Wii (video game series) explained

Wii
Developer:	Nintendo EAD NDcube Ganbarion TOSE
Publisher:	Nintendo
Platforms:	Wii Wii U Nintendo Switch
Genre:	Simulation Party Sports Fitness
First Release Version:	Wii Sports
First Release Date:	November 19, 2006
Latest Release Version:	Nintendo Switch Sports
Latest Release Date:	April 29, 2022

Wii is a series of simulation games published by Nintendo for the game console of the same name, as well as its successor, the Wii U. After a seven-year hiatus, the game Nintendo Switch Sports, described officially as "a new iteration of the Wii Sports series," was announced, the first game to drop the "Wii" from its title.^[1] These games feature a common design theme, with recurring elements including casual-oriented gameplay, casts consisting mostly or entirely of Miis, and control schemes that simulate real-life activities.

The Wii series was conceived by Nintendo executive Shigeru Miyamoto to package and sell similar Wii Remote prototype games in a single package.^[2]

Gameplay

The Wii uses motion sensors in its Wii Remote to allow gameplay that incorporates physical movements by the player to control action within the game. For example, in the Baseball game included in Wii Sports, the player holds the controller like a baseball bat and swings it in order to hit the ball in the game.^[3] However, in Wii Chess, on the menus and in actual gameplay, the control scheme makes use of the D-pad on the Wii Remote instead of the Wii Remote Pointer.

Games

Wii has become one of the best-selling video game franchises, with each Wii game selling millions of copies. Wii Sports in particular is regarded as the fourth best-selling video game of all time, as well as the best-selling single console game of all time.^[4] By June 2009, Wii Fit had helped the health game genre to generate collective revenues of $2 billion, most of which was grossed by the games 18.22 million sales at the time.^[5] The largest subset of the franchise is Wii Sports.^[6]

Wii Sports

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Sports	Wii		The first game in the series and a launch game for the Wii console. The game was bundled with the console in all regions except Japan and South Korea. Wii Sports is known for starting a new development direction for Nintendo involving simple gameplay, simple graphics, and motion control. It is one of the best-selling video games of all time, as well as the best-selling single console game of all time.	76.28%^[7]	76/100^[8]	82.85million
Wii Sports Resort			Successor to Wii Sports. It is one of the first titles to require the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which was bundled with the game. Though the game was initially sold separately, it was later bundled with the Wii console. It features ten brand new sports while only two sports reappear from its predecessor, Wii Sports, which was bowling and golf, making it a total of twelve sports games overall.	82.65%^[9]	80/100^[10]	33.08million
Wii Sports Club	Wii U	Tennis & Bowling Golf Baseball & Boxing Retail	A remake of the original Wii Sports game, it now requires the Wii MotionPlus accessory. Initially, it was only available on the Nintendo eShop with each sport needing to be bought separately. A retail release with all five sports has also been released. It was originally titled Wii Sports U.	68.69%^[11]	68/100^[12]
Nintendo Switch Sports	Nintendo Switch	Golf	A new entry in the series after 9 years. Requires Joy-Cons in order to play, and is not playable with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. It added 3 new sports, while 3 sports returned at launch from previous entries, bowling, tennis and swordplay, renamed to "Chambara", making it a total of 6 sports at launch, and 8 sports as of Golf's and Basketball's inclusion. It is also the first game in the series to replace the Wii title.	n/a	72/100^[13]	12.48million^[14]

Wii Play

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Play	Wii		A launch game for the Wii in Japan, Europe and Australia, it features nine minigames used to teach the user how to use the Wii Remote, including Shooting Range (inspired by Nintendo’s Duck Hunt) and Table Tennis. Wii Play was bundled with an extra Wii Remote and is one of the best selling video games of all time.^[15]	61.64%^[16]	58/100^[17]	28.02 million
			Includes twelve minigames and is bundled with the Wii Remote Plus, which is required to play. The minigames were created by various developers, including Good-Feel, Skip Ltd., and Arzest Corporation.	61.89%^[18]	60/100^[19]	1.26 million^[20]

