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[Afro Republican]

The Wii came out in 2006 and within two years became a force to be reckoned with. Wii would like to play became a popular slogan, and people from young to old gravitated towards it creating a huge casual market that would make the Wii a money printing machine.

They got even bigger once dancing and fitness started taking off bringing in new demographics of casuals to the system. It's affordable price made sure that it would continue to sell out for the first several years, and it was the biggest selling console that generation by a large margin.

of course this came at a few costs:

1. The price of the Wii was due to the poor graphics of the Wii arguably being quite a bit worse than the original Xbox, it was basically a slightly stronger GameCube, relying more on it's wiimote gimmick to sell consoles than visuals.

2. The hardcore market was mostly abandoned. Even some of Nintendos core hit titles arguably where stripped down, however not all of them. Regardless, the top selling software at the time would be games that many core gamers rejected leading to many of them over time moving toward PC/360/PS3.

3. Shovelware, while popular systems always have it the Wii had more than usual. The Wii was often used for testing grounds for real games released on the PS3/360, or more commonly, casuals would by the latest shovelware trends in large numbers. This led to shovelware third-parties being successful and causes traditional third-parties to move away or only give the system limited support.

4. It's last few years Nintendo lost focus and wasn't able to keep momentum, trying to nickle and dime the quickly cratering Wii base and putting out a new "slim" SKU that would bring with it some pretty extreme limitations. Of course sales did not increase and continued to crater, leading to the Xbox and PS3 across multiple regions to become champions displacing the Wii despite it's previous wide lead.

Of course there are some good things:

1. The controller was innovative and while not always used properly and often used as an alternative button press. It offered a new way to play.

2. Easy access through the SD slot allowed emulation and homebrew opportunities.

3. The online sometimes worked for some games which was good.

4. It was cheap and affordable.

5. Some of Nitnendos first-party still kept their quality.


So how do you feel about the Wii 12 years from now? Where do you place it.

 

[Sub_Level]

I'm not gonna play games with no dildo.

 

[Grinchy]

It was a Tickle Me Elmo that happened to get some good games, but overall, was not for me. It didn't even do motion controls well. It just made very casual users believe that their physical actions mattered.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Good system that (briefly) brought back the magic of arcades in the home. I wish more games used the IR pointing functionality since that was the best and most-accurate facet of the motion controls.

Lots of gems in the library. I'd say it has the most underrated library out of any Nintendo system. Most games are inexpensive because folks assume everything is waggle garbage.

I'm not gonna play games with no dildo.

Pee Ess Triple, baby.

 

[stranno]

Wii was an overclocked Gamecube with the Starlet processor attached. But the 64MB of MEM2 and clocking made the programming more "friendly", instead of those weird Gamecube tricks with the 16MB of sound memory.

It was a fantastic console with creative controls, great WiiWare and decent Virtual Console. Ubisoft's Red Steel, High Voltage's The Conduit, Platinum's Mad World or Super Mario Galaxy are still among my favourite games of all time. Not to mention the fantastic "New Play Control" series with improved versions of Pikmin or Metroid Prime.

WiiWare has some really nice games, like Konami's Driiftmania, in my opinion the best fixed-screen top-down racing game of all time since Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat.

 

[The Elite]

Great Gamecube but doesn't have enough quality content of its own. I was looking through the games list and there wasn't much for me.

I think the Wii U has a better first party lineup.

 

[Alexios]

Great system, tons of great games, very underrated by certain self proclaimed core gamers but oh well, I got my fun out of it and now have Dolphin to preserve and play my collection often too. All around A-

 

[PocoJoe]

Typical nintendo console:
Mario, mario, mariooo.

Fuck mario.

Weak hardware makes weak games with compromises.

 

[pramod]

I wouldn't say it's the worst, since it's basically a Gamecube + Dildo and you can play Gamecube games on it.

 

[Stevey]

Garbage, casual console

WiiWare has some really nice games, like Konami's Driiftmania, in my opinion the best fixed-screen top-down racing game of all time since Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat.

That looks worse than Super Off Road on the Amiga

 

[Nymphae]

Gimmicky BS that I was never interested in. I bought one a few years ago online just so I could play Rogue Squadron again, used a Gamecube controller.

There literally wasn't one Wii game I ever got into, but my friends enjoyed the bowling for a while.

 

[Caffeine]

Stood in line first to get one on launch day. was pretty hype out the gates had a few good hits. then it started getting ports, and well really bad third party offerings.

 

[JordanN]

Literally Nintendo's piggy bank.

The Wii gave Nintendo an excuse they didn't need to put any extra effort in their systems.

