Isn't that pro evolution, ie, the only great version of that series in ages, that made amazing strides it would be ideal if others adopted for the whole genre? Keep loling though, it's cute, maybe you should remind us how the system also wasn't HD capable!!!1
While it had some of my favorite games of this generation (NSMB, Mario Galaxy, DKCR, etc) it's lack of 3rd party support and comparable graphics turned it into my secondary console. I bought all of my 3rd party games for the 360 or PS3 and used the Wii solely for Nintendo 1st party games.
Only console I have owned this generation. Lots of great, unique games. Pointer controls for FPS games is a revelation!
Yeah, I missed out on Bioshock and RDR and Assassin's Creed and Skyrim, but I got Silent Hill Shattered Memories, Monster Hunter, Mario Galaxy, Endless Ocean, Brawl, De Blob, Sin and Punishment 2, Go Vacation, Xenoblade, and the first new 2D Mario console platformer in, like, 17 years?!?!?!? Plus, the Virtual Console and Gamecube BC! Wii is a great little box of fun.
Don't regret it one bit, and don't regret missing those real, hardcore games that the industry churns out with hype and fervor, only to watch them fall to $30 within 6 weeks. Maybe I'll pick up a cheap X360 in a few years (when I get an HDTV) and mop-up those few gems I missed.
In fact, I will say that Nintendo's changing direction with the WiiU is a huge mistake. Don't want expensive, fragile tablet controller! Don't want the same 3rd-party time-sinks that are on every other console. Wii was awesome because it was unique! It brought back some of the twitch-arcade reflex-based gameplay that used to define videogames, before developers became obsessed with "telling stories!"
With WiiU, Nintendo is abandoning the philosophy that made the Wii successful, in hopes of gaining more 3rd-party support. But that will never happen. WiiU will get Aliens:Colonial Marines and Darksiders 2, and then 3rd-party will plummet once again. The industry will blame the weird controller or something else, and Nintendo will be supporting their own machine all by themselves, again! Crap, they probably could've sold a lot more Wiis if they hadn't stopped making games for it. Killed it prematurely, if you ask me.
Wii was a huge, successful experiment. I only wish Nintendo would build on that success.
I loved the system. Elebits, Ivy the Kiwi, Wario Land, Zack and Wiki, Mad World, Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, both Kirby games, Mushroom Men, Dewy's Adventure, GoldenEye, Muramusa, Twilight Princess, New Super Mario, Mario Party 9, Crystal Chronicles, Sonic Colors. Plus the GC backwards compatibility. I got to play through dozens of GameCube games I missed out on back when they were new.
I had a great time with the Wii. It appealed to me.
It didn't cost much and it's pretty small so it's easy to keep out even if it's not in use much, and it had enough great games for it to be a worth owning console. Is it as good as any other Nintendo home console? No, but is it still a great system? Yeah, I'd say so. It has Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Brawl, DKCR, Skyward Sword, and many other great titles.
I agree with this, and I agree with the greatness of IR.
The Wiimote+nunchuk control scheme is extremely comfortable. Additionally, if the Wii failed to sell motion controls, it succeeded heavily in selling IR controls. Pointing at the screen feels very natural and is the best way for navigating menus, no doubt. Plus, pointer controls feel utterly fantastic in any game that involves shooting, but they work universally as well.
Really shows how amazing and diverse the Wii library is. There's quite a lot of those games we'll be returning to again and again in the years to come.
It's your most favorite console of all time because it can play video games from previous systems?
This is the anti-thesis of my post, funny stuff. I guess the PC should be the greatest console of all time since it plays everything, and a half!
But what games did the Wii pump-out that were specific to its entity?
If I wanted to play Phoenix Wright, I could use my DS for that.
What propelled the Wii into being so successful?
The answer is accessibility; wiggle-wag, and it feels like everyone is on-par when they are clearly not, a false sense of equity and gratification from the great equalizer Wii-mote.
