Parent Trap: I Really Miss The Nintendo Wii

Switch can do waggle.

I don't want Labo-ised games. Labo should be its own thing.

As for a sequel/remake/port of Wii Sports? Hell yes. I've been waiting for a successor to Wii Sports since the Switch was announced. Go Vacation looks like it may be scratching that itch, but I would much rather wait for Nintendo's own efforts to grace the platform.

Hell, I'd be chuffed with a port of Wii Sports Club, but if they add some new activities to the mix (ideally the Resorts activities), I'd be mighty pleased.

I just hope that they flesh out the Baseball game (and allow each player to choose which Miis they would like on their teams). Hell, I see no reason why Baseball couldn't support up to 18 players (9 players per team) via hot seat play with the use of one Joy-Con per team. The more the merrier, I say. WarioWare: Smooth Moves was pretty accommodating with its hilarious 12 player mode (though that could, in theory, have supported an unlimited number of players).

Singles tennis would be a nice addition as well (though Table Tennis in Wii Sports Resort filled that void).

Yeah, when developers just threw out waggle-fests it was the Wii at its worst as far as I'm concerned--and even Nintendo was guilty of this a lot of the time (it added some element of unnecessary waggle into most of its games for the system unfortunately)--but when the Wii's motion controls were actually used properly (as I see it), as was the case with stuff like Wii Sports (particularly the bowling game) or much of Skyward Sword's combat for example, it was something pretty amazing to experience. So I continue to have a lot of respect for what it brought to gaming.

And, even though the Wiimote itself is pretty much dead now, motion controls themselves are still going strong and better than ever in modern VR systems. So motion controls are going to be around for a long time to come, which is a good thing when you see how much motion controls add to most VR experiences.

But it was the pointer on the Wiimote that I think actually provided some of the very best control/input experiences on the system, such as quickly and intuitively nagivating the Wii's home menu and any arcade-style gun games and any first person shooters that utilised it properly, and that often gets greatly overlooked imo. I actually miss that from the Wii than the its particular controls.

And, just like motion controls, the pointer controls also live on in virtual reality also. And they're just as useful and fun as ever there.

The biggest trick I think Nintendo is missing right now, however, is not taking the foundations it built with stuff like the Wiimote and the 3DS' stereoscopic 3D, and even the whole Virtual Console concept too, and combining them with a modern VR headset to bring us some truly amazing new and very Nintendo-centric VR experiences that really only Nintendo could do. Because I can imagine a Nintendo VR headset much like this fan-made example, https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/these-fan-made-nintendo-switch-vr-mockups-are-brilliant/ , where not only can you play amazing new VR games created by Nintendo's best teams but also a whole library of classic Nintendo games from all of its past consoles via cool retro-style virtual representations of those systems, just like I basically did the other day (and these are just a couple of examples):

https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/playing-virtual-boy-on-oculus-rift/

https://forums.oculusvr.com/community/discussion/67668/eternal-darkness-played-on-an-oculus-rift#latest

To me, that is a future direction that Nintendo really needs to be giving some serious attention, because VR is the future of gaming and entertainment as far as I'm concerned--no, it won't replace other mediums, but it will exist alongside them as one of the major entertainment platforms and mediums of the future--and I'd really love to see Nintendo be part of the whole VR revolution (sooner rather than later).

PS. Your article reminded me of this one I wrote a while back: https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2016/03/24/why-did-nintendo-largely-abandon-the-wii-remote/

I don't.

Wii was great. but it's time to move on and look forward for a bright future for the Switch.

I'm not opposed to motion controls on principle. They worked fine with Wii Sports and even quite decently with Sports Resort (thanks to the Motion+ no doubt). Metroid Prime with Pointer controls was like a five times better experience than with (for FPS purposes) fiddly GC gamecontroller - not to mention the other functionalities available in the sequels.

The thing is that this is not true for every game. Not every game benefits from control schemes like this and not every game that could benefit gets a good implementation. So in the end, you'll end up only with like a handful of titles (Red Steel also deserves a shout-out for a decent implementation) that really just worked well, and worked better than they would have without, limited to traditional controls.

Hence, I'd be all for Nintendo to bring back Sports/Resort or something akin to it, as long as they really focus on said motion controls and make sure they really work and add to the experience and as long as this is not a gateway to forcing this - once again - into all kinds of games, that don't need it or can't work it. I admit though, seeing as the Switch is a hybrid system, and how 'waggle' got kinda a bad rep, I don't quite forsee that

Sadly, Nintendo has this tendency to just drop things after a while, rarely or never to be heard of again. It's not entirely unlike Sony. Sure, Sony was quicker to entirely drop and dismiss motion controls, but ultimately, they both ended up in a similar corner. Sony sometimes remembers that I had features like support for stereoscopic 3D (like Trine) or Motion controls (like REZ), even in this generation, but by and large, these things appear forgotten. I dunno, but I don't get the sense that Nintendo is still really interested in creating great stereocopic-3D experiences for the 3DS or making the most out of the Switch motion capabilities (Labo aside). It's kinda still there, but it feels like a definitiv afterthought, which to be fair, is probably exactly what it is.

