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[jshackles]

Let's talk about this great console. Wii

The Hype
First of all, the hype around this system was insane - for some places it was months after release before people were able to get their hands on them. They seemed to absolutely fly of the shelves of retail stores.

Personally, I waited in line overnight 3 weeks after release because our local Best Buy mentioned they were getting new stock in. People were paying hundreds of dollars over retail on auction sites like eBay the closer it got to Christmas 2006. This was the must have toy of '06. Honestly, I don't think I've seen hysteria on this level surrounding a video game console in the 13 years since.

The System
The Wii boasted simplistic specs with it's 729 MHz CPU (compared with the PlayStation 3 's 3.2GHz Cell processor) and 88MB of memory.

Despite being more powerful than it's predecessor the GameCube , most of us laughed at how inferior these specs were to the competition. The Xbox 360 had released the previous year with much more impressive specs.

Here's what NeoGAF had to say when the specs were revealed:

Wii Specs

The Wii Hardware - Nintendo Wiis Broadway CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec. - Nintendo Wiis HollyWood GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory. - 64megabytes of...

www.neogaf.com

Originally the Wii was released only in white, but later they also sold other colors. A few years into production, Nintendo dropped backwards compatibility from their new models meaning users could not use their Wii to play GameCube games. Near the end of the product life, NIntendo released a slim model.

The Name
GAF lost it's shit a bit when they announced that the previously announced "Revolution" was going to be called the "Wii".

Final Revolution Name Announced: Wii

Taken from Official Nintendo Magazine UK Literally hours before these very pages were printed Nintendo officially revealed the final name for its next generation console. Previously codenamed Revolution the new system will now go by the name of Wii (pronounced 'we'). For all the latest...

www.neogaf.com

The Controllers
The Wii wasn't just about a new console, but also about a totally new control scheme cooked up by Nintendo. The Wii featured motion controls, most notably the pack-in controller which was the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk.

Nintendo also released many addons that plugged into the Wii Remote's bottom port, such as the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro

They would also go on to release another addon called the Wii Remote Plus, which eventually was integrated directly into the Wii Remote itself

Due to the system's popularity, a plethora of third party attachments were made like tennis rackets, steering wheels, and more.

The Games
The biggest selling Wii game (by far) was the pack-in title Wii Sports. The game included simple sports games like bowling, tennis, golf, and baseball as a way to get users acquainted with the Wii's motion controls.

The Wii also had a MASSIVE catalog of launch titles, which somewhat foreshadowed the massive catalog of games it would amass over the years ahead.

The Verdict
The Wii turned out to be a runaway success and marked the time where Nintendo consoles started cementing their reputation as "kid systems" because multiplatform releases started focusing more on the more powerful Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Instead we started getting watered down versions and late ports. The system's motion controls also made it difficult or clunky for games designed for traditional control schemes to thrive on the Wii. Even still, the system went on to sell 101.63 million units worldwide. It's successor, the Wii U did not fare as well.

Love it or hate it, the Wii was a massive cultural phenomenon whose influence can still be felt today - exactly 13 years later.

 

[stranno]

 

[Jacknapes]

Such a great machine, Nintendo certainly struck a cord with this console. Especially how they designed it for everyone in mind.

Shame they couldn't replicate it on the WiiU

Edit

I didn't get a Wii at launch, decided on an Xbox 360 instead. It wasn't due to the stock issues, i just wasn't a fan of motion controls at the time and preferred the sense of a conventional controller over a Wiimote with a Joystick add-on. I did get a Wii eventually as the craving for quality Nintendo games was calling out (that, and i played the Wii at a friends house and saw the motion controls wasn't as bad as i was thinking they would be). Picked my Wii up from Blockbuster Video after a cinema trip along with Super Smash Brothers Brawl and (i think) New Super Mario Brothers.

Didn't get that many games on the Wii, picked up Twilight Princess on the GameCube over the Wii (waited an extra week for it) as i saw it as a fitting finale to a great machine. And the Wii i got was one that was GameCube compatible, so i had that extra library of games available whilst waiting on funds to become available for a new Wii game.

