two wii u to two of you

Posted bycasey coombsPosted instuff i like

UPDATE: Congrats to Meredith S. and Matt W. for winning the two Wii U Bundles!

Another product post, sorry, but when Nintendo asked if me if I wanted to give away two Wii U bundles to you guys I couldn’t say no.

Addie was asked to be a part of the Nintendo Kids reviewer program several months ago and she’s been taking her job very seriously.

Originally I set her up to write a portion of this giveaway but her little blurb contained so many ALL CAPS DECLARATIONS FOLLOWED WITH WAY TOO MANY !!!!!!!!! I figured I’d bottle her enthusiasm for another project that we’re working on.

I have always been partial to Nintendo as they don’t offer bloody, nasty games where you could run over prostitutes with cars, or gut pirates with your bare hands.

Plus, it’s what Cody and I grew up on — so while Addie may have been the only member of our family to be formally invited into the program, little boy dreams inside my husband have come true.

Showing our age.Here’s what we are loving so far:

  • No need to buy new controllers or games when you upgrade to a Wii U or 3DS, old games and controllers (Wii, Gamecube, DS) work with both platforms.
  • Cody loves that the Wii U has an HDMI hookup (nerd.)
  • I love that I can set parental limits in regards to online activity.
  • Addie loves the controller pad that comes with the WiiU, it’s so much easier to use the touchscreen to make things like Miis or put in passwords or names than it was with a Wii-mote.
  • Addie loves the Play Nintendo site as it gives her hints and tricks to games she owns as well as notices for free game downloads, printables (there were Mario themed pumpkin carving stencils for Halloween) and it lets her preview new games to see what she may or may not want to add to her Christmas list. I love it because it’s a site I can drop her off at and not have to worry about the content being inappropriate. If you ever played Nintendo as a kid you’ll appreciate the nostalgic touches to a totally modern Nintendo experience.
  • The Play Nintendo site for parents is equally great as it lets parents know what’s available (like a downloadable tour of the Louvre, parents can sneak it onto their kids console but no kid I know is ever going to see ‘virtual tour of the Louvre’ and think GAME ON!) as well as the truth about what’s really happening when kids go online through their Nintendo devices and how parents can control how much their kids can or cannot share.

I have two WiiU MarioKart 8 bundles (ARV $299.99) to give away to two of you. HOW TO ENTER: Click over to play.nintendo.com and play.nintendo.com/parents then leave a comment here about what stood out to you about each of the sites. You have until 10 p.m. EST Sunday, November 16th to get your entry in. (Click the gold question mark box a few times while you’re over there.)

wiiu

Fine Print and Disclosure: Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. Both winners will be randomly selected from eligible comments and contacted Monday, November 17th and have 24 hours to respond. If no response is received, a new winner will be selected until both prizes are claimed then winners will be announced publicly. While we have graciously received product from Nintendo, we have not been financially compensated and all opinions are our own. Good luck!

131 thoughts on “two wii u to two of you”

  2. I love the clean layout of both sites but was more attracted to the practical information on the parenting site. Anytime, I’m offered tutorials or insight into enhancing my child’s experience or setting up limits or controls over what they can do with a gaming system, I perk up. I want to be sure I’m doing my best to protect and nurture my kids and let’s face it, it’s difficult to keep up with technology. As soon as I figure it out, it all changes. So a clearinghouse of information is definitely useful.

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  3. Definitely love the game recommendations on the parent site. My kids would all like the play site, seems very easy to navigate.

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  5. Wow what an amazing giveaway. My kids play this whenever they can with their cousin, but would be so excited to have one of their own. I would tuck it away for Christmas! I loved all the tips and tricks!

    mmalavec(at)med(dot)umich(dot)edu

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  8. I thought both websites were great. I showed them to my wife (who is also a nerd-and knew about the hdmi cable) and she said she was pleased she knew all 5 of the things about DK and Peach.

    We have a 2 year old, so if we were to win this it is definitely for my wife, and she would love it.

    I think the last time I saw you we were playing video games, so this is fitting. Thank you for doing this, it is awesome!

    Dave Sauer

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  10. i enjoyed the different aesthetics of the two sites and that they’re clearly aware of the different audiences. I also appreciate that they offer an easy-to-use and access place for parents to be more involved in their kids’ activities and online presences.