Only good take away is I did like the motion controls concept. But the agony of owning the Wii when the PS3/360 were getting all the third party games spelled disaster for any hardcore gamer.

 

[Macapala]

I like the Wii well enough, it had some pretty good games. But one thing that pisssed me off is when developers would make us shake the wiimote to perform an action that should have just been mapped to a simple button press. I'm looking at you DKC Returns!

 

[Sqorin Hammerfarf]

I liked the Wii, and its weird controller (especially holding it sideways, like a NES controller), though Nintendo definitely let it stagnate the last few years. There's some real gems there, like Wii Ski, Elebits, Boom Blox, Excite Truck, Mad World, Opoona, Crystal Chronicles, Xenoblade, Skyward Sword, and so on. Good times with the VC as well (Battle Lode Runner was great). It had some truly amazing and special games, but ultimately, I don't really look back on the Wii all that fondly due to the shovelware and the fact that visually, it's pretty terrible on HD tvs. I think I liked it better than the Wii U though.

 

[mr jones]

Lots of good games.

I don't like the controls on many of the games for the console, however. I'd rather just play with a controller. Don't get me wrong, I'll still play Mario Galaxy, Res 4, or Metroid Prime, but yeah. I'd rather just play with a gamepad controller.

 

[Daymos]

I didn't like the motion controls at all. However around the same time my xbox360 kept breaking, PC mouse and keyboard would kill my wrists and elbows, and I felt that the ps3 got a bunch of terrible pc ports that ran and looked poorly (mass effect2, skyrim, and dragon age origins come to mind).. so I played alot of mario galaxy 1/2, klonoa, the last story, and certainly xenoblade chronicles.

Thus I suppose even though I disliked the concept of the system, I still got quite a bit of playtime out of it. I can't hate it too much.

 

[Iaterain]

 

[PSYGN]

Garbage, casual console



That looks worse than Super Off Road on the Amiga

Nostalgia's blinding you lol

 

[Doczu]

I loved the idea, was hyped as hell and bought one at launch.
Not gonna lie, in the later years i was very unhappy with the decision - should have saved some more cash and buy a 360 or PS3.
Used it only to play Gamecube games in 480p (peasant European here), and Smash whenever i had the possibility.
And what saddens me the most is that it could have been great had Nintendo used better parts. If it could fall in the ballpark of ~360 power with the wiimotes it could get a lot better 3rd party support.

 

[Barakov]

It actually has some great games. But man, it really made me hate motion controls.

 

[EverydayBeast]

No Classic controller support out the gate and not having options to play with killed it for me. And Wii Motion Plus was just a slap in the face. Ruined Loz Skyward Sword for me.

 

[MultiCore]

Galaxy 1&2 were awesome.

Still, it's two GameCubes duct-taped together.

 

[stranno]

That looks worse than Super Off Road on the Amiga

No, of course not, and i have played every single version of Super Off Road.

Its a 1989 game, anyway, while Danny Sullivan's is a 1991 game. SINCE is the key word. Super Sprint, Super Off Road and Danny Sullivan's are the three best games in the genre, of course.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Underrated versions of games like Splinter Cell and COD4 Reflex, and not to mention this bonafide classic

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

No, of course not, and i have played every single version of Super Off Road.

Its a 1989 game, anyway, while Danny Sullivan's is a 1991 game. SINCE is the key word. Super Sprint, Super Off Road and Danny Sullivan's are the three best games in the genre, of course.

A bit off topic, but what's your opinion of the game Battle Cross?

 

[Vitacat]

Meh, I love the Wii. I didn't actually own one until about 2 years ago. I discovered how much fun the WIi is after buying a WiiU. No, it's not the only console I'd want to own, but it's unique and has a personality to the system and games.

A modded Wii, in particular, is pretty awesome.

 

[Gander]

Bowling with your anus is like nothing you could imagine.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Bowling with your anus is like nothing you could imagine.

Lol Lots of TVs broken from Wii Bowling

 

[Akuza89]

It had some decent games come out for it and great support for the system... even though a lot of the support was questionable to say the least....

it was a little underrated by a good chunk of people, if you ignore the tatt you'll see it's quality titles.

I just wish Capcom would re-release tatsunoko vs Capcom again... or even a second... that was a great release on the wii.

 

[Gander]

LOL didn't they try that already and came up with Bing!

 

[Doczu]

A modded Wii, in particular, is pretty awesome.

A modded Wii U is the most awesome Nintendo console of them all. The amount of backwards compatibility is insane. You have 3 home consoles through backwards compatibility and virtual console for all other consoles, with superb DS emulation with better graphics.