Wii Fit

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Fit	Wii		The first game to use the Wii Balance Board peripheral, which it was bundled with. As a fitness-oriented game, it measures a user's weight, telling the user their health based on body mass index, and features minigames for the user to exercise or to improve posture.	81.18%^[21]	80/100^[22]	22.67 million^[23]
Wii Fit Plus			An enhanced version of Wii Fit. Included a new Training Plus minigame category, My Wii Fit Plus, an area that allows the player to perform workouts that they created, and premade workouts, a Multiplayer mode, and the ability to register babies and dogs/cats.	80.83%^[24]	80/100^[25]	21.13 million
Wii Fit U	Wii U		Announced at E3 2012 as a title for the Wii U console. It expanded on content added in Wii Fit Plus, however it also removed some minigames. Included a new Dance minigame category, lots of new workout options, Miiverse support as a Gym Community, and the ability to use a Fit Meter, a pedometer specifically made for Wii Fit U that tracks steps and elevation. Was originally released on November 1, 2013 as a trial version that was playable for 31 days, and could continue to be used if a Fit Meter was registered to a player at one point.	76.08%^[26]	72/100^[27]

Wii Party

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Party	Wii		Players partake in various party games, similar to the Mario Party series.^[28] It is the first game in the series to not involve Shigeru Miyamoto in development.	70.44%^[29]	68/100^[30]	9.32 million
Wii Party U	Wii U		A sequel to Wii Party for the Wii U console, developed by the same team behind the original Wii Party.^[31]	64.68%^[32]	65/100^[33]	1.35 million^[34]

Other titles

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Chess	Wii WiiWare		A chess game playable in either single player or online mode. The game was released under the name "Tsūshin Taikyoku: World Chess" as WiiWare in Japan, and the physical release was exclusive to the European market. The game was never released outside Europe and Japan.	67%^[35]
Wii Music	Wii		Players use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to simulate playing instruments.	64.34%^[36]	63/100^[37]	2.65 million^[38] ^[39]
Wii Karaoke U	Wii U		Players can either use a USB microphone or the microphone on the Wii U Gamepad to sing along to the music.		68/100^[40]

Software

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Street U	Wii U
Wii U Panorama View