Didn't get that many Wii games though

• Super Smash Bros Brawl
• New Super Mario Brothers
• Mario Galaxy
• Mario Galaxy 2
• Mario Kart Wii
• Skyward Sword

That was about it really, and to be fair didn't get that many games on the WiiU either (but to be honest, there were droughts on this machine)

 

[Petrae]

The Virtual Console alone was a gamechanger. Pick games a la carte across a variety of platforms, including some imports. The TurboGrafx-16 lineup alone was worth the price of admission.

And then there’s the games. Shit on Wii Sports/Resort all you want, but these games attracted players of all kinds and ages to try some video games. The Wiimote brought light gun games back to relevance, and pointer aiming changed how some other games were played. Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel/expansion were awesome.

I admit that quite a few games relied too much on waggle instead of simpler traditional controls. I still avoid waggle-only games and my Pro Controller is what I use for 90% of my Wii game playing time. But when it wasn’t forced, it was fun to use on occasion.

I appreciate the Wii far more now than I did in its heyday. I play it rather often, even if only for a quick game of Blazing Lazers or ten frames of bowling.

 

[Noboru Wataya]

It had such a great library of games by the end. It’s a shame it will most likely be remembered as the grandparents console with shitty waggle controls.

not shown: Wii Play, Wii Sports & Resort, Xenoblade Chronicles & Zack and Wiki

 

[jshackles]

I was talking to a lady at work who knew absolutely nothing about computers. I told her she needed a WiFi access point.

"Is that like a Wii? I've seen those at the store..."

This was in 2013. This is when I knew the Wii was cemented not only in gaming culture but had permeated the general population so much that it would forever be legendary.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

I can remember being in Toys R Us and the store manager announced they just got new stock of Wiis and everyone who was Christmas shopping starting hurrying to the electronics section.

The system was a game changer alright. Spending the Christmas holidays playing Twilight Princess was bliss. And I'm especially fond of Mario Galaxy 2.

But I'd prefer if motion controls don't become a thing again for the forseeable future.

 

[Birdo]

The last great retail gen

I remember my local games stores being full of people buying up Wii stuff. Every week. You could hardly move in the store.............. Now?............. Empty............... Walls of used phones. Not a single soul.

Loved the Wii. It probably has more hidden gems than any other console, due to people ignoring it as a serious game machine. They missed a lot.

 

[jshackles]

The top selling Wii games according to Wikipedia:

1 Wii Sports 82.88 million
2 Mario Kart Wii 37.24 million
3 Wii Sports Resort 33.11 million
4 New Super Mario Bros. Wii 30.28 million
5 Wii Play 28.02 million
6 Wii Fit 22.67 million
7 Wii Fit Plus 21.13 million
8 Super Smash Bros. Brawl 13.30 million
9 Super Mario Galaxy 12.79 million
10 Wii Party 9.34 million
11 Mario Party 8 8.85 million
12 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 7.53 million
13 Super Mario Galaxy 2 7.41 million
14 Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games 7.09 million
15 Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games 6.53 million
16 Just Dance 2 5 million
17 Donkey Kong Country Returns 4.98 million
18 Link's Crossbow Training 4.80 million
19 Just Dance 4.3 million
20 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 3.52 million
21 Animal Crossing: City Folk 3.38 million
22 Mario Party 9 2.73 million
23 Wii Music 2.65 million
24 Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games 2.4 million
25 Super Paper Mario 2.28 million

 

[Birdo]

The top selling Wii games according to Wikipedia:

1 Wii Sports 82.88 million
2 Mario Kart Wii 37.24 million
3 Wii Sports Resort 33.11 million
4 New Super Mario Bros. Wii 30.28 million
5 Wii Play 28.02 million
6 Wii Fit 22.67 million
7 Wii Fit Plus 21.13 million
8 Super Smash Bros. Brawl 13.30 million
9 Super Mario Galaxy 12.79 million
10 Wii Party 9.34 million
11 Mario Party 8 8.85 million
12 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 7.53 million
13 Super Mario Galaxy 2 7.41 million
14 Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games 7.09 million
15 Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games 6.53 million
16 Just Dance 2 5 million
17 Donkey Kong Country Returns 4.98 million
18 Link's Crossbow Training 4.80 million
19 Just Dance 4.3 million
20 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword 3.52 million
21 Animal Crossing: City Folk 3.38 million
22 Mario Party 9 2.73 million
23 Wii Music 2.65 million
24 Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games 2.4 million
25 Super Paper Mario 2.28 million

Link's Crossbow Training sold more than Skyward Sword? OOF.