How I remember the unplugged controller trick. Went thru it with each sibling, cousin and child. Once my little cousin got so upset that “it wasn’t plugged in” so I just stuck it under the console. Happy was he. I’m really enjoying sharing these things with my kids as well. That’s why I wish Nintendo would bring back the VC. It’s just quite cluttered around the TV trying to have so many consoles connected.

We still regularly play Wii games in our family - Fortune Street, Kirby's Epic Yarn, New Super Mario Bros, Okami among them.

I don't miss the Wii era though it taught me a very important lesson, that non-Nintendo consoles are just as essential as Nintendo consoles. I chose the Xbox route (Wii + DS + Xbox 360, Wii U/Switch + 3DS + Xbox One) and my gaming experiences were a lot better than if I only had Nintendo consoles.

At least the Wii doesn't have the left stick drifting....

the wii was awful. awful control, awful graphics, awful everything.

it's really interesting looking at console gens. the xbox sucked and the ps2 was great. the ps3 was toast at the gate and the 360 was boss-ish (red ring is a HUGE black eye on those guys). now the ps4 is king and the xbx/1 is taking a back seat.

N is not in this because they really aren't even competing anymore. you buy an N console for the next mario/zelda then shelve it till the next mario/zelda and play on the playstations and xboxes. N is a mess imo.

I want Nintendo World (sequel to Nintendo Land)
and Super Mario Sports Resort

I think the one Wii waggle-based franchise that deserves a second chance on Switch is Boom Bloxx, but I doubt EA and Steven Spielberg would do another. I used to love that game.

Sort of off topic, but Nintendo should make another Wario Land in the vein of “Shake It!”, or a sequel to Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Or just port over the Wii titles. I adore those games.

I miss the Wii U personally...

I don't need to use the unconnected controller trick so much these days as games like MK8D and Arms are quite playable for my almost five year old without it being to frustrating for this almost thirty year old. Other games like BOTW she enjoys 'coaching' me on what I should be doing. Its nice sharing these games with her and making memories as she has grown to love Nintendo. My two year old son will he next!!

The Wii was great but I would rather see Nintendo continue to innovate than trying to reiterate there Wii era ideas. The Switch has some great first party innovation.

@Cobalt really?? I hadn't noticed....

@bluemage1989

I mean....why not go play it?

Nice to read another family stoked about Nintendo Land. That is always going to be a classic in our family. My son would round us up regularly to play Metroid, Zelda, and (less successfully) Pikmin in Nintendo Land. Bizarre and off-puting presentation is hiding a great, great local play experience.

The Wii is a similar situation, but the kids were younger for that. Skyward Sword sword fighting was great for us/me, even though I know it wasn't for everyone and the linear nature of the game was the exact opposite of say BotW, but my kids loved that story.

My frustration with the Wii was that the motion plus was totally necessary to have precision with motion controls and Metroid Prime 3 just missed it and the system was waning when it was released. Wii Sports Resort had a lot of great ideas, but hadn't quite made that transition to Nintendo Land depth, yet. Had some great fun with it though.

Thing is, it's not just nostalgia. Those are legitimately fun gaming experiences for us that stand apart, even now.

Even if the market reality was more flash-in-the-pan for the Wii, and the Wii U was a confusing proposition and a business failure, Nintendo "magic" was in full force, for this family, through all of it.

@Cobalt

I'm good here, what's a Wii? 😛

"What classic Wii games do you think Nintendo should Labo-ize on the Switch?"

COOKING MAMA !!

@Spoony_Tech
"what's a Wii? "

A video game console with name that you will shout when you play with sliding. WHEEEE..... !!!

I love the Wii. It is one of my favorite systems. I miss the pointer controls of Wii games, on rails shooter, the awesome virtual console. Great motion control games like red steel 2. I mean it had a lot of shovelware but it had a lot of great exclusive content too.

The last great capcom fighter was on Wii, too.

The Wii was different rather than ground breaking, even gimmicky rather than ground breaking.

Ground breaking would suggest that something from the Wii was carried forward to future consoles. The controler was dropped and the balance board was a short lived fad. The Wii u was even worse.

The only thing needed between the console and the TV is a good controller and not a gimmick controller.

@sword_9mm
Pardon ?
But i play Wii not because i'm looking for Zelda or typical Nintendo games only.
I play 3rd party games on Wii also and i have MORE 3rd party Wii games than 1st party Wii games. And i play Casual Wii games by mostly.

PS4 is NOT the King of all.
In my eyes, PS4 is in the BOTTOM, Even lower than XBOX1.

This is only tenuously related, but... anyone else holding out hope for Mario Galaxy 3?