There is only a handful of good games made specifically for the wii, and you know it.
It has provided me with some games which are easily among my top 20 of all time such as both Galaxy, Xenoblade, Skyward Sword, Prime Trilogy, Brawl, Okami and Bully (even though the latest two are PS2 ports ), along with some other great experiences like New Super Mario Bros Wii, Epic Mickey, Epic Yarn, Shattered Memories, The Last Story, DKC Returns, Sin & Punishment 2 or both NMH.
Great for me. I bought more games on it than on PS3 (don't own a 360), and if there's a possibility I have used the PS3 more, that's probably only because of Jp PS2 BC (I didn't owned a Jp PS2, and I had bought dozen of PS2 Jp games). Many fresh and interesting games.
That being said, I would have bought MUCH more games on VC if they had introduced an account-based system. I won't spend much money on those as long as I don't know if and how I can transfer them if my Wii die or if I want to replace it.
Edit : I think that Nintendo itself didn't try enough to find new ideas for the remote, though. Most of the best ideas come from 3rd-party, which is disappointing from Big N.
Isn't that pro evolution, ie, the only great version of that series in ages, that made amazing strides it would be ideal if others adopted for the whole genre? Keep loling though, it's cute.
Bought it at launch and within a year and a half I had it sitting in the garage. Filled up the internal storage on VC titles and didn't care to empty the fridge, couldn't get into the motion controls, and finally faced the reality that it wasn't for me.
Huge disappointment for a one-time Nintendo fanboy. I would start to agree with someone if they said I was a graphics whore and that was my top priority, but I loved my DS far more than my PSP. Loved my Gamecube and PS2 more than my Xbox. It was just a combination of obvious cheapness (low internal storage) and poor third party support along with a control method I couldn't get into as well as a vastly inferior online presence compared to the competition.
The way I see it, Wii had a lot to love for Tier 1 gamers (casuals) and Tier 3 gamers (nerdier gamers who have an appreciation for old school games, Japanese games, etc)
It was those Tier 2 gamers (let's call them bro gamers? ) who probably didn't have much to interest them. If you wanted fps, tps, or the shiniest sports games, you were out of luck. And I don't blame these people for not appreciating the Wii at all... It just didn't have anything for them.
I got one last year. Its been pretty good getting games on the cheap and playing all the high quality titles without having to weed through garbage or long wait periods. Still think motion controls are trash. There's still a lot of decisions they made with the wii that I really dislike and I can imagine being a single console owner and only owning a Wii from launch...would probably suck. But as a budget box, its been alright.
Helps that 2012 has had two phenomenal titles with Rhythm Heaven Fever and Xenoblade, so I guess my impression of it is more positive than I thought it would ever be.
It has a few good third party titles. I do not care at all about any of the first party Nintendo titles. I just stopped giving a shit for the rote and recycled nintendo franchises for some reason.
The most disappointing video game console that I have ever paid for. I haven't had one positive memory from any game on the Wii besides Wii Sports. I have played Skyward Sword, both SMG, both Metroids, SSMB, etc., and I despise the system. Visually, motion control, etc.
I've thoroughly enjoyed my Wii. It has great first party games, and
believe it or not, I enjoyed Modern Warfare Reflex more than the original Modern Warfare due to the controls
. And mine is hacked, so I got to play Xenoblade and Tatsunoko Vs Capcom early.
If you are a pirate, you can have all of your Nintendo consoles (and other older consoles) in one, all for free. For me, this makes the Wii the best console in the universe.
I actually got a PS3 for free, but it was an older model that YLOD'ed on me. I tried to fix it once, only to YLOD on me again. I've no interest in fixing it again. Being an old school nut, the Wii is quite adequate for my gaming needs, and I'm not really interested in the PS3 nor 360.