 

[MilkyJoe]

I love Wii Sports Bowling so much. But that was it really.

 

[JordanN]

Nostalgia time. Who remembers this image being posted everywhere?

 

[GamesAreFun]

Great little console, stood out as different and received some truly unique games. It was the last console to provide a home for middle-tier developers before they were squashed by the cost of developing HD games.

 

[Space Runaway]

Solid system due to the game library. Even got some great surprises like a new Punch-Out and Sin&Punishment 2.

The motions controls were rather gimmicky though. They mostly worked out when it came to games that used cursor style aiming, so the aforementioned S&P2 or even ports of RE4 played really well due to it.

I did appreciate the short lived lightgun comeback. Though how Sega could port HotD2+3, Ghost Squad and even LA Machineguns, while continuing to leave Virtua Cop 3 languishing in the arcades, I'll never know.

 

[Green Wiggly]

Had some pretty good games, but at the same time I've never felt to urge to hook it back up.
So, meh.

 

[cryptoadam]

Wii Sports maybe one of the best games in the last 20 years.

Ya it doesn't have a billion dollar budget or graphics that melt your face but anyone who touched that game was having fun and sold the system to them instantly. Women, children, old people, gamers you name it everyone would be down for a game of bowling or tennis if you whipped out the wiimote.

It also had a fun interface and a couple of neat things like its web browser being pointer based.

TBH the system itself was worth Wii Sports. After that it was a gimmicky system that couldn't compete with the HD heavyweights and the rest of the industry didn't want to really bother to support.

 

[petran79]

Strictly for Nintendo fans

 

[Skyn3t]

The same as 12 years ago. Useless, underpowered box with a funny controller.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I’m a bit puzzled by the poll choices, nearly all of which are negative. If you wanted to gauge opinion on Nintendo Wii, a more balanced ranking would make more sense. Instead, this thread appears to be yet another opportunity to whine and complain.

“Hardcore” gamers hated the Wii for the simple fact that it let all the outsiders crash the party. They felt that they were the sole owners of videogames, and everyone outsode their little fanboy bubble was a threat. The dreaded “casuals” were treated like an invading army or dangerous virus to be feared, countered and repelled. It was, and remains, highly absurd.

Videogames don’t belong to a small cadre of diehard anime-obsessed adult fanboys. They belong to everyone, and the worldwide successes of Pong, Pac-Man, Mario, Tetris, Minecraft, Angry Birds and Wii Sports attest to that fact. This is a great community of many people with many tastes, and that diversity is a good thing. If you love videogames, then you will want everyone else to be playing as well. You won’t throw tantrums and hissy fits because the “casuals” are sitting on the couch playing Mario Kart and Wii Sports Resort.

Anyway, I’m a great fan of the Wii. I once read someone describe the system as “Playstation 2 Plus,”and that’s very apt. Much of the software library continues the PS2 mold (including quite a few ports), plus the innovation of motion controls that provided a much-needed shot in the arm to this industry. There are plenty of great games for every audience, from diehard Nintendo fans to classic (and lapsed) gamers to modern console freaks and indie supporters. Whoever you are, I guarantee that we can find 6-10 great Wii games for you to enjoy.

I do feel that the Switch is a proper successor to the Wii with the Joycon controllers and return to motion control games such as 1-2 Switch and Arms. The thriving indie scene with a heavy return to classic 2D is also a legacy of the Wii, especially its supremely underrated WiiWare service.

Also, I really don’t get the “underpowered and weak” schtick. If Wii is a weak system, then so is every games console ever made to that point. Is Dreamcast weak now? Is Genesis or Super NES? What would you do about Commodore 64 or Atari 800? Are you going to dismiss every videogame that’s over two years old because it suddenly no longer looks good enough for you? And will you also toss aside your PS4 next year once the PS5 is unveiled?

Hardcore gamers need to get over the graphics fetish. Most of the normals haven’t cared about graphics since the Dreamcast days. If you just relax and enjoy yourself, you’ll have a much easier time. And maybe you should find a better reason to play videogames than “eye candy.”

Anyway, that’s my shpiel. Whatever. No big deal.

As for the Nintendo Wii games, I still love Wii Sports and WS Resort, as well as the entire “Wii”series titles. The Just Dance series is spectacular and probably the best expression of the console’s goals of expanding the market to new customers. Mario Galaxy is pure brilliance and New SMB Wii is endlessly entertaining (it also has my favorite Bowser showdown in the entire series). Punch-Out is always thrilling and makes for a great workout. Wario Ware is great at parties. Da Blob is wonderfully inventive and never gets old (lack of save states is a pain, though). Epic Mickey takes back to the glory days of N64 plaftormers Muramasa is probably the best Shinobi game Sega never made. NBA Jam and NHL Slapshot are fantastic sports classics that use motion controls perfectly (to slam dunk or body check). Tatsunoko vs Capcom is the best 2D brawler in years.

