I just picked this up and spent the last few hours playing the different parts of and can say with 100% confidence that this game... isn't for every one. You really have to go into it without having a specific goal. Anyone that played Mario Paint back in the day will have an idea what this game is like. I spent an hour just redoing different parts of the Legend of Zelda theme until I got it exactly how I wanted it.

I am buying this eventually, I've already popped the spending cap :(

 Exactly, since the first time I saw it I noticed the similarities with Mario Paint, not because of the music stuff but the "creation and creativity" part. I really don't see Wii Music for kids. Sure, they can have fun, but how long? Just like Mario Paint, if you don't have the patience or creativity you may get bored. At least that happened to me when I was a kid, I really liked it but was not my game.

Wii Music is NOT for kids, is NOT for casuals, it is for people that WANT to be creative with music. I really feel it appeals to me but have doubts

Please BCrayfish, for the love of God, could you tell me how much "freedom" you have to create music. Can you start from scratch? Or you can only "modify" the songs in the game? Can you create your own music? and if you can, can you really make the sounds you wish (by pressing buttons or something) or the game "decides" for you the sound?

This is the game with which i am going introduce gaming to my niece and nephew of 2 and 5.

good idea, i'd really like to see first hand how the game can influence a passion for music at a young age such as those

Well, it's kind of disapointing for me to say, but as far as I've seen so far there's no real way to start from scratch to make something original. There's still a lot of the game for me to go through, so there may be something that lets you have more freedom then just editing your own versions of the songs, but I know there's not a mode right from the beginning that gives you that ability. Also, for the most part the notes you play aren't under your control. You can still do a jazz rendition of the Super Mario theme, but you won't be able to change it around and turn it into a song from Megaman.

You shou check www.gamerankings.com

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i'm probably getting it. i'll let you guys know what i think before and after playing this "game".

before playing wii music, by and large, i think reviewers are holding wii music next to guitar hero and bashing wii music because of this wrong comparison. they fail to recognize that guitar hero is no more than a button mashing game that requires no musicianship whatsoever to "succeed". if the wiimote is a gimmick, the guitar itself is an even bigger gimmick, merely an extra controller that sets back the player an extra $40 or $50.

what i'm interested in finding out is what wii music sets out to achieve. it is not about getting high scores, that's for sure. it's more about making music. as a classically trained musician, i highly doubt wii music can accomplish making "real" music--but i had the exact same elitist skepticism toward nintendo's brain age game, thinking that how on earth does a phd from THE top scientific institution in the world need something to train his brain. as it turns out, i have very nice things to say about brain age after trying it.

my guess is that wii music will succeed in making amateur musics, since coming up with interesting arrangements and speed and tempo and maybe even dynamics is a lot of fun for 95% of the population. of course, it's not meant to create serious music anyway. but the music creation experience would probably be a lot of fun when there are multiple people doing it. i play chamber music, which is an absolute blast, and i can imagine for those who have never received classical training will get to enjoy the experience of engaging in a musical ensemble--albeit it's only wii music.

my guess is that i'll be deeply disappointed by the lack of choice. 50 songs seems way too barebone. and likely they're like 90 seconds each, way too short. and since i play the piano, i'll find that instrument to be really, really gimmicky in wii music.

another thing is that is the cultural divide in music tastes. most of the world still have a lot of respect on classical music and have profound respect for the instruments that take a lifetime to master. not so for americans. when canon in D is widely considered to be a favorite piece of classical music you know something is really, really wrong. not saying that wii music is classical music of course, but the conception of wii music is more closely related to classical music ensembles than getting high scores.

anyway, i'll probably get it within a couple weeks from amazon. i'll say more when i get to try it out.