12"? I can get to 5ft. before it starts to shake.

If you go into the remote sensor adjustment and point the remote at the sensor bar, you should only see two lights. If you are seeing more, they are likely coming from some reflection. At about 15 feet away, mine picks up a reflection from the outside window, so it goes from being normal to jumping back and forth.

You can actually use this to your advantage. I have two bulbs in the overhead lights. I can point the wiimote at the overhead lights and still look at the TV. It's amazing how fast you get used to the "offset".

 12' that is....

Sorry - I'm not used to reading feet and inches.

I bought eneloop rechargeables for my Wii motes. They are perfect. Holding energy better than normal rechargeables if you don't use it, and your getting about 8-12 hours gameplay until they are empty.

You NEED the rechargeable batteries... I got them at the same time I got my
Wii. I use some 2500mah Energizer NiMH I got for $25... but if you are in USA, I guess you can get them for less. Or get the Nyko dock :p

 I got the same ones. They are great. I've had the same pair in my wireless mouse since I took them out of the package a month ago w/o charging. Normal batteries usually don't last more than 3 months and I haven't even gotten a low battery warning yet (which usually means I have about 2 weeks left before I need to change it).

A few things:

Rechargeable batteries as many have said are a must have (or the docking station, but that only gives you 2 controllers so it seems worthless to me). I have a set of energizer rechargeable batteries that last me for 12 hours of continuous Wiimote and Nunchuck gameplay or more.

As far as the pointer calibration, you do need to get closer to your TV. I sit about 8 feet from mine and it works perfectly. As was said there is a calibration thing in Zelda. Also, I always recommend having the Wiimote below the TV, rather than above. You can change the position of the sensor bar in the Wii's settings pretty easily, and I have always found it to be more accurate from the blow TV position. Hopefully Nintendo will release a firmware update that calibrates the Wiimote at some point, but it works pretty well without it. You will eventually stop noticing the problem.

You didn't like RE4's Wii controls? I loved them. Probably my favorite control scheme on the Wii yet. Nice initial game library there btw. Oh, one more thing: Dragon Ball Z Budokai: Tenkaichi 2 is really fun on the Wii (and I don't even like DBZ). However, at this point it's a better idea to just wait for Tenkaichi 3, which will have online play. I hope you enjoy your new system. You picked a good time to buy it. MP3, SMG, and SSBB are not far away! Not to mention the great 3rd party stuff in between.

Batteries are the weak point of the Wii package. However after playing awhile you will realize some games are more battery intensive then others. Which is probably not what Nintendo expected to be the case. I got through Zelda only having to change out the batteries once. That balanced out to the batteries lasting for twenty hours. They probably could have lasted longer. However I played Wii Sports quite a bit, and I was still learning the controls.

On the other hand I have gone through three sets of batteries playing Scarface, and I have yet to finish the game. I also went through a similar amount on Godfather. The difference as I see it is a overuse of the sensor bar in these games. The pointer is getting far too much use for just about everything.

When you play with games that use more of the motion sensors the batteries seem to go a lot farther. Hopefully in the future more developers will make better use of the controls. They are using the sensor almost as a second analog stick when simple tilts could just as easily help the character move.

I would advise buying low quality batteries until you get a charger. Since there seems to be no real difference in lifespan. Definitely not enough to justify paying a premium price. Why buy ten batteries when you can buy twenty for the same price.

Definitely get rechargeable batteries, the included batteries are absolute crap. If your wiimote is jumping onscreen, adjust the sensitivity in the wii menu. Also make sure your not getting a reflection off a shiny coffee table or anything else in the room. Light sources near the TV can also cause some problems, and wiimotes hate burning candles anywhere near the sensor bar. Other than that, have fun!