I do not regret purchasing a Wii

[MissAshley]

This is something I've wanted to do for a while. Below is a list of every Wii and WiiWare title which I felt an urge to purchase either on or shortly after release thanks to any combination of previews, reviews, player buzz, and personal expectations. They are listed in chronological order of North American releases because 1) I live in the US, and 2) I couldn't remember if there were any large gaps in time between the releases of games I wanted.

11/14/06 Rayman Raving Rabbids (P)
11/14/06 Trauma Center: Second Opinion (P)
11/19/06 Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
11/19/06 Excite Truck (P)
12/12/06 Elebits (P)

01/15/07 WarioWare: Smooth Moves
02/20/07 Sonic and the Secret Rings (P)
04/09/07 Super Paper Mario
06/25/07 Pokémon Battle Revolution
07/30/07 Mario Strikers Charged
08/27/07 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
10/23/07 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
11/12/07 Super Mario Galaxy
11/20/07 Trauma Center: New Blood

01/22/08 No More Heroes
03/09/08 Super Smash Bros. Brawl
04/15/08 Okami
04/27/08 Mario Kart Wii
05/06/08 Boom Blox (P)
05/12/08 LostWinds
05/19/08 Wii Fit
09/22/08 Mega Man 9
09/22/08 Wario Land: Shake It!
09/23/08 Samba De Amigo*
10/13/08 World of Goo*
10/14/08 Dokapon Kingdom
11/22/08 de Blob

02/09/09 Deadly Creatures
03/10/09 Madworld
04/20/09 Excitebots: Trick Racing
05/18/09 Punch-Out!!*
05/25/09 Bubble Bobble Plus!*
07/26/09 Wii Sports Resort
09/08/09 Muramasa: The Demon Blade
10/19/09 LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias
10/13/09 A Boy and His Blob*
11/01/09 Rabbids Go Home
11/15/09 New Super Mario Bros. Wii*

01/26/10 No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
01/26/10 Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars*
03/01/10 Mega Man 10
05/18/10 Trauma Team
05/23/10 Super Mario Galaxy 2
06/27/10 Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
10/17/10 Kirby's Epic Yarn
11/16/10 Sonic Colors
11/21/10 Donkey Kong Country Returns
11/30/10 Disney Epic Mickey

01/04/11 Lost in Shadow
02/22/11 de Blob 2

TBD The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
TBD Kirby Wii

Own/Want: 22/52
First-Party Own/Want: 13/22
Third-Party Own/Want: 9/30

Games in bold are those I own. Games with an asterisk were purchased six or more months after their initial release. Games with a "(P)" I have played via friends or rental. Though I own both Wii Play and FlingSmash, I've omitted them because their purchases were primarily motivated by their pack-ins.

I can see three different summer seasons when little caught my fancy, but for me there was never the kind of lengthy drought former Wii owners often complain about. With several GBA, DS, and PS2 games I've yet to catch up on, breaks in Wii releases never annoyed me in the slightest anyway. The mediocre fulfillment of my video game wants is due to starting World of Warcraft near the end of '07 and discovering less expensive sources of entertainment over time. Also, I have many more bills and obligations than I did in my late teens and early 20s.

The astute may notice many titles on my list are well-received both critically and publicly. This brings me to my main motivation for assembling this list:

I'm tired of people saying "The Wii has no good games" when they more likely mean "The Wii has few or no games which interest me." I'm tired of people saying "The Wii has terrible third-party support" when they more likely mean "The third-party presence on the Wii isn't to my liking." I'm tired of people saying "The Wii is for children and the elderly" when they more likely mean "The Wii's library, features, and focus are a poor fit for me." I'm tired of people saying "The Wii is a failure" when they more likely mean "The Wii didn't turn out the way I hoped it would for me." And I'm especially tired of people attacking the legitimacy of others' enjoyment simply due to a difference in taste.

I'm not an elderly person. I'm not a parent. I'm not new to the video game scene. I'm a person who has enjoyed video games in general and certain companies, franchises, characters, and genres in specific since I got my first NES at the age of 7 in 1988. Despite my video game tastes and industry opinions differing from Wii detractors, I still receive the same enjoyment playing the games I prefer that they receive playing those games they prefer. My tastes do not mean my enjoyment of those games I prefer is any less valid or real than that experienced by others sticking to their preferences.

