Nintendo Wii and DSi Buying games for Nintendo Wii and DSi

You don't have to spend a fortune to get great games

Both the Nintendo Wii and DSi consoles have a large library of titles, from fitness to puzzle games, shooters to RPGs, so there should be something for everyone.

New games

New games tend to be rather expensive, and you can expect to pay around £35 for a Wii game and £25 for a DSi title.

However, by shopping around and picking out the best deals, you should be able to get more for your money.

Shop around for the best deals

If you want to save money, it's always worth waiting for a couple of months after a game has been released for the price to drop. Often, a game can be half the original price a few months down the line. It's worth noting, however, that some first party Nintendo games, such as the Mario series, tend to retain their original price for a longer period than other games.If you're looking online, it's always worth looking on a price comparison site such as PriceRunner to see what it recommends as the cheapest available price. Prices for new releases can vary by as much as £10 between retailers.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles for the Wii

Buying second-hand

Another option is to buy second-hand. Often people will buy a game, play it intensively until it's complete, then sell it at a reduced price. 

Play has a decent range of second-hand games available, as do high street shops such as Game and HMV, and all should replace the game or offer a refund should it turn out to be faulty. 

Older games

If you're looking for your first games for a new console, it can pay to look back at older titles. 

There have been excellent releases for all the consoles over the years, but older games are now available at knock-down prices. Even bigger bargains can be had if you buy old games second-hand.

WiiWare and DSiWare

Like Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has its own game download services. Wii users can download full games to their console using the WiiWare service, paying for the titles using Nintendo points. These points can be purchased through WiiWare using a credit or debit card.

As well as newer titles, there is also a large range of older classic games available to download, from systems such as the Super Nintendo, Sega Megadrive, and Nintendo 64.

The DSi has a similar service in DSiWare, which again allows the user to purchase games and download them to their console.

Renting games for your console

Zelda Sprit Tracks for the DSi

A further option is to rent your games via a game or DVD rental site, or even your local rental store. 

The advantage of renting a game from a DVD rental site such as Lovefilm is that you can keep the game for as long as you want, then send it back and get another one. 

The only problem is that you can't be guaranteed a certain game, as they're sent out from a rental list as they become available. 

If you go to a local rental shop you may be able to get the title of your choice, but you won't be able to keep it for very long. However, this could be a reasonable investment to find out whether you like a game enough to buy it outright.

Backwards compatibility

The Nintendo Wii is fully backwards-compatible with the Gamecube, Nintendo's previous console. There are a lot of titles available for the Gamecube, most being relatively cheap compared with the newer Wii games.

In addition, the original DS and DS Lite handhelds are backwards-compatible with the Gameboy Advance, meaning that it is possible to play these older games on the console. However, the DSi and DSi XL removed this function.