Me too, it's my favourite console ever despite the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of motion controls and I don't like much the casual games it became famous for. Many people don't realize that Wii was much much more than they think it was.

@sword_9mm Only for Mario and Zelda then put it away for five years? Yeah I don't think so... lots of people would rather buy a game on switch then on pc or Xbox just for the portability, and play their switch much more often. And I wouldn't call the switch a mess...

@MarioFan02 You bet!!!

i enjoyed the newness Wii brought to gaming but don't miss it. Prefer "traditional" controls still...

@sword_9mm maybe that’s what you do but not everyone. I have a PS4 and I’ve only really used it for the Kingdom Hearts remakes, Uncharted, God of War, and Monster Hunter World. Otherwise it’s just shelved. My Switch I play daily and have dozens of games on backlog for it already.

@Claytonbob used that trick with my sister... but was never my idea, I was a teenager and she would get upset because she wanted to play so my parents would be like, “just give her a controller and pretend it’s plugged in, put it under the console.” I’m surprised today how many people did that! To be fair though, she always wanted to play the single player games with me, she loved Kingdom Hearts and wanted to play as Goofy...

Wii Sports.... EPIC. Wii Sports is welcome back, in my home, ANY TIME.

@ShadJV Same, I have 80 Switch games, and can't think of any reason to turn my PS4 on...

As for them Labo-izing Wii Sports... no. Why? No. It worked fine (great even) with Wiimotes, I hated all the plastic accessories companies made for each minigame, such a waste of space, Labo won’t really add anything to this. It’s not any more immersive IMO, because as long as you don’t get stuff like the resistance of hitting a ball with your racket, it still feels like a video game and not real tennis. I may not have Labo but the right idea might encourage me to actually get it... this isn’t that idea, I’d rather something fresh and with more depth, something that gains a notable benefit from Labo.

@MasterJay

it's a mess when looking at the ecosystem.

here's 2 GIANT issues at the start:

1. game saves. why the idiocy (same can be said for sony). allow a total move/migrate to any system, any time. i don't give 2 craps about if someone hacks it due to this. price of doing business imo.

2. game carts. this buy a game and download the rest is foolish ESPECIALLY for a portable. i get that a game I buy on xbx/pc/ps may need a 10GB download for patches but the base game NEEDS to be playable with 0 network or any expanded storage. N NEEDS to GIVE THE CARTS AWAY. give them the 32GB carts. roll it into the retention budget or something.

no need to mention the idiot voice chat thing and still no real concrete data about the online.

also i'd like to see a real timeline on upgrades. they're now in the arm space so these things move much quicker than the i86 space. i'd like them to define a 2 year cadence with full BC and a limited front compatibility. MS has done this imo with the xbx. sony is also a culprit here with not a word about the ps5 or if it'll be like MS is going (PC type) or if they're going to throw out the ps4 in leu of some mess like the ps3. N and sony both need to get this out to gamers imo.

@ShadJV
Psst...
That will be interesting.
Boxing gloves Cardboard, Tennis Racquet Cardboard, Baseball Bat Cardboard, etc. 😀

@Anti-Matter

dude you are a weird guy so i think you're the corner case for most of anything.

you be you and enjoy all the things you like.

@ShadJV

i get it an do play mine more than my PC. there's still TONS of stuff N needs to resolve.

hell; i'm rooting for them (and my childhood) but they just haven't shown that they understand the industry. i hope the new round robin C level they're doing works. i somehow doubt it.

I still play my Wii from time to time especially when I need some good work out. Wii Sports Resort is still addictive as heck to play.

My Wii U /Wii will always be our main console. We have 3 switches, PS4, 3ds but still our Wii gets used. Over 300 games, 1tb hd for it including eshop/vc amd with 4boys and another on the way, it’s going to have to last about 20 years before I end up unhooking it. My switch only really replaced my ds/3ds/iPhone mobile gaming. I barely ever dock it

Wii was a great system, but I wouldn't say I "miss" it. Probably because when it was new I hadn't started a family yet. Switch is serving my family well now, though. We have 2 and play both daily.

Thr part with giving him a controller that was unplugged was cute.

I quit playing video games after the cube and xbox so I never really used a Wii except for one time. Nothing about the console was apealing to me. Now after getting back into gaming the only title on it I am interested in is the first Xenoblade, but I have a 2ds now so I already have it.

@impurekind as cool as my brothers Oculus is, I don't think so. It already isnt doing well. It also isn't something you can kick back and relax with.

@sword_9mm
1. You cab move save data to other switches
2. Nintendo does the best job at making sure there is no big downloads, only large aaa games even have them, most dont. Just about every single physical game on xbox needs a download, and its stupid
3. theyve released tons of details about online, with more to come
So I don't see why your acting like Nintendo is worse than Sony and ms, because they all have flaws.

Aside from an HD remake of Skyward Sword I don't want any Switch ports of Wii titles. Oh and the SS remake needs the waggle controls removed. So no, I don't miss waggle controls.

