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[UsualNoise]

I too don't have a choice that properly represents my view of the Wii. However, I'd say it was a great console overall because:

- Wii Sports: got non-gamers to play video games
- Mario Galaxy 1 & 2
- Metroid Prime Trilogy: using pointer controls in what were already my favorite games made them SO much more fun to play
- Virtual Console: finally being able to play original NES, SNES, N64 games was huge and, while they've milked it terribly, was an important evolution

Many other great games too, but for me this represents why I'll always have a Wii (or Wii capable Wii U) in my house. And yeah, homebrew / games ripped to the hard drive was a game changer for me as well.

 

[Yoshi]

So many negative options, but the only positive option (which is not, at the same time, saying the best system was not a Nintendo system - why does this have to be part of that sentence?) is overwhelmingly so... So I picked "one of the best", even though I only think it is a very good one. It has some of my favourite games ever, including my favourite Mario (Super Mario Galaxy 2) and my favourite Zelda (SS).

PS2.

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

Wii had an enormous amount of middle tier games, from both, old and new studios. It is true that many smaller studios vanished after the end of the Wii, but that's because of a lack of a new successful console that could be a good home for mid-tier budgets.

 

[Afro Republican]

So many negative options, but the only positive option (which is not, at the same time, saying the best system was not a Nintendo system - why does this have to be part of that sentence?) is overwhelmingly so... So I picked "one of the best", even though I only think it is a very good one. It has some of my favourite games ever, including my favourite Mario (Super Mario Galaxy 2) and my favourite Zelda (SS).


Wii had an enormous amount of middle tier games, from both, old and new studios. It is true that many smaller studios vanished after the end of the Wii, but that's because of a lack of a new successful console that could be a good home for mid-tier budgets.

Of course they did, they had the DS, the 3DS, and the WIi U was an entry level HD console for the slightly more income advantaged studios. Issue was the Wii died it's second half fast and that hurt a lot of developers. It's also why some refused to touch a Nintendo consoles and went to PC. Nintendo really dropped the ball those last few years on the Wii. That "slim" model was just an insult.

 

[Mochilador]

I really like the Wii. Games like Red Steel 2, The Conduit, Wii Sports and Skyward Sword implemented really well the motion controls.
Lot of fun games too. My most played game is Monster Hunter Tri.

 

[TLZ]

None of the poll options apply to me.

It's cool. We still play on it. It has the Mario Galaxy games and the kids play the Mario Parties.

I still wish it output HD though.

 

[StAidan]

I credit the Wii as the reason I'm still a gamer today. It brought me back after I'd given up on gaming 5 years prior. To me, it's a tossup between the NES and the Wii as the greatest console of all time.

The Switch is great so far as well, but the game library doesn't have as much for me (yet) as the Wii did.

 

[Darkking2001]

None of the poll options apply to me.

It's cool. We still play on it. It has the Mario Galaxy games and the kids play the Mario Parties.

I still wish it output HD though.

I feel the same way...liked it...didn't think it was the best thing ever...but nonetheless good

 

[Deleted member 752119]

Wii had an enormous amount of middle tier games, from both, old and new studios. It is true that many smaller studios vanished after the end of the Wii, but that's because of a lack of a new successful console that could be a good home for mid-tier budgets.

You'd think they'd come back with the Switch as that seems like a good home for mid-tier stuff.

But I guess there isn't really a market for them with the explosion of indies, many of which are close to that level of game and cost $20 or less instead of $40ish. Along with how quickly most third party AAAs hit the $ 20-40 range. It's hard to justify paying $30 or 40 for some inferior midtier game when you have a plethora of super polished (after updates anyway), high production value AAA games to choose from at the same prices.

No one has time to play them all at launch so we all have wishlists of things we'd like to get to that usually have dropped a ton in price. Hard to decide to skip one of those for some midtier game that just frankly won't be as good 99% of the time due to the lower budget. And those titles tend to drop in price less frequently as they need as many sales at the full $30-40 to have any chance of making a profit/breaking even.