What an amazing list, though. All but two are first party (Just Dance 1 & 2).

 

[Thurible]

It seemed like yesterday when Nintendo was advertising the wii with the goofy "We would like to play" campaign. Always seemed a bit silly, colorful, and fun like Nintendo itself.

 

[jshackles]

Link's Crossbow Training sold more than Skyward Sword? OOF.

The reason it sold SO well is that it was bundled (in the US at least) with the gun-shaped Wii remote holder, the Wii Zapper.

In the end, it only ended up working with a handful of games. Zelda was easily the most fun in my opinion, but there was pretty good third party support for this thing from franchises like Resident Evil and Call of Duty.

 

[Space Runaway]

I remember getting a launch unit at Universal CityWalk after being invited by my friend on a whim. That launch line was a miserable experience that went well into the am hours and by the time I was getting one I almost didn't want it anymore. Course the console ended up being so scarce that I went from feeling pissed to straight out lucky. =P

I still remember when hardcore Nintendo weirdos were going around posting about how Nintendo is stocking soooo many of these that you could walk into a store at any time after launch and find one...

Ended up being a decent system with a solid game library. Like Galaxy was godlike, DKC and Punch-Out returned in top form, Sin and Punishment 2(!), "good enough" 2d Mario, lightgun games rebirth, and others. Sure some titles aged poorly but at the time it was great.

 

[Azelover]

Those were good times to me.

I had a lot of fun with Wii Sports. It was a huge plus that the family could get involved, and it was more of a social game too, with people even outside the family.

Nowadays, my gaming has gone back to more of an isolated nature. I guess that's how things are meant to be, at least for myself.

 

[Neff]

Fucking brilliant machine. Absolute genius piece of design, engineering and marketing. Great games too.

 

[Secesh]

Waggle

 

[PhilipDoesMatter]

I have fresh memories of the day I unboxed mine. It was the first console I afforded to buy by myself, and seeing Super Mario Galaxy on my CRT literally put me in tears.

 

[Sophist]

The console itself was a huge letdown --Lack of online and lack of HD when fast internet and hdtv became the norm-- but a few games managed to overcome that. Still a tremendous success for Nintendo.

 

[Codes 208]

From that point forward it took me 11 years to start caring about their home consoles again.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Amazing thread for an amazing system, nicely done jshackles . I still have my Wii plugged into a CRT downstairs. The immediacy of the gameplay and the interface is something special. I love the rail shooters like Sin & Punishment and Ghost Squad. Wii has my favorite Resident Evil game of all time RE4: Wii Edition. The platformers are pretty good (though Wii U actually has better 2d platformers overall imo) and there are some true gems on the system. I think it's a system worth keeping around with a library of at least 20-30 favorites. There are a lot of duds, but also a lot of hidden gems.

Not everyone is going to love The Last Story, but fans of the game are happy it exists. Not everyone is going to need Dokapon Kingdom in their collection, but it has its niche of devoted fans. Wii is packed with little quirky gems, and it's truly a shame that Nintendo got browbeaten out of their own plucky "casual" approach to gaming by the "hardcore" gamers.

Wii will always be special and will not likely be topped in what it set out to do anytime soon.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

Freakin loved the Wii.

My top Wii games that kept me coming back:

Wii Sports Resort
Wii Fit Plus
Mario Kart
Brawl
Sonic Colors
Fluidity
Goldeneye
Xenoblade
The Last Story
NBA Jam
Skyward Sword
Resident Evil 4/Chronicles
Other M (yes I said it)
NSMB
Galaxy

F the haters. Wii was awesome

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Wii was a success because was cheap and the control

For me is one of the worst Nintendo Consoles that i ever play it.

My God... was the WORST CONSOLE GENERATION EVER!!!...

