Much like last year, this holiday shopping season is all abuzz about the Nintendo Wii, mainly because it's in short supply, but it's in short supply mainly because it's a no-brainer buy. A unique and uniquely engaging game system focused more on all-ages fun, less on horsepower razzle dazzle, Wii is built for mass consumption on the cheap. Sadly, Nintendo still hasn't figured out what mass production means. Or massiver production, as it were. Like a consolation prize, Nintendo has another game platform, the similarly quirky Nintendo DS.




BEST BET:

Wii
From: Nintendo
Price: US$249.99* | C$279.99*

Wherefore: At US$249.99 | C$279.99, Nintendo's Wii is once again the hot ticket game system for the holiday season. Also once again, it's in short supply -- and for good reason.

First off, the Wii, on its own, has created a brand new game consumer category, generally referred to as "everybody." It helps that Wii's controller mechanism, the so-called "Wii-mote," is both accessible and innovative, a motion-sensing wireless candy-bar like unit (that doubles as a pointing device) as familiar-feeling as the ubiquitous TV remote.

Too, the Wii is not a particularly powerful system -- it doesn't do "high def" nor "mass multimedia storage" -- which is why it's comparatively inexpensive and happy to jack into any old TV set you might have handy, and, ironically, why Wii games, more often than not, have such a broad appeal. That is to say, Wii's lack of graphical gonads means most games made for it (with some notable exceptions) actually look like games, colorful, fanciful whimsy that won't necessarily wow you with "photo realism" and "immersive intensity" and instead go for the something more akin to computer-generated cartoons; a look and feel that anybody will recognize as a videogame.

Then, most Wii games incorporate that aforementioned Wii-mote in similarly whimsical ways, whether whacking a tennis ball, picking a nose, or driving a cow. Seriously, you can do that in Wii games.

Who for: Buy Wii for people who have a real life but are interested in easy-going, interactive fun on a whim, especially if it can include multiple participants, and also for actual gamers interested in long-term, interactive flights of the imagination.

• *Note: Because Wii is so darn hot (again) this year, many retailers are not selling the system by itself (if at all), but as part of bundle-only offers costing upwards of or beyond $500, throwing in an extra controller or three, a handful of Wii games, a memory card, and a bag of chips, that sort of thing. Don't be shy, you'll likely need the extra accessories anyway and the bundled games are usually smartly selected to appeal to certain play styles anyway, party games, action games, that sort of thing. Bundles usually represent a combined savings of at least $100. Optionally, forget about it and by Johnny a bike, or Suzy some inline skates, and Dad a tie. It's just a game system, for crying out loud, and there's always the next birthday in the off season.

Also Consider... You might also or otherwise consider the US$129.99 | C$139.99 Nintendo DS Lite, a double-screen pocket system that features touch sensitive, voice activated, and conventional controls along with a wealth of games that take advantage of such idiosyncratic interfacing, some novel and quirky, some geared toward old farts, some hopelessly underwhelming, but many rich with storytelling and other immersive qualities; go pet a virtual puppy, whistle a tune for points and prizes, learn Spanish, or go slay Dracula with your stylus, which is mightier than the wooden stake, apparently.

Supplemental Stuff: It only took them a year to figure out this no-brainer, but if there's already a Wii-mote controller in the house -- or a bunch of them --, Nintendo now offers the new Wii Remote Jacket to coddle the it -- for free (wii.nintendo.com). These clear, rubberized, Wii-prophylactics envelop the entire Wii-mote but leave open spaces for the buttons and triggers, accessory jack and IR beam, offering both a much stickier grip on the thing as well as a softening of blows to your tennis partner's head. All new Wii Remotes come with the rubber jacket included.