 

[Inanilmaz]

I think its just ok, nothing more. The only good games for me are;
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Another Code R
Zack & Wiki
Sin and Punishment

 

[Sleepydays]

I was all-in on the initial philosophy of the console: avoiding the graphics arms race made sense, and I was hopeful that it would encourage 3P developers to explore new, experimental game forms. I remember being very excited about stuff like Elebits and Zack & Wiki. I also thought it would be an excellent retro machine (and it was, but not because of Nintendo....)

The shovelware came thick and fast, though. The controllers weren't really what I expected until motionplus. So many games with shoehorned, gimmicky controls that I have no desire to ever go back to. Being non-HD quickly became an issue, too, and VC support was not what it should have been. It still had its high points, but it failed to deliver in a lot of respects.

 

[Kenpachii]

Totally useless to me, visuals where terrible. Controls where terrible. Games i had zero interest in. It was a dark age for Nintendo for me.

 

[Zog]

Being non-HD quickly became an issue

I can honestly say that it not being HD still isn't an issue.

 

[Ogbert]

Not sure.

But Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are, imo, the finest games ever created. In terms of objective craft.

 

[-MD-]

Hated it, sold it 3 months after I bought it.

Worst controller of all time, motion control was the opposite of fun.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

I can honestly say that it not being HD still isn't an issue.

Just depends on one's tolerance for SD content on HDTVs. Some don't mind at all. Other's are like me and would rather not consume whatever content than suffer it.

 

[PassionateGAMER]

For me it was one of the best consoles. It brought me back to gaming after I didn't really had time to play games during the GC/Xbox/PS2 era.
What it did right was bringing back the fun and exploration to gaming. It reminded me of the times where console gaming meant playing together with friends and family. There were a lot of excellent single player games like Mario Galaxy, Zack & Wiki, Madworld, Red Steel, Xenoblades etc. but also a lot of games you could play with friends for hours like Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resorts, Boom Blox and a lot more.
Also the lightgun shooters were all excellent and brought back the arcade feeling, House of Dead, Ghost Squad, Resident Evil Chronicles etc.

A bit annoying were all these shovelware games but if you did a bit of research you would be easily able to avoid these.

And I really loved the controls in the games they were well implemented and I found them more advanced than a regular controllers. Especially for games like Resident Evil 4, Goldeneye and Metroid they worked extremely well.

 

[Petaya Berry]

Sincerely, the best Nintendo home console.

It was nice to play with my mother again and my father watching.

The last time that something like that happened, was in the Atari 2600.

Plus, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn; Mario Kart Wii; Sin & Punishment: Star Successor and the robust Virtual Console.

 

[Dee Dah Dave]

It was a fun bit on the side.

The resolution did look a bit nasty on an HD tv though.

 

[PassionateGAMER]

Found this to be a very good overview of the best games for the system.

 

[lostinblue]

It was the last quirky home console, development costs are now too high for that and gimmick things just end up being not as fleshed out and thrown out as digital releases.

The audience for that middle market probably shrinked. I feel like there's no middle nowadays.

From a technology standpoint, it was a shame that they went with gamecube+ performance, there were better choices at the time. Like using a custom X1600 with 64 MB RAM or so.

For 480p it would change the course of the generation a bit in regards to third party support.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

i loved it initially, but it really fell off a cliff fast.

 

[Zannegan]

Wii was a mixed bag, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I liked the experimental soul of the console, even if the hardware couldn't quite live up to its ambitions.

"One of the greatest console experiences evar" it wasn't, but that was the only overall positive option I could see on the poll. I would have preferred a simple, "It was fun."

 

[RPGCrazied]

Had some decent games and one of the best jrpg in history in my opinoun. Though the games haven't aged well because of the 480p graphics on modern televisions.