What a Fucking Nightmare was Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.

Im glad that period was finished.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Personal favorites:

Spyborgs, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Bit.Trip Complete, Furu Furu Park, Ghost Squad, Punch Out, Tatsunoko vs Capcom, Rhythm Heaven Fever, Dokapon Kingdom, DKC Returns, Kirby Yarn, Klonoa, Wsrioland Shake It, NSMB, Galaxy 1 and 2, Octomania, Zack & Wiki, Sin and Punishmnt, Mario Kart Wii, Blast Works, Dead Space Extraction, Castle Shikigami III, Ultimate Shooting Collection, Super Mario Sluggers, The Last Story, Wii Sports + Resort, and even Wii Fit.

 

[JimiNutz]

I remember being really excited by the idea of motion controls when the controller was revealed. I kind of hope that they come back one day once the technology really improves (I guess they kind of have in certain VR games?)

I never owned the console myself but had a housemate that bought one at launch and I remember the excitement of picking up the console day one, getting it set up and then having a shit tonne of fun with Wii Sports multiplayer.

That game got all kinds of new people playing - people that I never expected to see picking up a controller. I remember thinking it was pretty surreal that we would actually have friends over and hold mini 'Wii parties' at the house like some kind of real life Nintendo commercial. Grown ups bonding over gaming lol

Controller made for a great dildo.

Unfortunately I didn't get to play Galaxy 1 or 2.
My housemate and I had gone our separate ways by then. I hope they port Galaxy to Switch or Switch 2 one day.

 

[jshackles]

The game I bought at launch was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I hated it.

In my opinion, the best game produced on the Wii was Xenoblade Chronicles.

 

[Potato Chip PRO]

Mario Kart Wii was the reason why I must have a Wii back then. I was having too much trouble of finding a Wii.. So when we were on a road trip with my family, our tire went out on us and luckily there was a Wal-Mart near us. Got out and went to see some games and BOOM! One Wii console left in stock. Bought that shii quick along with Mario Kart Wii.

 

[kunonabi]

Man, kind of busy tonight but I'll try and sneak something in. The Wii is my favorite Nintendo console and is what got me back into video games after I started losing interest during the latter part of the PS2 era.

I may have time for a longer post later but for now a quick top 10 in particular order.

No More Heroes
Super Mario Galaxy
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Metroid: Other M
Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
The Last Story
Trauma Team
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands

Damn so many other games I want to mention. I'll make it a top 20 later along with some pics of my collection.

 

[SpiceRacz]

If the Wii is to be remembered for anything, it's that it's home to the best 3D platformers ever made.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

I sure hope they make HD ports of the Mario Galaxy games, their sd visuals are their only real weak point.

Really looking forward to playing Xenoblade Chronicles HD, I think I will wait until after replaying it on Switch to start Xenoblade 2.

 

[dan76]

I remember the HMV in picadilly had 50 consoles, it was about a month after release and you couldn't find one anywhere. I got up early, made it in behind a long queue of people all buying Wii consoles. I got one but only just.

I still have it sitting under the tv with a hard drive permanently plugged in and USBloader ready to go. Love lightgun and onrails shooters, so it's always going to be there. The VC was great for getting old ports, especially a few titles from Japan that didn't make it over here. Great console, a shame some good games were ruined by dumb waggle controls - and only a few enhanced with them.

 

[theHFIC]

I remember leaving the bar at like 11:30PM to go to Walmart for midnight launch thinking I could have just walked in and got one. I got there and there was a long line. I was one person away from getting one. That was the impressive part with the Wii sales, Nintendo was really churning them out (unlike how they normally produce systems with a "fake scarcity" by limiting sales) and they were selling as soon as they were made to pull in those gangbuster numbers.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

This was the only system that I went to a midnight launch for. It was pretty uneventful. But I picked it up, and played Zelda when I got home, and it was fucking great. The Wii was never my favorite system, but it definitely had its moments.

 

[brap]

Wii was a success because was cheap and the control

For me is one of the worst Nintendo Consoles that i ever play it.

My God... was the WORST CONSOLE GENERATION EVER!!!...

What a Fucking Nightmare was Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.