I tried to replay some of my Wii games recently, in particular Pandoras Tower. But the 480p resolution is hard to go back to on a modern TV, so much so that I ended up replaying the game through Dolphin in HD.

The Wii is why I always loved having a Wii U

I try to forget the Wii ever existed. It almost made me quit Nintendo (having been a massive, loyal, lifelong fan since the NES days). While I agreed in theory with its general philosophy of simplicity and accessibility, the actual reality of annoying, crude, clunky motion controls was pretty unbearable for the most part.

@aaronsullivan Nintendo Land

I still think we would have gotten NL2 w/ amiibo had Wii U not crashed an burned. As hard as they are pushing amiibo w/ SSBU - much to my surprise - I suppose there's still hope it got moved to Swtich from Wii U like Pikmin 4 and it's out there somewhere. If they are making amiibo a part of SSBU might as well use them elsewhere as well. But not Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival 2, that's a no-no. Super Mario Party is due out later this year so amiibo Land will have to wait until next year. Maybe they can make "Labo amiibo Clubhouse" for the Labo house. Kids put their amiibo on the joycon and they show up as characters in the treehouse. Cue Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song w/ Mario instead of MM. "Ir's the Mario Clubhouse, come inside there's fun inside."

@jobvd Blah blah Switch is better blah blah blah my whole world revolves around the Switch blah blah every conversation must be about the Switch.

I absolutely want Wii Sports Resort of some kind, on Nintendo Switch. I would easily buy a new version of that.

@Silly_G I like the way you think!

@Trajan What do you mean it already isn't doing well? If you mean the headset is broken or something then fine (that's unfortunate); if you mean the headset isn't selling then you are just plain wrong (you're measure of this is misguided).

And you can absolutely kick back and play VR much like any other traditional videogame, sitting on the couch and using a typical controller, as I literally did the other day playing Eternal Darkness on a giant virtual screen with my Xbox One gamepad (which came in the box at no additional cost when I purchased my Oculus Rift, although you no longer get a free gamepad included) from the comfort of my couch, but obviously you do have to wear the headset--a price well worth paying when as far as I'm concerned when you consider what VR brings to the table.

I have no doubt whatsoever that VR is the future of entertainment and particularly gaming--virtual reality is another platform that will exist alongside the likes of TVs, PCs, smartphones/tablets and traditional home videogame consoles and handhelds--and it's really just a matter of when/if Nintendo will get on board imo.

I still have the Wii and the Wii U plugged because they are amazing. The one thing that bother me with them is the battery situation. The Wii U gamepad is rechargeable but the Wii remotes are a pain.

Yes you can use rechargeable batteries and chargers and I had them at the time but they tend to get lost and it's still a pain. Nothing beats the USB c that can charge both the Switch and the pro controller. And you can just leave the Switch in the dock too.

@Crono1973 You should chill IMO

It’s the early days I miss. Wii Sports had a lot of hidden depth in all those mini games (damn the punchbag one) and Red Steel remains one of the best 2-player death match FPS games ever made.
Then Ghost Squad came out and I never touched another game for 6 months.

Metroid prime trilogy was best use I seen of wii more and nunchuck was so immersive. Never played wii sports it never interested me maybe I missed out

I hate the Wii. While the Wii U and now Switch are far from perfect replacements, I don't miss the Wii one bit, and if all future Nintendo consoles will be based on it, time for me to find a new hobby.

Don't worry, give it a few years and I'm sure Nintendo will bring out a Wii Classic Edition (Can't call it Wii Mini since there already is one). Its bound to be considered retro by then, right?

@sword_9mm well, i am sure there are many mnay interesting games you can find by just fiddling around the eshop ajd YouTube, that, and there are many many good indie games, from super meat boy, to hollow knight, to shantae etc....Yes i'm no nintendo expert, but heck there are a ton more great Nintendo games on the saitch then just mario/zelda, from Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, to the upcoming Pokemon Let's Go games, To Splatoon 2 (and Octo Expansion), MK8D, pokken heck even fortnite!
That, and many nintendo games benefut from longetivity and updates and added content like Splatoon 2 (no srsly play this one) and Mk8d!
The thing is, there are mnay good games on the Switch, and more coming!!!! 😍😍😍😍😉

I have a hard time understanding why anyone would miss the Wii. Nostalgia can play tricks with your brain. The Wii was the worst Nintendo console if focused on the quality of the games on offer. The Gamecube had far more quality games in comparison. Even the Wii U probably showed enough to top the it's predecessor with games like Splatoon, Mario Maker and Breath of the Wild.
To be honest I've never seen such a large library of [removed] games as those the Wii had to offer. Very few gems hidden amongst piles of junk.

@EightBitMan : I don't mind amiibo when their inclusion doesn't impede on the overall experience for those who don't have them, but man was it nice to not have patches and for developers to be fastidious with Quality Control because they only had one shot at it. Plus, it guaranteed that there was only version of the software for all time.