If a person can't respect the tastes, choices, or opinions of another, at the very least I hope they can respect the one thing we all have in common: our passion for what we like.

 

[Iwata]

Good for you, man. One should always feel good about purchases that satisfy us.

Speaking for me, though, I do. Regret purchasing a Wii, that is.

 

[Arehexes]

So this topic is just about how TC is happy he bought his Wii and is tired about people bad mouthing it? Not to be rude but what is the point of even making a topic like this? It's nice you enjoy your system of choice but to be honest there isn't a need to stand on the roof top yelling that you've been a gamer since the NES era. I never understood people who have to do this no matter what game/system. If you like it good, if not good. Every has a thought on it, but something to this wall of text is just to much if you ask me. Maybe I should list a topic of the 80+ games I own for the DS to show my love for the system eh?

 

[StBishop]

Good for you, man. One should always feel good about purchases that satisfy us.

Speaking for me, though, I do. Regret purchasing a Wii, that is.

ITT: Good for you man

OP's name: Miss Ashley

Am I missing something?

OT: I don't like the Wii. I probably never will because I don't have any investment in Nintendo properties outside of Pokemon and I don't think I'm the target audience. This is fine with me.

 

[ADeskofRichMahogany]

We were supposed to regret buying a Wii? Huh..

Fatal Frame 4 came out for the Wii, which was enough for me =D

Now if Tecmo would hurry up and release more info on Fatal Frame 2011...

 

[Iwata]

Good for you, man. One should always feel good about purchases that satisfy us.

Speaking for me, though, I do. Regret purchasing a Wii, that is.

ITT: Good for you man

OP's name: Miss Ashley

Am I missing something?

I could call her sir, if it would make you feel better.

 

[Trixsy]

I made a list like this when I was deciding if I wanted to purchase a new system... it's helpful but I'm not sure if I see the point in sharing it X3

 

[shrekfan246]

This is something I've wanted to do for a while. Below is a list of every Wii and WiiWare title which I felt an urge to purchase either on or shortly after release thanks to any combination of previews, reviews, player buzz, and personal expectations. They are listed in chronological order of North American releases because 1) I live in the US, and 2) I couldn't remember if there were any large gaps in time between the releases of games I wanted.

11/14/06 Rayman Raving Rabbids (P)
11/14/06 Trauma Center: Second Opinion (P)
11/19/06 Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
11/19/06 Excite Truck (P)
12/12/06 Elebits (P)

01/15/07 WarioWare: Smooth Moves
02/20/07 Sonic and the Secret Rings (P)
04/09/07 Super Paper Mario
06/25/07 Pokémon Battle Revolution
07/30/07 Mario Strikers Charged
08/27/07 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
10/23/07 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
11/12/07 Super Mario Galaxy
11/20/07 Trauma Center: New Blood

01/22/08 No More Heroes
03/09/08 Super Smash Bros. Brawl
04/15/08 Okami
04/27/08 Mario Kart Wii
05/06/08 Boom Blox (P)
05/12/08 LostWinds
05/19/08 Wii Fit
09/22/08 Mega Man 9
09/22/08 Wario Land: Shake It!
09/23/08 Samba De Amigo*
10/13/08 World of Goo*
10/14/08 Dokapon Kingdom
11/22/08 de Blob

02/09/09 Deadly Creatures
03/10/09 Madworld
04/20/09 Excitebots: Trick Racing
05/18/09 Punch-Out!!*
05/25/09 Bubble Bobble Plus!*
07/26/09 Wii Sports Resort
09/08/09 Muramasa: The Demon Blade
10/19/09 LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias
10/13/09 A Boy and His Blob*
11/01/09 Rabbids Go Home
11/15/09 New Super Mario Bros. Wii*

01/26/10 No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
01/26/10 Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars*
03/01/10 Mega Man 10
05/18/10 Trauma Team
05/23/10 Super Mario Galaxy 2
06/27/10 Sin and Punishment: Star Successor
10/17/10 Kirby's Epic Yarn
11/16/10 Sonic Colors
11/21/10 Donkey Kong Country Returns
11/30/10 Disney Epic Mickey

01/04/11 Lost in Shadow
02/22/11 de Blob 2

TBD The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
TBD Kirby Wii

Own/Want: 22/52
First-Party Own/Want: 13/22
Third-Party Own/Want: 9/30

Just to be pedantic, I notice that in every year there are large gaps between games. '06 has a month between Excite Truck and Elebits (two games I've never even heard of), then there's another month between Elebits and WarioWare, followed by a month until Sonic, then two months Super Paper Mario, another two months to Pokemon, another month until the next game...until a three month gap between de Blob in '08 and Deadly Creatures in '09, then a four month gap between Sin and Punishment and Kirby's Epic Yarn in '10, and only two games so far in '11 (5 months since the last one) with two more that have been announced but not even given a hard release date.