 

[alienator]

Some of the best games ive played on the wii where without the waggle controls and just with a gamecube controller...

sin & punishment star successor (best onrail shooter ever made imho)
Capcom vs tatsenuko
gradius /castlevania/contra rebirth..

hmm. thats about it.
and a lot of VC stuff .

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

The Wii hurt the industry by bringing in an audience that fooled the console makers and many developers into thinking they would be around for the long-haul and up for grabs, and that money leaving has led to the current issues in the industry today.

It also wasn't very good, it's best games didn't even use the Wii mote, and almost all early Wii games used the Wii mote swing as a substitute for a button press making it so even people defending the Wii can't say the game wouldn't play better with a controller because 98% of the time it would.

Nintendo didn't even know how to keep hold of the audience. All they had to do was bring out an HD compatible revision around 2009. It didn't even have to really improve the image that much just having "Wii HD" would get more casuals to buy Wii Fit HD and Wii Sports HD. Another thing is Wii being used in schools, retirement homes, hospitals, and etc was IN SPITE of Nintendo, Nintendo knew this was going on, but never capitalized on it. When the Wii collapsed it collapsed pretty much EVERYWHERE all at THE SAME TIME.

Yeah it was a commercial success, but one could argue it was one of Nintendo top failures for how they just kind of let it die.

 

[48086]

The Wii was a cultural phenomenon that had some fantastic first party games, but was a poor video games console. It was under-powered so it didn't get the main third party releases. Tons of casuals bought it and they also bought so few games. That gave third parties another reason to make games for it.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

it definitely was a second coming reigniting a new generation of young gamers I'd say

 

[BONDO]

i hated it after the novelty wore off. I enjoyed the games initially like bowling etc.
However playing stuff like Zelda or Smash with the wii controller wasn't for me personally.

 

[Alexios]

The Wii was a cultural phenomenon that had some fantastic first party games, but was a poor video games console. It was under-powered so it didn't get the main third party releases. Tons of casuals bought it and they also bought so few games. That gave third parties another reason to make games for it.

Pretty sure the Wii had a great software attach rate overall. Even with a lower attach rate (it was for sure behind the PS3 but I'm not sure about the difference to the 360, either close or better iirc) with the sheer volume of systems sold the actual software numbers were super duper high. Obviously dominated by the very best games (so, Nintendo games) so the joke's on whoever didn't try to exploit that market.

 

[48086]

Pretty sure the Wii had a great software attach rate overall so that's a myth. Even with a lower attach rate (it was for sure behind the PS3 but I'm not sure about the difference to the 360, either close or better iirc) with the sheer volume of systems sold the actual software numbers were super duper high. Obviously dominated by the very best games (so, Nintendo games) so the joke's on whoever didn't try to exploit that market in the end.

Huh, you're right. I just looked it up and the Wii did have a great attach rate.

 

[bobone]

Zero interest until Smash came out on it. Even then it was the only game I owned until Zelda. Was supremely disappointed in Zelda.
Apparently I own 47 games for the system; but man I barely remember any of them.
The 2 Galaxy games are great; like really really great.
Muramasa and Monster Hunter Tri were abosultely incredible.
Never played a Monster Hunter before, and put well over 100 hours into it playing online. Was very happy with the online service too. It worked way better than the one for Smash.

Overall it was WAY out shined by 360, PS3, DS, and PC during those years.
Definitely Nintendo's worst console; especially after the perfection that was the Gamecube. It put them down the gimmick path; instead of competing blow for blow like they did with the SNES, N64 and Gamecube. Which to me makes it the worst console since the 3DO.

 

[lock2k]

Love it, great library, always come back to it. Great for parties and has some incredible hidden gems.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Pretty sure the Wii had a great software attach rate overall. Even with a lower attach rate (it was for sure behind the PS3 but I'm not sure about the difference to the 360, either close or better iirc) with the sheer volume of systems sold the actual software numbers were super duper high. Obviously dominated by the very best games (so, Nintendo games) so the joke's on whoever didn't try to exploit that market.