Developers/publishers are horribly complacent nowadays and DLC is a cancer to the industry. Post-release DLC is fine for the most part, but even then, I would prefer that publishers release a new/revised game instead as I hate the idea of buying retail games with content that is locked to single console (I imagine that DLC would be particularly aggravating for families with multiple consoles who may happen to be sharing a single copy of a game). These partial-cartridge releases with mandatory downloads is perhaps the worst thing that Nintendo has ever allowed from a consumer perspective, and they (as well as the cheapskates opting for the practice) are not being reprimanded enough for it. I can't help but wonder if this practice would ever have been permitted had Iwata-san still been alive today.

If games with DLC were eventually rereleased with the DLC content on the cartridge, I would have no problem with the practice, but as it stands, I completely hate it, and I am yet to buy any of the overpriced DLC that Nintendo has released for their Switch games so far.

@Angelic_Lapras_King : I already see the Switch as a "Wii mini" as the Joy-Con are a near-perfect successor to the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo without needing to be tethered to one another, and in the case of MotionPlus activities, needing to be calibrated what feels like every couple of minutes. The only thing missing is the speaker from the Wii Remote, but the HD rumble can simulate sound effects... to a point (it seems to make the coin sound in MK8D, for instance).

I would love it if Nintendo rereleased their bigger Wii games at retail at a budget price (perhaps a Wii Classics range?), upres-ed to 1080p, that can be enjoyed anywhere (though perhaps some games may need to be repurposed to accommodate handheld play).

Indeed I can relate. As a dad with 4 kids, Wii presented some great experiences. Wii U did as well. But with Switch there are not many of those great family games.

My kids still play the Wii and Wii U way more than the Switch.

@impurekind I know. My brother pre-ordered it. He also has a set of joy con things for it but they're shaped like pistol grips.

With all the price cuts and lack of momentum it looks like it's failing. Most industry people think the same. Its neat, but I'd never buy one. Just like id never buy a Wii/Kinect/whatever PlayStations was.

The Wii is remembered for its "waggle-based gaming" because that's accurately what it was. Motion controls were forced on games that absolutely did not need it, and you couldn't even get past the main menu to open a game without using the Wii Remote. There was a portion of time where I lost the ability to play any game on my Wii - with motion control or not - because the wire broke on the sensor and I had no money.

I do not remember the Wii fondly. Most of the games on it were underwhelming, and the motion control was a pain in the butt. I hate motion control so much. It was never revolutionary for me, and it never did what it was set out to do until Skyward Sword came out. And even for it to work with Skyward Sword, it required an updated Wii Remote, and it was flawed and didn't do what I told it to half the time.

There is no need to Laboize anything. But Switch Sports would be quite cool.

Wii was a disaster and what made it like that is the evil nasty wiimotes with which destroyed every other game that doesn't use those gimmicks they offer with really limited controlls and not much upgrade in power from the gamecupe heck even a lot of gc games look better and of course play better i only use for access to gc games and some little library of actual good single player games like metroid prime trilogy ud nintendo ever pulled a abother game console with weird limiting controllers i am out to sony

How about Metroid prime trilogy hd, Mario galaxy 1&2 hd and galaxy 3 and a Zelda game like twilight princess... I still want a sequel to disaster day of crisis

I'd like The Last Story on Switch please

The original Wii is definitely my all time favorite home console and I've still got the Wii I purchased at launch hooked up and running, along with a selection of 40'ish games for it (and there's another 100 or so I'm looking to add to the collection). I think my favorite thing about the Wii was the on-rails lightgun shooter renaissance it ushered in. Those type of games, and first-person shooters for that matter, have never controlled as well before or since the Wii remote and nunchuck. I also like that the Wii was pretty much the last home console where almost everything worth playing for it was released on physical media with no update patches to download and no online connectivity required.

The Wii only gets crap because the graphics were from the generation before and most people assumed all the games required motion controls. Like most people, I gave up on the Wii after smash only to return to it when I got a u and began picking up the og wiis backlog and realized that had Nintendo released the Wii during the ps2 era, Sony and Microsoft may have struggled. The Wii actually has pretty vast backlog that includes the best silent hill and prince of Persia game released over the past decade. It's library was ignored by most but it was most definitely on par with its competitors in terms of quantity and quality. Eventually, I could see a lot of people's opinions change regarding the Wii in the future.

I remember the Wii, the system that got me into Monster Hunter, and all those weird games that I enjoyed for some reason. Remember Elebits? lol

@Pokeman_noob A total disaster than sold 101 million units. It certainly wasn't a traditional game system, nor was it suited to mainstream gamers. But it was anything but a disaster.

If you could wade through all of the shovelware, there were a lot of good games on the Wii, even some where the motion control was used well. Only downside being is the forced waggle in games that didn't need it. Not to mention that the horrid button layout and annoying Nun-chuck weren't that great for a lot of games.