I'm not saying that the PS3, PC, or 360 have constant streams of awesome new games being released every week, and I actually think it would be depressing for a gamer to need a new game to jump on every month, but all of the systems have rather large back catalogs of decent games and quite frankly, I can't say that I've even heard of half of the games on your list (Don't be surprised though, I've never really followed the Wii because it simply didn't interest me except for Super Smash Bros).

But what is the point of this thread? Nintendo doesn't need you defending them. Especially with a straw-man argument like "Oh, these third-party games are great in my opinion, why does everyone else think they suck!?"
I'm not going to spend all day looking up each Metacritic average for every game you posted, but I'm pretty sure that in general, third-party games do much better on the other systems. Sonic fans have received the Sonic Storybook games with a mostly "Meh" response; Okami is a ported version of a PS2 game that was an artsy-Feudal Japan rip on Legend of Zelda; No More Heroes was arguably good...for a Wii game (Hint: It was received badly when one was released on other systems).

I'll paraphrase your own comment: Just because these first- and third-party games are to your liking doesn't mean they're to the liking of everyone else. To be vulgar without meaning to actually offend, just because someone likes sniffing their farts doesn't mean they smell like the most beautiful flowers in the world. If you like the Wii, fine, but why are you qualifying it?

In the words of a charismatic stallion:
"Unless there's some niggling doubt in the back of your mind that you're not having as much fun as you've convinced yourself you're having."

 

[SoopaSte123]

Good for you?

Yes, there's a difference between not liking a game and a bad game, but there's also a difference between liking a game and it being a good game. You liked Samba de Amigo. Most people didn't or thought it was just ok. Add the fact that a lot of Wii games you have on your list are games that had a previous iteration on Gamecube. Then ask, where are the games for people who like GTA style sandbox games? Where are the first person shooters? Where are the first person RPGs? Where are the games driven by compelling, original stories?

So yes, the phrase "the Wii has no good games" isn't true, but it alienates a lot of genres and people who enjoy those genres. Yes, it has third party support, but not by big name publishers who pump out classics like Rockstar and Bethesda. Yes, it's not just for children and the elderly, but a lot of its games are more targeted at children. Sure, people are stretching the truth a bit, but not by much.

A lot of people are disappointed Nintendo hasn't been putting out many good games lately. See how your 2011 list is much shorter than your 2007 list? The year isn't over, but it's clear the games are slowing down/coming to a screeching halt as they prepare for the WiiU.

You may not be disappointed with the Wii, and good for you, but a lot of people are. Let them vent their frustration without nitpicking their words that do an accurate job describing how they feel.

 

[MissAshley]

I don't mind people not enjoying what I do. I don't people being upset with consoles or games.

I do mind when people move beyond the objects and invalidate people. And it does bother me both ways, that is to say I'm really getting just as tired of the "bro gamer" barbs tossed around.

But what is the point of this thread? Nintendo doesn't need you defending them. Especially with a straw-man argument like "Oh, these third-party games are great in my opinion, why does everyone else think they suck!?"

That's not what I was trying to express. I was trying to draw a distinction between "poor third-party support" and "certain third-party games, franchises, or devs aren't represented well or at all."

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Unfortunately for me most of the best games are ports (Guilty Gear, Resi4, HoTD, Shikigami no Shiro III, everything on VC.) And Muramasa and Tasunoko feel kind of wasted on the wii because it's such a pain to get a Sanwa stick. I still don't regret having a wii though even though I haven't gotten much out of it yet.

 

[shrekfan246]

That's not what I was trying to express. I was trying to draw a distinction between "poor third-party support" and "certain third-party games, franchises, or devs aren't represented well or at all."