Pretty much my entire Wii library is memorable in some way. Punch Out, Xenoblade, Tatsunoko Vs Capcom, SMG 1 and 2, NSMBWii, DKCR, Brawl, Boom Blox, Metroid Prime 3,
Other M
, Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, among others. There's a lot of gaming goodness in the little underpowered white box. Anyone who hasn't got a Wii should get one - they're cheap now.
We still play the shit out of our Wii. For party nights there is no equal. Fortune Street, Wii Party, Sports Resort, Mario Party 8, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Wii are extremely popular with the group.
I could have survived without having the system from day one, even though I got a lot of fun out of Wii Sports in the very beginning. That said, I still enjoyed just having the system, especially during the times when the thing was so hard to find.
People who bought a Wii two years after release definitely had a lot more options to explore without the process of waiting. Nintendo's output alone by that point was great, and it would end up only getting better in 2009 and 2010.
As a companion console to my PC, it was fantastic. It has some of my favourite games of this generation, and a pretty fantastic library of awesome (and sadly overlooked) stuff. The Wii Remote + Nunchuck is the most comfortable controller ever made, thanks to the beauty of split controller design. The IR pointer is the best addition made to gaming controllers since the analogue stick. And I like motion controls.
I could bitch and moan about a ton of shit Nintendo fucked up, because they always fuck something up, but the fond memories greatly outweigh the negative. I've put well over a thousand hours into my Wii (300+ hours in Wii Sports alone), and regret none.
I agree with this to be honest. Especially with the controller being really comfortable, particularly the Nunchuk.
There are fundamental problems with the Wii, particularly with the third party support and online infrastructure, but the experiences and fun I've had with the little machine far outweigh them. Super Mario Galaxy 2 for example is perhaps one of my favourite games ever.
Could there have been better games? Yes. Could the motion controls have been used better? Yes. That's mostly to do with Motion+ not appearing until it was too late. But it was still a great console.
Hopefully they right their wrongs with the WiiU but so far I'm not so sure. I'm hoping E3 surprises me.
The way I see it, Wii had a lot to love for Tier 1 gamers (casuals) and Tier 3 gamers (nerdier gamers who have an appreciation for old school games, Japanese games, etc)
It was those Tier 2 gamers (let's call them bro gamers? ) who probably didn't have much to interest them. If you wanted fps, tps, or the shiniest sports games, you were out of luck. And I don't blame these people for not appreciating the Wii at all... It just didn't have anything for them.
That's an interesting take on the situation, and I think I agree with it (being definitively in your "tier 3"). That being said, I still think that the wiimote worked very well with FPS, and that was one of the first time I enjoyed FPS on console (I really can't enjoy dual analog for aiming)
PES and Tiger Woods are also great on Wii, if you're talking about sports, and there may be others. I TRULY hope that playmaker won't disappear, and the lack of Move support is really disappointing.
The Wii is still my favorite system from this gen. The first party Nintendo stuff was just TOO good this generation and a lot of my favorite, niche Japanese games are only on the Wii. The only other games that would make me think otherwise would be stuff like Bayonetta, Vanquish, Yakuza 3, 4, Dead Souls, Binary Domain, Deadly Premonition, Demon's/Dark Souls, Valkyria Chronicles, etc.
The hardware wasn't up to the concept it was trying to deliver. Even when the motion plus was added, there just weren't enough games to say they delivered on it. Because of this I'm very pessimistic on what the WiiU can bring to the table.
Having said that, there were enough reasons to keep it.
Pro Evo Series which is still unmatched to this day.
Fishing Resort
Virtual Console
Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom
Easily my most played console of this generation (although PC likely eclipses it for overall playtime). Toward the end of the generation it has tailed off a lot sadly, but I think for me and my tastes it's had the most enjoyable library of exclusive retail titles.
Amazing Nintendo games
Weird 3rd Party games Local multiplayer (sorely lacking on HD twins except for fighters)
Easily my favorite of the current consoles. I own far more games for it and I loved the controller. Sure developers got scared off of doing motion control games but the output was still stellar for me. I probably wouldn't be gaming right now if it wasn't for the Wii. I would say it's my second favorite console of all time thanks it its library and the fact that it also plays GC games and the VC.