The 360s attach rate was higher than the PS3, 8.8 to 8.1

 

[Nelsin]

Pure garbage no disrespect ,but same bar with wii u.

Switch tho is different story.

 

[VertigoOA]

Complete trash.

Enjoyed Tp, punchout, and prime 3 tho. The dragon ball fighters had some good use of the gimmicks too to keep in fun for an hour too

Iwata era Nintendo is the worst Nintendo

 

[Nose Master]

I enjoyed my time with it, but it was the same as every Nintendo console after SNES. You buy it for the first party games as a secondary console, and you sometimes get a handful of okay third party exclusives.

 

[Afro Republican]

A lot of people liked it at first but didn't like how Nintendo basically killed the platform the second half.

 

[Oemenia]

Wow even the Nintendo's haven't got round to rewriting the history of this train wreck of a console.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

For the retro enthusiasts out there, a hacked Wii is a wonderful asset when plugged into a CRT.

Native 240p output and can run everything up to the mid-90s (almost) without issue. Significantly cheaper and easier than downstepping a modern PC through an Emotia Extron/VSC or similar hardware.

 

[JCK75]

I loved the Wii but the lack of power did hurt it over time, but I sure got a lot of mileage out of mine (not only that but my mom was a regular schedule shopper and she just had a knack for finding them when they were impossible to find, she ended up getting one for all of us as well as my dad, I was the only hardcore gamer in the family but it became such a central activity for our family when we got together it was pretty amazing. While I've long since packed mine away my dad still plays his regularly.

 

[Alexios]

The 360s attach rate was higher than the PS3, 8.8 to 8.1

Thanks for the correction, I must have got it vice versa or remembered whatever was announced at a time long before the generation ended or something so far from final stats. What was the Wii's then according to the same source if it's legit, I'm sure it wasn't crap even if it was lowered by the many casual owners who only bought a few party games.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

I thought I'd share some photos of my Wii boxed software collection. This isn't a complete library by any stretch, and there are still many key titles that I need to pick up (such as Zelda and Mario Galaxy 2 and all the RPGs), but I have focused most of my attention on cheaper titles. If I see something at Gamestop for $5, I nearly always grab it immediately.

As always, Nintendo had the best videogames on the system, but that's because they put in the most effort. I do wish that the mini-games from Wii Sports and Wii Play were expanded into full titles, such as Wii Tanks and Wii Baseball. I also wish there were more "red box" titles that revived NES classics. I'd kill for a 4-player "New Legend of Zelda" that combined the gameplay designs from the first three Zeldas, and so would you.

Here are 15 third-party Wii titles from my collection that everyone should play:

Batman: The Brave and the Bold - WayForward (Contra 4, Shantae) gives us an excellent 2D beat-em-up with tons of moves, furious action and a great sense of humor. Great job!

De Blob - Plays like a mashup of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Jet Grind Radio with a heavy dose of jazz and funk. Visually wonderful, high frame rates and responsive controls. This should be a Dreamcast game.

Epic Mickey - Very inventive 3D platformer that reminds me of Nintendo 64. The paint/thinner idea is very clever and the game is quite challenging. It has a very creepy vibe with all these forgotten Disney characters who have it in for poor Mickey.

Guilty Party - Disney game that combines mini-game puzzles with the classic board game Clue. I really loved this one thanks to its clever stage designs, mini-games and especially the witty characters. Where's the cartoon show spinoff?

Just Dance - You dance and bounce around and have a great time. Never takes itself too seriously. The first game in the series has all my favorite songs, but the sequels are much more forgiving on the controls. Nintendo should have paid to keep this series exclusive.

Michael Jackson: The Experience - Look, you get to dance to the Thriller video. I'll hand over a "Game of the Year" trophy just for that. Kudos to the devs for finding clever dance moves and moments that MJ fans will love.

NHL Slapshot - Fantastic EA hockey game that was criminally ignored. Plays like the classic Genesis NHL Hockeys, controls are excellent even w/o the stick. Motion controls for shooting and checking is highly satisfying. Pee-Wee League is a hoot. Love it!