It would be kind of neat if Nintendo released some Wii game compilations for Switch, along with sensor bar + joycon add-on that gives it a proper ir-light sensor. Maybe even some official support for old Wii/Wii U controllers, even if it involves a dongle of some sort. (Third parties already kind of do this anyway)

@Heavyarms55 The context in which they were saying the Wii was a 'disaster' has absolutely nothing to do with how well it sold or not.

The Wii was cool, had some vastly overlooked titles such as Silent Hill among the obvious greats like Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Prime 3, Brawl etc. And yes, for a family, it was an excellent console.

Do I really miss it though? No, not when I can play the entire library on the Wii U and besides that, I enjoyed the Wii U as a whole more and at this point in their respective life cycles, I'm enjoying the Switch more than those two as well.

@impurekind I agree, with just waggle the Wii games were terrible. And I agree that many of the hallmarks of the Wii are found in VR systems. I think Nintendo will try their hand at it eventually, but they're probably avoiding it for now due to the cost involved with a enjoyable setup. Maybe another 5-10 years or so? Problem is that VR doesn't really benefit most games — first person games would benefit immensely, but 3rd person games like Mario or Zelda wouldn't benefit too much. It may become a GamePad scenario, in which it helps a few games but doesn't do much for others and adds too much to the cost to make it worthwhile. But maybe Nintendo's potential solution (if they ever try their hand at VR again) will have mass appeal! We'll see.

@Harmonie @Cobalt @Octane @Grumblevolcano @sword_9mm I have the same sentiment regarding the Wii as you guys. Just like @Grumblevolcano said, the Wii era was when I switched from a Nintendo-only gamer to an owner of more than one current-gen system when I bought the PS3. I bought the PS3 just one year after the Wii, because the Wii was just so technologically behind its peers that it impeded the overall gaming experience. No proper online environment, unstable online gaming, standard definition, waggle, two-handed controllers that felt annoying to use for serious games, no right analogue stick, an annoying sensor bar that prevented you from picking where you wanted to sit (you had to be directly in the line of sight of the sensor bar to use the system), etc. Many of its games were hampered by simply being on the system due to the system's flaws and its excessive push of waggle motion controls. When I got the PS3 with a copy of Uncharted 2, it felt like I jumped an entire generation in the span of a year, it was quite the experience.

Funny enough, when I got a Wii U, the Wii U was good enough to be my main system. It may not have had lots of games, but Wii U fixed a lot of the flaws of the Wii, and I was busy enough that I didn't have too much time to play games, so the small-but-great library of the Wii U was excellent for me. I would say Wii is my least favorite Nintendo console by a long shot; Wii U might be my #1 or #2 favorite Nintendo console ever (though Switch may one-up it depending on how this generation goes).

@Harmonie Then do enlighten me, in what way was it a disaster? As best I can tell, it had absolutely no negative effect on Nintendo. Much unlike the Wii U. It would be quite the stretch, but if you or him are blaming the Wii U on the Wii, I suppose you could call that a disaster. As the Wii U sold horribly, and did massive damage to investor and consumer confidence alike. The Wii U will forever be a stain on Nintendo's legacy almost as bad as Virtual Boy. Regardless of how much any of us might have liked it, the damage the Wii U did can be described as a disaster. But the Wii made Nintendo a household name again, truly household. The Wii was truly a system that could be picked up and played and enjoyed by anyone. From toddlers to the elderly.

@Aneira
Pardon ?
I think Wii games are Really Interesting and Unusual despite i admit there are some shovelwares, but in my opinion, Wii games are MUCH Better than PS3 / XBOX 360 in term of games library. Wii have tons of Family / Casual games for everyone, very contrary with PS3 (Tons of rated 18+ games).

@Heavyarms55 You are heavily missing the point here. The member is saying that they personally saw the Wii as a disaster due to things like forced motion controls, limited controls, limited power, etc. I get it, 'disaster' is a strong word to use, but that's just their opinion over the system and the impact it had on them.

How successful the Wii was financially and how much you like it has absolutely no bearing on the factors in which they personally think it is a disaster. It is a subjective matter.

To put it really simply:They're pretty much saying "I hated the Wii" and you've responded "But it sold well, so you're wrong". Like how well it sold is completely irrelevant. Do you understand now?

@Harmonie But he did not say "I hated the Wii" He said "Wii was a disaster..." That's an important difference. Had he said the former I'd have no complaint, but he said the latter and honestly, yes he is wrong in saying that. The Wii was an overwhelming success despite his potential dislike or my liking it. As someone who teaches English as a second language I've learned how important it is to say what you mean. This sort of double talk, where people say one thing and mean something else, causes nothing but problems.

"I hate X" =/= "X is a disaster"

The Wii waggle and Wii-U focus on gimmicks were why I stopped playing consoles and why I sold my Wii-U. That I can play with standard controls on the Switch is why I started playing again. I'm glad those systems are dead and that their best titles are being re-released. Good riddance!

