever ways before disposing of them for good. This includes modding Wiis to run homebrew apps or emulate older consoles.

However, you might not want to go out of your way to purchase a Wii to do this, since many consoles can be used similarly, and sometimes used products can be difficult to secure or too expensive. No one wants to spend more than absolutely necessary on a 20-year-old console with outdated hardware.

Prices usually range from $70 to over $200, depending on the condition and bundle you buy; some sellers offer factory-sealed Wiis at a higher price point — though these are mainly great for collectors and enthusiasts, and not really worth it for most consumers. For the rest of the population looking for a casual gaming system, unless you're paying very little, it's almost not worth it for regular use, especially if you already own another family-friendly console like the Nintendo Switch 2, which launched in 2025. The Wii is a classic, but at 20 years old, it's hard to justify financially supporting it.

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The original Nintendo software included with the Wii is considered obsolete. That means you won't receive updates. The actual hardware is incredibly dated: its maximum resolution is only 480p or 480i, which doesn't look good on modern TVs that support 4K. It'll look blurry, and might not be enjoyable for those with sensitive eyes when playing on a Smart TV. Additionally, you may need to buy a "Wii to HDMI" adapter to connect it to your TV's HDMI port, though this isn't an overly expensive fix since these can be found for less than $10 on Amazon, or around $24 on Electron Shepard LLG.

Additionally, game availability is going to be tough unless you jailbreak your console, or find a pre-modded Wii online. However, using a jailbroken Wii to play downloaded games is legally murky. Outside of that, you'd have to buy used copies, and there's no guarantee that resellers will charge you fair prices, depending on availability. Your best bet would be to check eBay or your local game store for pre-owned copies being sold on the shelf. On the digital side, Nintendo shut down the Wii Shop in 2019, so you can't buy anything digitally to save on cash. However, one nice advantage is that this system is designed to remain completely offline now, so you don't necessarily need to worry about maintaining it, setting up accounts to make full use of it, or about unsafe multiplayer sessions for your kids.

If you're buying it for casual use with your family and don't mind the trade-offs of outdated hardware, then, of course, a Wii is great — the motion controls on the controller, with games like "Wii Sports," are still a classic. Plus, for young children, it's still a good console to introduce kids to gaming without worrying about high costs if you buy it fairly cheaply.