Wii - Timeline
Monday3rd Oct 2016
News Former Sony Boss Jack Tretton Lavishes Praise On Nintendo And The Wii
"I think everyone discounted the Wii initially"
Former Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Jack Tretton has admitted in an interview with IGN that he - like so many in the games industry - underestimated the Wii when it was first announced. The console followed the underperforming GameCube and took risks by opting for weaker...
Thursday29th Sep 2016
News Sonic Developers Discuss How Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Came About
Two worlds colliding
The rivalry between Sega and Nintendo back in the day was the stuff of legends; there arguably has never been a more heated competition between two game companies since. After Nintendo's near monopoly on video games in the NES days, Sega's Genesis console represented a tectonic shift and proved that there was room for other...
Thursday22nd Sep 2016
News Donkey Kong Country Returns Swings to the North American Wii U VC This Week
*Cue bongo drums*
Rare's Donkey Kong Country trilogy is a collection of three absolutely classic games, so there was obviously plenty of trepidation when Donkey Kong Country Returns was announced back at E3 in 2010. However, if there were ever a capable studio, it would be Retro Studios, and the development team did an excellent job of revitalizing...
Thursday15th Sep 2016
News WarioWare Smooth Moves Arrives on the North American eShop This Week
Smooth like butter
The WarioWare series is easily one of the weirdest in Nintendo's stable, centered around a broad array of crazy minigames created by Wario and all his weird friends. After its initial debut on the GBA, it's had an entry on every console since – with the notable exclusion of the 3DS. It's certainly a series unlike anything else,...
Friday26th Aug 2016
Feature The Making Of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
We speak to Sam Barlow about the Wii horror classic
The Silent Hill series has long been one of gaming's horror greats, often bringing a subtle and mature approach to the genre thanks to its deep characterisation and mature themes. With the high-profile cancellation of Silent Hills on PS4 and Konami's insatiable lust for Pachinko machines showing no...
Friday19th Aug 2016
News Concept Art Surfaces from the Cancelled 'Epic Donald'
Epic Mickey could've been a trilogy
Remember Epic Mickey? Junction Point's ambitious, decision-centric platformer drew a lot of attention with it's unique art direction and supposedly dark themes for Disney's most popular mouse, but the game was met with mixed reception upon release. The team tried once more with Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, but...
Sunday31st Jul 2016
Video Digital Foundry Explores the Potential for GameCube and Wii Emulation on Nintendo NX
Putting the older Tegra X1 to the test
The past week's key revelations on the NX, established through multiple sources and reinforced by plenty of checks and off-the-record conversations, have many (including us here at Nintendo Life) confident that there's validity and value to the details. One key aspect is the use of Nvidia technology to power...
Tuesday31st May 2016
Video Weep with Us Over these Top Five Gaming Series that Ain't What They Used to Be
No prizes for guessing number one
Every series has its high points and its low points, but for some franchises we seem to be stuck at the bottom of a rut with no clear way out. It's sad that some of our favourite series have taken such a nosedive, but that's just what happens sometimes. In an effort to try and inform, entertain, and relieve some...
Sunday29th May 2016
Video Learn More About Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2
And quietly judge the millions that apparently pirated it
Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are among the most critically acclaimed and popular titles of the Wii era, even proving popular as Virtual Console downloads on Wii U. They're also games with interesting histories - from the origins of the sequel as Super Mario Galaxy 1.5, down to...
Monday23rd May 2016
News The Servers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex Are Down
No word on when, or if, they'll be back up.
UPDATE: (9:05 CST) It looks like the servers are back up. For now, online for Call of Duty on the Wii will live another day. Evidently, it was some sort of technical issue. As many of you likely remember, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was shut down for good almost exactly two years ago. Succeeded by the...