Okami - One of the best Legend of Zelda Action-RPGs ever made, set in ancient Japan with a wonderful painterly visual style. It's also available on Switch, so pick that up ASAP.

Order Up - A cooking game ala Cooking Mama where you work a restaurant and have to take orders from customers. It gets pretty intense and you really have to stay on your toes. Definitely a hidden gem worth checking out.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade - 2D action-adventure from the makers of Odin Sphere and Princess Crown. Spectacular sprite artwork that helped usher in the great 2D revival we enjoy today. Intense, challenging, very engaging.

NBA Jam - Fantastic revival of classic arcade series with input from the original creators. Excellent graphics and animation. Motion controls are used for slam dunks and are highly satisfying. The boss battle mode reminds me of EA's classic One on One.

Rabbids Go Home - 3D platformer that reminds me of Katamari Damaci and Pac-Man, with a great sense of humor.

Rayman Origins - Extremely solid 2D platformer for 4 players. Graphics are too tiny for my liking, especially when playing on a CRT, but everything looks and plays great.

Shaun White Snowboarding - Road Trip was a surprise hit, and plays just like the classic Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. The Wiimote controls are surprisingly fluid and diverse. Best snowboarding videogame to drop since Steep Slope Sliders. Its sequel, World Stage, offers a higher frame rate and smoother graphics but more repetitive gameplay.

Tatsunoko Vs Capcom - Outstanding 2D fighter with polygon graphics and excellent gameplay. Half the characters are unique to this game, and for that reason alone, I consider this a classic. There's a Wiimote control option that works perfectly for rookie players, while experts should get a good arcade joystick.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

Thanks for the correction, I must have got it vice versa or remembered whatever was announced at a time long before the generation ended or something so far from final stats. What was the Wii's then according to the same source if it's legit, I'm sure it wasn't crap even if it was lowered by the many casual owners who only bought a few party games.

ProTip: most people only buy a few videogames for their system. See: Madden, FIFA, Call of Duty. Remember when your friends would get a Nintendo 64 and then play nothing else but Goldeneye? It's always been like that.

 

[V2Tommy]

IMO, overall bad console. Only great game was Xenoblade, and that's my hottest of takes.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

I thought I'd share some photos of my Wii boxed software collection. This isn't a complete library by any stretch, and there are still many key titles that I need to pick up (such as Zelda and Mario Galaxy 2 and all the RPGs), but I have focused most of my attention on cheaper titles. If I see something at Gamestop for $5, I nearly always grab it immediately.

As always, Nintendo had the best videogames on the system, but that's because they put in the most effort. I do wish that the mini-games from Wii Sports and Wii Play were expanded into full titles, such as Wii Tanks and Wii Baseball. I also wish there were more "red box" titles that revived NES classics. I'd kill for a 4-player "New Legend of Zelda" that combined the gameplay designs from the first three Zeldas, and so would you.

Here are 15 third-party Wii titles from my collection that everyone should play:

Batman: The Brave and the Bold - WayForward (Contra 4, Shantae) gives us an excellent 2D beat-em-up with tons of moves, furious action and a great sense of humor. Great job!

De Blob - Plays like a mashup of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Jet Grind Radio with a heavy dose of jazz and funk. Visually wonderful, high frame rates and responsive controls. This should be a Dreamcast game.

Epic Mickey - Very inventive 3D platformer that reminds me of Nintendo 64. The paint/thinner idea is very clever and the game is quite challenging. It has a very creepy vibe with all these forgotten Disney characters who have it in for poor Mickey.

Guilty Party - Disney game that combines mini-game puzzles with the classic board game Clue. I really loved this one thanks to its clever stage designs, mini-games and especially the witty characters. Where's the cartoon show spinoff?

Just Dance - You dance and bounce around and have a great time. Never takes itself too seriously. The first game in the series has all my favorite songs, but the sequels are much more forgiving on the controls. Nintendo should have paid to keep this series exclusive.