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  11. I love that you can search by character. Also, as much as I love to play, I don’t have enough time to play everything that my son wants to play. *fingers crossed*

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  12. I like all of the information available to parents. I also like being able to set up limits as to what and how long my kiddos play.

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  13. Love that you can set permissions for individual kids and the game guidance targeted to parents. Thanks for opening my eyes to the WiiU – hadn’t really considered it previously but am impressed.

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  14. Loooved the kids site. My kids are grown, but I know my grandsons would totally love it. They love connecting things they see with things they do! Plus with the parental controls, I know their parents would feel good about what they are doing. Also, the golden question marks? Awesome! Loved Kirby splatting into the monitor! Ha!

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  15. Our poor Wii is 8 years old and is ready to retire. I enjoyed looking at the site to see what all Wii U had to offer. The gold box was amusing and I LOL’d when Kirby took a body plant into my screen.

    As most parents have already stated, I enjoyed reading about the art and electronic merge. My 9 year old is an art maniac and would be head over heels playingn something that is near and dear to her heart.

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  16. First off, I’m a total art nerd, so the first thing that stood out to me on the Play Nintendo site was how cheery, bright, and colorful it is. I also love that the different characters spin around the way they do (and that when clicked on, explains who each of the shown characters are). I want to click on every link (heh…Link…)

    Okay, so, I have clocked on the Parents: Play Nintendo site and the first thing shown is the link for art loving kids. Again, I love art. I love that they tied art and gaming. Art is very important in gaming! Again AGAIN, I love the layout and colors and feel like I need to click on every link because my eye is drawn all the way around.

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  19. I love that the kids’ site has a tips section – I think that’s great that kids won’t have to get stuck! I love the clean design of the sites and the ability to set parental limits.

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  21. I love the “Wish List” feature. It makes keeping track of what everyone wants very easy without having to immediately make a purchase. 🙂

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  22. I grew up on Nintendo – some of my fondest memories are playing games with my parents or friends.

    My son would love the Wii U, and I would love that Nintendo provides family friendly characters and games. Money’s tight again this year, so this would really be a blessing if we won.

    I love that the parents site familiarizes parents with characters and helps make suggestions for games based on your children’s interests and personality. The kids site is fun and interactive, definitely a place my kiddo would enjoy surfing through.

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  23. I love the holiday gift guide. It is so much easier having someone do a wish list so you know exactly what they would like.
    I would love to get the wiiu for my little boy. My husband has the other game systems and my little boy wants to play those games but he’s 4 and it’s hard to find anything age appropriate for him. The wiiu would be perfect. I miss the simplicity of Nintendo like when we were younger so I would enjoy it with him!

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  24. My boys have been asking for a WII for I’m not sure how long. I also had an original Nintendo growing up. I did not know they had a creative area on the WII. My son Dreyton would be all over that!

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  25. Love the wishlist on play.nintendo.com and the guide to the 2014 hottest games on the parents’ site. My boys would love to have a Wii U!

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  26. I loved both sites! Clean and easy to navigate. The tips for online gaming is great. Being able to click right over to the 3DS or WiiU sites as well to look at the hardware and software availability was great (looking to upgrade from a DS Lite and Wii).

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  27. I loved the parents site. So much less distracting with colors, I found the kids site to be too loud for my taste. That being said my daughter loved the kids play site and was happy to explore each of the characters!

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  28. The thing that stood out to me both on each site is that the characters all have a cartoonish feel. The colors are bright and inviting. None of that dark, brooding and violent stuff that so many video games come with.

    Also, particularly on the parent site, I liked that information is grouped in large boxes. Much easier to view and select than lots of text.

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  29. I really love the difference between the two sites – catering to the difference between the interests of kids and parents. On the parents site, it was great to see recommendations for games for artistic kids. It’s a group that might not always feel like they have a place in the gaming world, but video games can definitely be creative! The first thing that drew me to the kids’ site was the ability to view the “friends” and get info on classic Nintendo characters. Love that! Also, so much fun to click on the question mark for the coins – complete with the sounds!

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  30. I love the “innocents” of Mario Brothers. I will NOT let my son play games with life-like war, blood, murder, etc. It is all around us in our everyday lives, why put it into his play time as well? This is an awesome giveaway!