@Anti-Matter There are actually very few 18+ games on PS3. There are also some on the Wii...

"good ol' days of waggle" is such an oxymoron to me.

Waggle games weren't really games though, at least not in the sense that skill is rewarded. The Wii's accelerometer maxxed almost instantly so the Wii had absolutely no idea what you were doing. It was down to random chance who won in anything but the slowest paced of games. It was all smoke and mirrors.

I am so far disappointed with the Switch (never owned a Wii - did own a Game Cube) for for what appears to be lack of co-op games with my kids. (Looking for suggestions please!)
We are doing the Mario thing (I'm Mario, you're Cappy) and also Captain Toad Treasure Tracker - one of my daughters loves pointing at the screen and firing the apples(?).

My eldest is 7 and has special needs - Can anyone suggest other co-op games we can enjoy together which does not require too much dexterity or remembering what button does what? Thanks!

@Heavyarms55 ueah saying disaster was wrong let me fix it it 2as a horrible gaming experience, the gap between ot and the others (ps3 and xbox 360) was the biggest ever in nintendo history i know it eas realeased in the end of ps2 era but it lacked everything (proper online proper main controller that ruined whatever game that didn't use its gimmicks, good online store with actual good games) one more thing if you say sales is what decides if something is good then the best current console is ps4 btw i enjoyed ds very much and have a very good memories with it unlike the wii

Wii was such a fun little console. I don’t know if I miss it as much as I miss how it attracted the entire family to play. It was so much fun, my then girlfriend’s (now my wife) mother went out and bought one for her home. And I love my mother in law. But this is a woman who is as frugal as anyone I know and would have never just gone out and bought a gaming console like that otherwise. One of my favorite memories of the Wii is actually buying it. I was working in the Pru in Boston. It had a GameStop in the lower level retail area. Went and just impulsed bought one during my lunch break, along with Mario Strikers Charged. The second half of work day couldn’t go fast enough.

@Pokeman_noob You're totally entitled to your opinion, and you're right, sales aren't everything. But they are one of the the most important and most easily measurable metrics of something's success. And also, you'd be right in saying that, based on says, of the currently available game systems on the market, PS4 is the indisputable king.

@Aneira Mind your language!

Wii can't happen again. Smartphones and tablets have mostly replaced that need, for cheaper (or more standard) application. It was an interesting experiment, that failed in it's main objective of creating more gamers, instead just became a very popular novelty item, as its audience moved on to more accessible entertainment. There's always going to be tons of family friendly content with Nintendo, but pining for "the casual console" ignores the technology shift that happened after it's time and the ubiquity of kids with tablets/phones.

@sword_9mm N's not a mess, but they aren't competing, you're right. They're not trying. The thing is PS/XB are essentially niche products. They appeal to a very specific market and do a good job catering precisely to that market, but they're of little appeal to anyone not in that market. Nintendo is very broad and caters to the mass market (which often makes it look like they're not competing for gamers....because they aren't. They have some content aimed at gamers, but it's only a subset of their content, while the rest is aimed at the masses in a way even FIFA and Madden aren't.) The catch for gamers is, the stuff they have that's nichely aimed at gamers tends to aim at an even granular niche than PS/XB do.

So the hierarchy tends to work out where:
PS/XB: Aimed at the typical dedicated gamer as a broad niche, and aimed generally at the "mainstream" of that niche demographic.
Nintendo: Aimed at the mass consumer (think people who buy toilet paper and shampoo at Walmart, not people who know what Halo is.), but also has a subset aimed at VERY niche "gamers" who tend to fit through the cracks of PS/XB. Basically they don't compete with PS and XB by almost never aiming at "mainstream" gamers, and always aiming everywhere else, both the mass market, and very niche hardcore gamers that don't fit the mainstream of gaming. Makes sense. Let your competitors pick the ripest fruit while you harvest the rest of the orchard....

@Heavyarms55 Except there's no reason that 'disaster' can only be spoken of in context of financial matters. We could sit here and argue semantics all day, but I think it's more important to recognize one thing: The context in which they called it a disaster was made completely clear in their original comment. You went past this context and attacked a position that wasn't their's.

Additionally, the fact that the Wii sold so well is such common knowledge that any instance of someone saying that the Wii was a 'disaster' should automatically be assumed to be in terms of non-financial matters.

Anyway, sorry for getting so argumentative. I've just had this happen to me many times, where I express that the Wii was a disappointing console to me and list the reasons why and someone responds "The Wii sold really well" like it has anything to do with anything. Financial success or failure is a discussion with a specific time and place. It has nothing to do with someone's personal dislike of the Wii backed up with things disliking its motion controls, weak hardware compared to its competition, etc. It is a completely different discussion.

There were so many great Wii games... Red Steel 2, Metroid Prime Trilogy, No more heroes 1&2, Mad World, Rayman Origins...

@shadow-wolf Trust me, third person games can feel like entirely new experiences in VR.