EA gets a lot of hate, but they have a ton of great Wii titles. Same goes for Disney. I’m a big fan of Guilty Party, which is like a cross between Mario Party and Clue. Most of the movie tie-in games are actually pretty good. There are about a million light gun shooters worth playing (wish Sega had brought over Virtua Cop). Elebits & Dewey’s Adventure are both really good. Resident Evil 4 rocks. Madworld rocks. Rayman Origins rocks. Goldeneye rocks. Donkey Kong Country Returns rocks.

So, heah, lousy machine, no games. Just keep telling yourself that while I scoop up titles for $5 or less at Gamestop. Thanks for the help.

 

[shark sandwich]

I’m bummed that motion controls died out and the Wii U failed so miserably.

Games like Wii Sports, Wario Ware, and Raving Rabids were amazing with groups of friends. Even non-gamers immediately wanted to pick it up and play.

I brought my Wii to my friend’s party shortly after release. It ended up being THE focus of the entire party. Everybody spent the night gathered around the Wii and having an absolute blast whether they were watching or playing.

Motion controls suck for more hardcore games but man were they fun for short, casual, social experiences.

 

[zenspider]

Wii was a low-key hardcore paradise, and I think that claim really helps define for me what it is to be 'hardcore' as opposed to the marketing term that somehow creeped into our definition as hobbyists.

In my mind, Sin & Punishment SS, Muramasa, Pandora's Tower, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, The Munchables, The Last Story, Fragile, Baroque, Little King's Story, Zack & Wiki, etc., WiiWare offerings like Konami's ReBirth titles, first console ports of Cave Story and La-Mulana, original games like Lost Winds, and even high profile titles like Donkey Kong Country Returns and Monster Hunter Tri represent actual hardcore gaming.
No, Wii didn't not have the psuedo-hardcore shooters and sports titles of the other consoles, but let's be real folks. Those are games with broad, lowest common denominator appeal. That's not 'hardcore' to me.

 

[Alexios]

It's only a small subset of "gamers" that hate it anyway, see how popular Dolphin is among the PC gaming community, people know they can play some damn great stuff with it, that's why they support it so.

I love it too, I got a dolphinbar so I can use my original controllers and it's been bliss, ever since they mostly fixed the stuttering with the uber shaders. I've kept going back to Ghost Squad recently. So good.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Wii Shop, best electronic shop Nintendo's ever had so far.

 

[Zog]

The Virtual Console was the best part about it. When I try to go back and play Wii games the motion controls just annoy me. With my current setup I have all my consoles hooked up to a monitor on my desk but the Wii sensor bar doesn't pick up movements as well as it should at such a short distance. The best motion control games were the Wii Sports games.

 

[Pagusas]

It single-handedly set the game industry back 5 years. Its was and is a POS that should never have seen the light of day.

 

[Airola]

Wii got me back to modern games at least in some fashion after losing interest completely when PS2/Xbox/GC/DC happened.

Wii Sports was the best video game experience in a long time. Loved the Virtual Console even though I couldn't afford that many VC games, but really appreciated that they even had Commodore 64 games on it.

Wii was also the last time home consoles would have different games for same franchises. I miss the days when a Jurassic Park game on Sega was completely different from a Jurassic Park game on Nintendo. And the NES version of Robocop was different from all the other Robocop games, and even when the game was same in other computer/console they were still distinctively different what comes to graphics and music because of hardware differences.

On the Wii when they made a Dead Space game it was completely different. And Dead Rising was different as well by being a "Dead Rising meets Resident Evil 4" type of a game. And they also had to make that one Ghostbusters game visually look completely different because of hardware differences.

That just doesn't happen anymore. The consoles are so much all the same that the differences are usually just all about frame rate and resolution which a lot of people don't even notice.

The Wii was the last time home consoles had real distinctive identity differences between them. Well, Nintendo still tried to do that with Wii U and Switch but it's not even nearly as big as it was with the Wii.

 

[stranno]

A bit off topic, but what's your opinion of the game Battle Cross?

Not a big fan of offensive weapons and traps in this genre.

 

[Afro Republican]

Great little console, stood out as different and received some truly unique games. It was the last console to provide a home for middle-tier developers before they were squashed by the cost of developing HD games.

PS2.

Wii got some unique guys that vanished as soon as they came in.