Thursday12th May 2016
News Nintendo Defeats Yet Another Patent Claim Against the Wii Remote
Motion Games loses its appeal
The Wii utilised common technology in clever ways and sold over 100 million units - that's the perfect combination to prompt a whole lot of patent-related court cases. Nintendo has successfully defeated the majority of patent claims against it in recent years, and has now confirmed the end of another case. This time...
Thursday28th Apr 2016
Video Feast Your Eyes on these Five Cancelled Super Mario Games
Obligatory CD-i appearance included
Mario's been around for donkey's years and has starred in so many games it's almost worrying. It's no surprise then that there were a few games surrounding the portly plumber that never made it to retail shelves, and thanks to the internet we can now display them for you for your amusement. Check out the video...
Monday25th Apr 2016
News 10 Years On, Hideki Kamiya Still Doesn't Think He Could Better Okami
Not even "a pixel of confidence" that he could "surpass the original"
The gorgeous Okami is 10 years old, which is an almost unbelievable fact in itself - it seems like only yesterday that we were stalking its stunning ink-rendered world as Amaterasu, marvelling at the motion controls and tight, appealing gameplay. Despite getting a sequel on the...
Sunday17th Apr 2016
Video See If This Tale of the Cancelled Dirty Harry Game Makes Your Day
The developers weren't feeling lucky
Dirty Harry, to many younger readers (heck, including this writer), may seem like a rather old movie series in which a youthful Clint Eastwood mutters iconic lines. It's not too long ago, however, that Warner Bros. (and Eastwood's own company) had grand plans to revive the franchise with licensed games. The...
Friday15th Apr 2016
Video Learn About Hero World, the MMO That Could Have Changed Guitar and DJ Hero Forever
Struck the wrong chord as the series collapsed
In the last generation of systems there was a frenzied period when Guitar Hero and Rock Band went head to head and dominated the gaming industry. With pricey yet desirable accessories and gameplay that struck a nerve with the public, the concept of plastic instruments and music games was a huge...
Wednesday30th Mar 2016
Video More Footage And Details Emerge For The Cancelled Bonk: Brink Of Extinction
Cave story
Bonk is one of video gaming's most unlikely mascots. Originally named PC Kid and seen as the PC Engine's lead character in Japan, he was renamed Bonk when that console was released in North America as the TurboGrafx-16. Bonk would enjoy three mainline adventures on NEC's hardware - all of which were very well recieved - as well as...
Sunday20th Mar 2016
Video Learn More About Superman: Blue Steel, Factor 5's Final Project
Kryptonite to an excellent studio
Factor 5 was a studio that had plenty of fans, with its Rogue Squadron titles in particular being standouts for Nintendo fans. Unfortunately its later years were punctuated by aborted projects and difficult generational transitions, an example being an attempt to produce a Kid Icarus game for Wii. Now occasional...
Saturday19th Mar 2016
Video Learn About the Quirky History of Wii Sports and Its Role in Bringing Us Mii Characters
Wuhu Island could have been more important, too
Wii Sports is the biggest-selling retail game of all time. Sure, the fact it was bundled with many Wii systems outside of Japan made that a reality, but it's still an extraordinary statistic. It's a title with an interesting history, too, especially in its integral role in helping the concept of Mii...
Thursday17th Mar 2016
Weirdness Jackie Chan Backed A Motion-Controlled Fitness Console That Pre-Dated The Wii
Say hello to the XaviX Port!
The Wii was revolutionary in that it introduced the mainstream gaming market to motion controls and the concept of "keeping fit" through gameplay. However, it was by no means the first gaming platform to achieve this - in 2004, Japanese firm SSD Company Limited released the XaviX Port alongside a range of sports-focused...
Wednesday2nd Mar 2016
News Nintendo Finalises Wii Patent Win Over UltimatePointer
"Nintendo will vigorously defend itself" and so on...
We think it's fair to say that a decent percentage of patent claims filed in the US could best be described as being in 'bad faith'. Though Nintendo has lost a small number of notable cases, being forced into payments or shared royalties, it wins the majority of patent cases launched against its...