I'm playing Moss right now on my Oculus Rift and it's just amazing what being in VR does for even a game like that. And, I think I mentioned my experience playing the classic Eternal Darkness in VR (via the Dolphin emulator). But just imagine taking that to the next level and actually having the insanity effects spilling out of that virtual TV and into the virtual room you are sitting playing the game in. . . . Let your mind go wild here and you'll see the possibilities for some truly amazing insanity effects are near endless. But, if it helps, you can't start with a simple example and build your imagination from there:

The fact of the matter is that VR can actually benefit basically every single genre and viewpoint of game, from first persons shooters and arcade gun games to third person action adventures and tabletop board games.

@Trajan Trust me, the "lack of momentum" is only what uninformed people are seeing and perpetuating. Most industry people know fine well that VR is actually on a very healthy life curve right now, especially as compared to any other new and paradigm-shifting entertainment platforms/mediums and other technologies of the past. And VR is far, far beyond "neat", but I think it's going to take a few more people actually trying VR properly, and actually playing some proper quality games in it too, before the world at large starts to get that simple fact.

@impurekind its definitely neat. Especially that one that came out around launch where your spaceship blows up and you need to go around and get O2 tanks. Still, its no Xenoblade.

The Wii had some amazing games, Xenoblade Chronicles was one that I found once I purchased a Wii U. However, there is always an adjustment period to get used to the graphics again. Low-res polygons just don't hold up as well as sprites, especially when they were meant to be used on a much smaller display.

That said, just because a feature was available they didn't need to use it (or abuse it in the case of waggle).

@Trajan I'm not a huge fan of ADR1FT because it's a bit too slow and motion-sickness inducing for me.

My favourite VR games and experiences to date are: Chronos, Edge of Nowhere, Lucky's Tale, Dead and Buried, Beat Saber, Allumette, Dear Angelica, Jurassic Park: Blue, Titans of Space, Rec Room, Superhot VR, Old Friend, Google Earth VR, Face Your Fears, Rick and Morty: Virtual Rickality, Vanishing Realms, and Moss (I'm playing that one right now and it's just gorgeous).

Some of those are just amazing imo.

@Harmonie But one must always be clear about what they are stating. Of course disasters are more than financial matters. They can be any number of negative impacts. However one's personal opinion is not among them. From nearly every measurable angle, the Wii was a roaring success. It doesn't matter what you or I personally think of the device.

@Silly_G I agree whith you. But what I am very much for games that play perfectly without labo that can use labo to make the experience more hands-on, like the Labo bike-wheel update in Mario kart.

Labo Sports sounds like just the ticket.

The Wii is my least favourite Nintendo console. The only descent thing was Wii sports. I hated the Wiimote apart from that game. The Wii U was a vast improvement imo. Motion controls suck

My Wii has actually got a second life since I joined playing on the private servers for online games. I actually play it more than I ever did. If they could get Monster Hunter running, now that would be awesome

Mario Kart Wii and Xenoblade were great, but otherwise I'm on the opposite camp. They ruined many good games with motion controls (such as Metroid Prime), and the fact it was the only non-HD console of the time was disappointing. The Wii's exclusive Zelda SS was also the worst of the main series. Wii U was a lot better device, and Switch is and will clearly be even greater.

Don't care about the waggle. Just get a pro controller, then the Wii becomes the goat Nintendo console.

@CrimSkies97
As somebody who loves retro games and missed out on certain systems over the years due to various factors (mainly money since I was a kid but also the fact certain systems went under the radar in their respective generation), the Wii was definitely an awesome system.

On a sidenote, I thought the Wii's library on its own was plenty good enough. LoZ: Twilight Princess, Super Paper Mario, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, No More Heroes 1 and 2, Mario Kart Wii, Smash Bros. Brawl, the Klonoa remake, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition and the RE Chronicles games, Red Steel 2, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Mad World, GoldenEye, Sin & Punishment Star Successor, DKC Returns, Wii Sports Resort and big library of original WiiWare content which had a ton of variety really helped. Many of those games also had multiple control options. I don't think the Wii gets the credit it deserves. Definitely much more than a 'casual' kiddie/granny console. I rank it fourth on my list of favorite Nintendo systems after SNES, NES and GBA.

@Gamer83 It could just be because of all the grey shooters on the HD twins. But I loved the Wii probably the most that gen.

The genre variety was huge and healthy on the system, even Point n Click and 3D platformers(my fav genre) were well represented.

@CrimSkies97
Yeah, the system had something for everybody. Hell, it even had a healthy dose of light-gun games. Something I'd like to see return on Switch because it is possible thanks to the joycon's motion controls.

@Shard1 Yeah, pointer controls are one aspect in which I think the Wiimote does better than the Joycon controllers​. As for waggle controls, as divisive as they are, I've never really had a problem with them. Actually, when they are implemented​ right like in Super Mario Galaxy I think waggle controls can make games better.