Notes and References

1. Nintendo Switch Sports - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch. February 9, 2022. February 14, 2022. February 14, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220214101346/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ16-1YIRAc. live.
2. Web site: Kohler. Chris. Q&A: Design lessons learned from a decade at Nintendo's EAD. Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. April 6, 2017. April 5, 2017. April 6, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170406110914/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/294923/QA_Design_lessons_learned_from_a_decade_at_Nintendos_EAD.php. live.
3. Web site: Davis. Ryan. Wii Sports Review. GameSpot. 3 March 2013. 12 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201112074741/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wii-sports-review/1900-6162054/. live.
4. Wii Sports The Best Selling Game Ever?. Tom Ivan. May 8, 2009. Edge. 2011-04-29. 2012-08-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20120820031529/http://www.edge-online.com/news/wii-sports-best-selling-game-ever. live.
5. Web site: Health Games Generate $2 Billion in Worldwide Sales. Kris Pigna. 2009-06-28. 1UP.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20120728181756/http://www.1up.com/news/health-games-generate-2-billion. dead. 2012-07-28. 2011-05-01.
6. Web site: Super Mario Galaxy 2 Sells 6.15M Worldwide, Wii Sports Series Passes 102M. Kyle Orland. January 28, 2011. Gamasutra. 2011-04-29. 2013-11-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20131115015821/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/123175/Super_Mario_Galaxy_2_Sells_615M_Worldwide_Wii_Sports_Series_Passes_102M.php. live.
7. Web site: Wii Sports for Wii. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. July 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180705092725/https://www.gamerankings.com/wii/933010-wii-sports/index.html. dead.
8. Web site: Wii Sports for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. 2018-04-03. 2018-04-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20180415002259/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-sports. live.
9. Web site: Wii Sports Resort for Wii. GameRankings. 2022-06-26. 2018-07-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20180705093020/https://www.gamerankings.com/wii/950923-wii-sports-resort/index.html. dead.
10. Web site: Wii Sports Resort for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. November 3, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131103124739/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-sports-resort. live.
11. Web site: Wii Sports Club for Wii U. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110160755/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii-u/632932-wii-sports-club/index.html. dead.
12. Web site: Wii Sports Club for Wii U Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. January 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140122074138/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/wii-sports-club. live.
13. Web site: Nintendo Switch Sports Reviews. Metacritic. July 5, 2022. March 8, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240308003634/https://www.metacritic.com/game/nintendo-switch-sports/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-switch. live.
14. Web site: Financial Results Explanatory Material 3rd Quarter of Fiscal Year Ending March 2024 . 2024-04-24 . 2024-02-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240206115436/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2024/240206_3e.pdf . live .
15. Web site: Financial Results Briefing for the Six-Month Period ended December 2009. Nintendo. October 31, 2009. PDF. January 29, 2010. 11. June 5, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110605080135/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2010/100129e.pdf#page=6. live.
16. Web site: Wii Play for Wii. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110155729/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/935589-wii-play/index.html. dead.
17. Web site: Wii Play for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. April 24, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140424001844/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-play. live.
18. Web site: Wii Play: Motion for Wii. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110155120/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/627042-wii-play-motion/index.html. dead.
19. Web site: Wii Play: Motion for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. April 3, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140403153812/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-play-motion. live.
20. Web site: Financial Results Briefing for the Q3 Fiscal Year. Nintendo. 2012-04-27. 2012-05-14. 6. 2019-02-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20190215185841/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2013/130131e.pdf. live.
21. Web site: Wii Fit for Wii. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110160859/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/942009-wii-fit/index.html. dead.
22. Web site: Wii Fit for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. December 26, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131226211632/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-fit. live.
23. Web site: Nintendo Top Selling Software Sales Units: Wii. 2012-03-31. 2018-07-04. Nintendo. 2019-06-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20190615115945/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/software/wii.html. live.
24. Web site: Wii Fit Plus for Wii. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110160652/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/960488-wii-fit-plus/index.html. dead.
25. Web site: Wii Fit Plus for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. April 24, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140424001841/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-fit-plus. live.
26. Web site: Wii Fit U for Wii U. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110155622/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii-u/632933-wii-fit-u/index.html. dead.
27. Web site: Wii Fit U for Wii U Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. January 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140122074133/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/wii-fit-u. live.
28. Web site: Harris. Craig. Wii Party Review. October 3, 2010. December 6, 2010. 1. November 6, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121106035859/http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/03/wii-party-review. live.
29. Web site: Wii Party for Wii. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. October 29, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193307/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/996170-wii-party/index.html. dead.
30. Web site: Wii Party for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. October 28, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111028001028/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-party. live.
31. Web site: Wii U Party Will Get The Family Together This Summer. Nintendo Life. 23 January 2013 . 2018-07-05. 2018-07-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20180705092705/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/01/wii_u_party_will_get_the_family_together_this_summer. live.
32. Web site: Wii Party U for Wii U. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 9, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140109070356/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii-u/701150-wii-party-u/index.html. dead.
33. Web site: Wii Party U for Wii U Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. September 6, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150906094032/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/wii-party-u. live.
34. Web site: IR Information : Sales Data - Top Selling Software Sales Units - Wii U Software. Nintendo. 2016-07-24. 2015-10-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20151028233935/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sales/software/wiiu.html. live.
35. Web site: Wii Chess for Wii . . . 1 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130901085129/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/943078-wii-chess/index.html . 1 September 2013 . dead.
36. Web site: Wii Music for Wii. GameRankings. June 26, 2022. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110155249/http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/950924-wii-music/index.html. dead.
37. Web site: Wii Music for Wii Reviews. Metacritic. January 10, 2014. April 24, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140424001815/http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/wii-music. live.
38. As of March 2009.
39. Web site: Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ended March 2009: Supplementary Information. 2009-05-08. 2009-05-08. Financial Results Briefing for the 69th Fiscal Term Ended March 2009. Nintendo. 6. 2019-05-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20190504083542/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2009/090508e.pdf#page=6. live.
40. Web site: Wii Karaoke U for Wii U Reviews . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240707085247/https://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-karaoke-u/ . July 7, 2024 . July 7, 2024 . Metacritic.