Im glad that period was finished.

Can't believe I agree with you. The Wii was a piece of shit. A few good games but most were just shovelware.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Gaming's last stand before the cinematic experience took over. Not a perfect library by any means, but it had some classics and a lot of really cool stuff. The overall concept aged very poorly, however I'm still a fan. Haters are confirmed cucks who enjoy bonding with a stepchild over a long journey of linear corridors.

 

[Foamy]

All hail the console king of shovelware.

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

For me, the Wii was one of my favorite and least favorite Nintendo consoles of all time. It has a handful of my all time favorite games (Galaxy 1+2, Xenoblade, Metroid Prime Trilogy) but it also had glaring downsides (the waggle being one, and the specs being the other). What's unfortunate is I think the Wii has become unfairly shat upon for the downsides rather than appreciated for it's vast, weird ass library.

Someone mentioned Ghost Squad earlier - great weird ass on rails shooter that you wouldn't (and didn't) find on other consoles.

Elebits - What a weird ass fun game. Before the days of fuck Konami

Blast Works - Make your own shmup with online sharing? We need another one of these

Excite Truck and Excite Bots - Two of the most underrated games on the platform. Both games are insanely fun and relied on unique fun mechanics and (surprisingly) great tilt controls.

So many other off center, strange ass games

Also one of the best launch day experiences I've ever had. I originally wasn't going to get the console at launch, but a day or two before one of my friends basically said he was thinking about grabbing one and I said fuck it let's campt out in front of Toy's R Us (double nostalgia points). We were first in line and pretty much the first people out. The next 48 hours were legendary.

 

[Foamy]

This was the only system that I went to a midnight launch for. It was pretty uneventful. But I picked it up, and played Zelda when I got home, and it was fucking great. The Wii was never my favorite system, but it definitely had its moments.

Midnight console launches are like the gaming geeks right of passage.
Got my Xbox 360, PS2, PS4 and Xbox One at midnight.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Midnight console launches are like the gaming geeks right of passage.
Got my Xbox 360, PS2, PS4 and Xbox One at midnight.

I like the idea, it's just that launch selection tends to be so bad that I kinda don't care. It's rare you have a Zelda-tier game on day 1. Like, what was it for PS4? Killzone? Resogun? Wake me up in like a year and a half when Bloodborne launches.

 

[Inloveanddeath0]

Wii was a success because was cheap and the control

For me is one of the worst Nintendo Consoles that i ever play it.

My God... was the WORST CONSOLE GENERATION EVER!!!...

What a Fucking Nightmare was Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.

Im glad that period was finished.

That's a garbage opinion and you know it.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

That's a garbage opinion and you know it.

Is a Honest Opinion.

Nintendo wii has awful graphics.

The ports were horrible.

Few high quality games are worth it

It was a PS2 but with slight modification and without the huge catalog of games

Unable to play games from another region.

The control was a pain to change batteries, which necessarily had to buy rechargeable batteries.

And if it weren't for the movement to bring Xenoblade, The last story or Pandoras Tower, of what we would have missed.

I repeat, Wii was a success, but as a console it is not the best of Nintendo

For best console are Snes, gamecube and Nintendo Switch.

 

[Inloveanddeath0]

Is a Honest Opinion.

Nintendo wii has awful graphics.

The ports were horrible.

Few high quality games are worth it

It was a PS2 but with slight modification and without the huge catalog of games

Unable to play games from another region.

The control was a pain to change batteries, which necessarily had to buy rechargeable batteries.

And if it weren't for the movement to bring Xenoblade, The last story or Pandoras Tower, of what we would have missed.

I repeat, Wii was a success, but as a console it is not the best of Nintendo

Were you not saying it was a garbage generation? That's what I thought

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Jesus how time flies god I wish I were dead.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Were you not saying it was a garbage generation? That's what I thought

For me ... yes it was a awful Generation.

In comparision with a Excellent Console Gen was : Ps2, Gamecube, Xbox.

 

[TexMex]

Great post.

Beginning of the end for Nintendo to me. Hated the Wii. Hated WiiU. Not really a fan of the Switch (so I've been slowly rebuilding my GameCube collection).