I'll never understand the negativity towards it. Jaggies and blurry textures are a non issue for me as long as the games are good.
It was a fantastic console, inexpensive and elegant. It hosts two of the greatest games of the generation: Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid Prime Trilogy are masterpieces of the art, and the gaming equivalent of required-reading.
Local multiplayer is a big thing in my circle of friends, and the Wii delivered by the bucketload. Boom Blox 1/2, HoTD: Overkill, Smash, Mario, Pikmin 2, DKC Returns, Wario Ware, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Excitebots/Trucks, Ivy the Kiwi, Mario Kart, plus some of the cracking Virtual Console stuff - in particular five-player Bomberman. I'm not listing titles for the sake of it, these games are all ones that I've had really fun multiplayer experiences with my good friends this generation. It outclasses all competitors in this regard.
The console had some stunning exclusives: Xenoblade, No More Heroes 1/2, Resident Evil 4 Wii, in addition to all the titles as described above.
Finally, it gave me a chance to revisit some classics that I missed first time round. Okami in particular blew me away, as it was indeed better than many Zeldas.
I own all three home systems and a great PC, but most of my gaming time has been devoted between the Wii and PC.
The Wii was Nintendo's best console since the NES. I wish it'd had the breadth of software variety that the NES had, but I'm OK with what we got (I've never been without something to play on the Wii, regardless).
Back in the NES days, EVERYONE in the family played it, whether you were 5 years old or 70. The Wii finally replicated that level of success.
I left console gaming around the time of the N64 because I felt there were fewer and fewer games out there that had the gameplay I was looking for. It was the Wii that brought me back.
Put more gameplay hours into Wii games than the other two big platforms (I put more into PC gaming than all 3 but that's a different story). Despite my frustrations with motion controls and the horrible online infrastructure it had several great games. Now that the WiiU has a more "traditional" controller and everything is pointing to the console launching with a competent online system, I'm feeling pretty confident about where the WiiU is going.
When the Wiimote + Nunchuck was used without any motion controls, it's one of my favorite controllers of all time.
Even though I would never agree with the sentiment but I could understand people not liking the controls for Skyward Sword but you couldn't even get through Twilight Princess, where the waggle implementation was a flick of the wrist and the IR pointing made every aiming aspect of the game superior to the Gamecube version?
I hate motion control. Absolutely loathe it. The only Wii game I ended up playing any length of time was Mario Galaxy and while I absolutely loved that, I never even popped in SMG2 even though I bought it on day 1. I have at least 10 first party games I essentially never played because I just couldn't get over how much I hated everything about the Wii. I'm hopeful that Wii U will offer some sort of HD upscaling.
I actually played a lot of Fishing Resort and Xenoblade too but didn't finish either whereas I know I would have if they were on the 360 or PS3 (or PC). An SD system in this day and age is just GHASTLY.
I had a lot of fun with it. In retrospect, I think the initial Wii controller design was the limiting factor for the system to reach its true potential and not the lack of HD graphics. The accelerometers were too limited for most cool ideas. So I hope next gen will continue on improving on motion controls.
Games I loved:
Red Steel 1
Wii Play (tanks and shooting range)
Wii Sports (and resort)
Zelda TP and SS
XenoBlade
Mario 2D
Resident Evil 4
Wii Music
Goldeneye
Metroid Prime 3
Lost Winds 1, 2
Awesome. Most played console with all sorts of completely different games. I would call it the PS2 of this generation - worst hardware, but best games. And especially VARIED and NICHE games. I don't need 342 generic shooters. I also liked that there was no installing nor patching involved, I'm looking at you PS3.
), along with some other great experiences like New Super Mario Bros Wii, Epic Mickey, Epic Yarn, Shattered Memories, The Last Story, DKC Returns, Sin & Punishment 2 or both NMH. 