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  31. I love the retro feel of the sites, makes me feel like a kid again! I also am desperate to know how to better control what my kids will do online and with gaming. I had a Gameboy as a kid (my parents refused any gaming, so I bought that with hard-earned money, even though as a 70s baby I was in PRIME age territory for the original Nintendo), and I’d really rather not do a blanket “no games!” for my kids. We have a Wii, but I use it for working out or streaming Netflix. They don’t know that it’s a gaming console (she is only 4, and the boy is only 20mo). So, it would be great to slowly work my way into this new world before I have older kids demanding it and I’m completely lost.

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  32. Loved finding out about setting limits, was not something I knew about. My son would love Mario Cart, he already loves it on his DS. The sites were very easy to navigate, which is great, and it was once to learn that you can use the device to stream things like Amazon and Netflix. This would be a fun addition to our household.

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  34. I love that the kids site is, well, for kids! I would feel comfortable sending my nephew to that site, and that’s a great feeling. My favorite part about the parents site is the Crash Course items — sometimes it’s helpful to have a refresher when a kid is talking about an interest, you know? Even if I’m not super knowledgable about the topic, I can pretend that I am with those guides! Hooray!

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  35. We just purchased the Wii U for our daughter because she loves playing the games and she can use the new controller so much easier that the others. It is nice to know about the two sites because it answered alot of questions that I had as and ignorant mother of gaming. lol Thanks Casey

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  36. I love that there’s a parents’ guide! Even though we are Gaming People, I still feel a little clueless about what’s good for kids, game-wise. This is excellent.

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  37. I love the ability to set different controls for each kid. My boys would love all of the different types of games available.

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  39. I am so glad to see that both sites have art loving kids options! Creativity is key and I am so glad to see that we’ve finally gone in a direction that isn’t all “shoot, kill, destroy!” Also: Thank EVERYTHING there is a parents section of the website so I don’t always have to be an out of the loop nerd when I don’t know everything my teens are talking about- but I tell you, video game competition is the great equalizer!

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  41. On the regular site, I like the games and videos available as well as the holiday gift guide = very helpful! On the parents site, I found the Crash Course: Club Nintendo Article to be quite helpful – gotta get up to speed on things ha ha Thanks for the chance at this lovely giveaway! I would have some super happy boys if I win this :)) nlevdan3 at yahoo dot com

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  43. As the proud mom of a girl who LOVES video games like Zelda, Smash Brothers, and so many others; what stood out to me the most about the Play NIntendo site was that the characters were just listed by name. As in, not categorized into “boy” and “girl” choices depending on the characters. Thank you, thank you Nintendo! On the parent site, I really enjoyed the clean design and the way the game recommendations are organized.

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  44. I love how the Play Nintendo site feels like a game in and of itself, the screen moves and feels alive. I love how it feels like you’re on a Home Menu of an old-school game, very fun (and easy!) to navigate. With the Parents Play Nintendo, I of course love that the gift guide is top and center – it’s always great this time of year to be linked directly to what’s hot for Christmas for the “kids” in our lives!

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  45. Um the gold box was SO MUCH FUN! Reminds me of playing Mario with my sister as a kid! Love that Nintendo provides so much parental control. My oldest is only 6 but she already knows how to hack into most of my (password-protected) devices and watch cartoons on Youtube. Bah. Need all the help I can get!

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  47. The play.nintendo.com site is an easy site to navigate for kids. The play.nintendo.com/parents has posts on parental controls and “Show Me” on how to play the games and much more. These are both really awesome sites for the games.

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  48. I love how the play Nintendo site has tips on how to draw characters—why to help give the kids ideas of how to do things off-line!!! I love how the parents site shows you how to play the games!! Way to help me save face!! 🙂

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  49. I’m obsessed with the art section for my art loving daughter! I appreciate the parental controls section too. It would be amazing to be able to play Nintendo with our 4 kids!

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  50. Man, Nintendo was my childhood! I checked out both sites and as a gamer and parent there are benefits to each one. A child who is new to Nintendo would have a blast learning about the characters they’re about to play. It really brings some extra life to the game. The parent site was fairly organized and I believe all parents would be able to navigate it easily.

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