Michael Jackson: The Experience - Look, you get to dance to the Thriller video. I'll hand over a "Game of the Year" trophy just for that. Kudos to the devs for finding clever dance moves and moments that MJ fans will love.

NHL Slapshot - Fantastic EA hockey game that was criminally ignored. Plays like the classic Genesis NHL Hockeys, controls are excellent even w/o the stick. Motion controls for shooting and checking is highly satisfying. Pee-Wee League is a hoot. Love it!

Okami - One of the best Legend of Zelda Action-RPGs ever made, set in ancient Japan with a wonderful painterly visual style. It's also available on Switch, so pick that up ASAP.

Order Up - A cooking game ala Cooking Mama where you work a restaurant and have to take orders from customers. It gets pretty intense and you really have to stay on your toes. Definitely a hidden gem worth checking out.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade - 2D action-adventure from the makers of Odin Sphere and Princess Crown. Spectacular sprite artwork that helped usher in the great 2D revival we enjoy today. Intense, challenging, very engaging.

NBA Jam - Fantastic revival of classic arcade series with input from the original creators. Excellent graphics and animation. Motion controls are used for slam dunks and are highly satisfying. The boss battle mode reminds me of EA's classic One on One.

Rabbids Go Home - 3D platformer that reminds me of Katamari Damaci and Pac-Man, with a great sense of humor.

Rayman Origins - Extremely solid 2D platformer for 4 players. Graphics are too tiny for my liking, especially when playing on a CRT, but everything looks and plays great.

Shaun White Snowboarding - Road Trip was a surprise hit, and plays just like the classic Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. The Wiimote controls are surprisingly fluid and diverse. Best snowboarding videogame to drop since Steep Slope Sliders. Its sequel, World Stage, offers a higher frame rate and smoother graphics but more repetitive gameplay.

Tatsunoko Vs Capcom - Outstanding 2D fighter with polygon graphics and excellent gameplay. Half the characters are unique to this game, and for that reason alone, I consider this a classic. There's a Wiimote control option that works perfectly for rookie players, while experts should get a good arcade joystick.

Some of those games can be played better on other systems, especially Rayman.

 

[Elfstar]

My thought in short:

-The start of the modern uncompetitive, technically outdated Nintendo
-Definitely a fad that didn't last very long
-The Wiimote was rather unergonomic, and way too imprecise to be anything than a very casual oriented, superficially fun waggle device
-In the end almost no game managed to dignify the Wiimote as an actually preferable controller for dedicated gaming...
-...Except for the ir pointer, that at least helped to revive on-rail arcade style shooters for a while
-Ultimately a pretty decent post-Snes Nintendo home console, on par with Gamecube in my opinion
-But overall, worst library for a generation-leading console ever

 

[mariosbrother]

I had a lot of fun with the console, which is all I expect out of any video game system I purchase, so my objectives were fulfilled. It had a lot of great games.

 

[AnotherOne]

Defiently a fad console..the gamecube was a much better console in my memory.

 

[Rock And Roll]

There were a lot of fantastic games buried under all the crap. It arguably had the greatest mainline Mario entry of all time (Galaxy 1 or 2).

Motion controls worked really well in some games and added to the experience. It's a shame judging by the replies in this thread people still won't give it a chance, but I was lurking GAF 12 years back so it's not a surprise to see not much has changed.

 

[504]

The idea was ahead of the technology’s ability to properly execute it, leading motion controls to be either gimmicky or disappointingly laggy (a reputation which haunts the concept to this day). Obviously it was a mainstream commercial success that Nintendo desperately needed at the time, but it never came close to its true potential for revolutionary gameplay. For that reason, I’d love to see Nintendo remake the better motion control games from that era now that the Switch can presumably execute them the way they were meant to be. I think Skyward Sword and Metroid Prime Trilogy will be perfect examples of this, with hopefully more to follow. (I’m looking at you, Pikmin and Wii Sports)