Monday29th Feb 2016
News Nintendo of America Confirms New Wii U, 3DS and Wii Nintendo Selects Titles for 11th March
Just $19.99 each
In mid-February a retailer listing from Canadian store VGP Video Games Plus pointed to a new batch of Nintendo Selects titles being on the way to North America. The good news is that the listing was accurate, with Nintendo of America confirming that the range of Wii U, 3DS and Wii games will be available for $19.99 - that's the US...
Monday15th Feb 2016
Random Turning Your Wii Balance Board Into A Skateboard Isn't A Great Idea
Don't try this at home, or anywhere else for that matter
Not so long ago, we asked if you knew where your Wii Balance Board was. After the runaway success of Wii Fit, millions of these peripherals were sold worldwide, only to be shoved into a cupboard after the allure of keeping healthy via video games inevitably waned. Nintendo's attempt to revive...
Saturday13th Feb 2016
News New North American Nintendo Selects Range Emerges in Retailer Listings
Includes Wii U, 3DS and even Wii titles
The European range of Nintendo Selects titles - which is available at handsome price points - has continued to grow, leaving some in North America frustrated at the lack of progress in their region. Thankfully that seems to be heading for an improvement, with Canadian retailer VGP Video Games Plus apparently...
Thursday4th Feb 2016
Video See How Far The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has Come Since the Wii & GameCube
Things can only look better
If you were in any doubt that the visuals in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD surpass those of the original Wii and GameCube versions, let us clarify that the visuals have indeed surpassed those of the original Wii and GameCube versions. If you need further proof of just how much tastier things are in this...
Video Reliving the Memories of the Original Announcement for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Out of time, into Twilight
With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD just around the corner we thought it was about time we looked back at the fantastic reveal that the original game received. Much controversy surrounded the art direction of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and many people wanted a more realistic Zelda game...
Monday1st Feb 2016
News Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is Shuffling Onto the North American Wii U eShop on 4th February
"Where's everyone going? Bingo?"
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is rightly held in high regard by a number of series fans; this writer likes it a bit too much, completing at least one playthrough every year. It's a terrific version of a classic game, with pointer controls and occasional waggle that are actually fun to use, along with the inclusion of...
Tuesday26th Jan 2016
Video Collecting Every Wii Game Is Difficult, But This Guy Did It Anyway
1260 games later
The Wii is one of the most successful games consoles of all time with over 100 million consoles sold - and counting. As ever, commercial triumph goes hand-in-hand with loads of software, and the Wii has been blessed with 1260 games to date, not all of them good. You might assume that collecting all of these games would be a foolish...
Friday22nd Jan 2016
Video Sonic Colours Has Some of the Coolest Glitches
Blurring the lines
We know the popular narrative for some is to say that Sonic's been in a rut and had a bad run of games, but recent years have brought some solid entries. Sonic Colours / Sonic Colors certainly qualifies as one of the better releases in the past couple of generations, blending 2D and 3D play with some neat twists and power-ups. In...
Tuesday12th Jan 2016
Video Watch as New Super Mario Bros. Wii Gets Pitted Side-by-Side with its Wii U Successor
HD-licious
New Super Mario Bros. Wii has joined its younger sibling New Super Mario Bros. U on the Wii U eShop in Europe. Many people jump to compare the two and believe them to be achingly similar, so in order to put this to the test once and for all we've put both games side-by-side in the video below. We chose to showcase levels that bore a...
Thursday7th Jan 2016
News The First 4 Figures Amaterasu Reminds Us of Why We Love Ōkami
Pure art
Ōkami was developed by Clover Studio, the fantastic Capcom-owned developer that disbanded and formed - for the most part - the equally wonderful PlatinumGames. Originally a PS2 game, we fell in love with the Wii version courtesy of its Wii Remote pointer controls - the act of drawing shapes to trigger abilities and attacks worked...