The hype was unreal though. All the pics brought back memories. Hell it was hard for find for MONTHS. It's also the only time I've ever camped out for a product (gaming or otherwise). It may be the coldest I've ever been, it was so miserable. My buddy and I got off work and went to Best Buy on a whim. Spent the night on the sidewalk below freezing temps. They had 26 consoles, and I was number 26. They came out and counted everyone off and I was still nervous, if they miss counted or something I would have been livid if I spent the night for no reason. It was uncomfortable.

As for positives - it gave us Galaxy 2, which is my favorite 3D Mario game, and maybe favorite Mario period. Also the A Boy and His Blob reboot.

And most importantly - a Virtual Console, an incredible idea that was horribly executed and now abandoned with the Switch.

 

[Porcile]

The fact that people to this day are desperate for the Metroid Prime Trilogy to be in HD just goes to show that the power of the system wasn't as an big issue as it was made out to be. It's just at that time Japanese developers were fucking up HD development so spectacularly and that led to a shift towards western developers being the dominant driving force in gaming trends. Unfortunately at that time pretty much every Western studio just wanted to make the next Gears of War, Bioshock or Call of Duty. The general wisdom being you needed da powah of HD to make good games. What a shitty time it was.

 

[TexMex]

The fact that people to this day are desperate for the Metroid Prime Trilogy to be in HD just goes to show that the power of the system wasn't as an big issue as it was made out to be. It's just at that time Japanese developers were fucking up HD development so spectacularly and that led to a shift towards western developers being the dominant driving force in gaming trends. Unfortunately at that time pretty much every Western studio just wanted to make the next Gears of War, Bioshock or Call of Duty. The general wisdom being you needed da powah of HD to make good games. What a shitty time it was.

If they'd get the Trilogy on Switch it would justify it's existence for me. It keeps being rumored and listed among retailers (before quickly) getting pulled, just need it to finally get announced. God I love Prime 1 so much.

 

[Bakkus]

Decent console which lastet 2 years longer than it should have.

I was talking to a lady at work who knew absolutely nothing about computers. I told her she needed a WiFi access point.

"Is that like a Wii? I've seen those at the store..."

My first introduction to the term 'Wi-Fi' actually was through the Wii, so I thought it was just what Nintendo called broadband.

 

[The Scrivener]

Wii will, Wii will, rock you. And it did.

 

[-Arcadia-]

What reading this damn title made me feel like.

Great OP, even if I get a little crazy about some of the silly Wii hate back then. It’s nice to have the occasion marked by so many memories.

 

[Jacknapes]

The Virtual Console alone was a gamechanger. Pick games a la carte across a variety of platforms, including some imports. The TurboGrafx-16 lineup alone was worth the price of admission.

And then there’s the games. Shit on Wii Sports/Resort all you want, but these games attracted players of all kinds and ages to try some video games. The Wiimote brought light gun games back to relevance, and pointer aiming changed how some other games were played. Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel/expansion were awesome.

I admit that quite a few games relied too much on waggle instead of simpler traditional controls. I still avoid waggle-only games and my Pro Controller is what I use for 90% of my Wii game playing time. But when it wasn’t forced, it was fun to use on occasion.

I appreciate the Wii far more now than I did in its heyday. I play it rather often, even if only for a quick game of Blazing Lazers or ten frames of bowling.

Ah yes, the Virtual Console was one of the highlights of the Wii era for me. Being able to play near enough every main line Mario game (if you had a Wii with GC built in) right up to Galaxy 2 was great. Wii Sports was the one game that my family would play at Christmas, so it had the buzz to get even the non-gaming world involved.

I can remember being in Toys R Us and the store manager announced they just got new stock of Wiis and everyone who was Christmas shopping starting hurrying to the electronics section.

The system was a game changer alright. Spending the Christmas holidays playing Twilight Princess was bliss. And I'm especially fond of Mario Galaxy 2.

But I'd prefer if motion controls don't become a thing again for the forseeable future.

Same here, i prefer non-motion gaming as best as possible. I see it was a good idea, but putting it in most games wasn't ideal. It was the sole reason i never finished Skyward Sword.