Fair enough, but for what it's worth your second comment is extremely true to how the Wii operates. I won't say that the Wii has awful third-party support in general, but to all of the people who like RPG's, sandbox games, shooters, or action-adventure games, they would typically be much better off going with a different system. For all of the good games on the Wii, you can't deny that there are twice as many mediocre or bad games (But that stands for every system). But for every No More Heroes developed on the Wii, there are two Prototypes or Infamous' developed on the other systems, for every Legend of Zelda there are games like The Witcher or Fable, for every de Blob there's a LittleBigPlanet, for every Metroid Prime there are countless CoDs, Halos, Half-Lifes, Crysis', Bioshocks, STALKERs, Metro 2033s, Fallouts.

It's not that the Wii has bad third-party support, it's that the Wii has bad third-party support from the companies that develop big-name games for the other systems. Which is why I actually agree with the part from your OP that you said:
"The Wii has no good games" when they more likely mean "The Wii has few or no games which interest me." I'm tired of people saying "The Wii has terrible third-party support" when they more likely mean "The third-party presence on the Wii isn't to my liking."
People should make the distinctions between the sayings, but most people just want to vent and don't fully think through everything they're going to say (or just hate a console enough to be as insulting as possible to it).

EDIT: Oh, and all of those great indie games like Aquaria, DeathSpank, Amnesia, Limbo, Braid, Trine, Shank, and Super Meat Boy? Don't stand a chance on the Wii, even though it would be a great platform for them to be released on.

 

[StBishop]

Good for you, man. One should always feel good about purchases that satisfy us.

Speaking for me, though, I do. Regret purchasing a Wii, that is.

ITT: Good for you man

OP's name: Miss Ashley

Am I missing something?

I could call her sir, if it would make you feel better.

More pointing out that people (including, nay, especially myself) tend to assume everyone on the internet is a dude. OP just happened to have Miss in her name (Ashley can be a dude name too).

 

[MissAshley]

Thank you all for your polite and well-thought responses. This thread has been on my mind for the better part of the day, and I've felt a bit anxious that it would attract some very. . .rough posts. Yay for surprises!

I'd like to clarify the purpose of my original post as well as address some things.

Both of you wondered what the point of my post was.

Short Version

I started this thread because I wanted to encourage civil and focused video game discourse by promoting empathy and appealing to the common passion that keeps us all playing, reading about, communicating about, and generally thinking about video games regardless of our individual inclinations.

Long Version

Over the last few years, I've felt people "pull away" from me upon my mentioning owning a Wii or even my mentioning of owning primarily Nintendo systems. "Oh," I'd often hear people respond, with a tone that suggested to me they were thinking "You're one of them." While I know there are people who understand many criticisms of Nintendo and its consumers are exaggerations, those exaggerations have been parroted enough loudly enough to make other people believe them true. Most notably, some of those exaggerations have essentially vilified anyone who owns or enjoys Nintendo's current products.

I've never had a problem with people not liking the same things I do or not having opinions similar to mine. However, I do have a problem with people thinking I'm stupid or lack credibility for liking the things I do or holding the opinions I have. And I especially have a problem with people thinking that enjoying what I do is somehow ruining the industry for them.

(Quick aside: I'm certainly not condemning the idea of making judgments of people based upon the opinions they hold. Such judgments can be useful in the preservation of self and well-being.)

On top of this, I have honestly wondered from time to time if maybe there really is something wrong with me for not being drawn to the games many people have been enjoying. After all, many new IPs have appeared and been iterated upon over the last five years. How can I not feel anything for so many games? I know it sounds silly, but consider that when a person is smacked and called "stupid" enough times they eventually start to believe it. Thankfully, those funks never lasted long as I would remind myself that those lines of thought were indeed silly.

All of this finally came to a head with me, though, upon reading comments on a Kotaku post about a Wired article about the various reasons peoples' Wii consoles were "collecting dust." They were really no different than the usual exaggerations and condemnations, but for whatever reason I thought "Enough."

The list itself was something I've wanted to do for a while for my own reference. I always knew my Wii's inactivity was due more to simply not buying games as opposed to not wanting any, so I wondered just how many games I thought I would enjoy existed that I didn't buy. I had also wondered how far apart each release was. To address the person who invoked a certain "charismatic stallion," doubt and dissatisfaction were never motivations.

(Quick Aside II: The Asidening: I enjoyed combing through each year's releases and assembling the list. As it all came together, memories of each year danced through my mind and connected to one another to form a whole I'd never given much thought to before. The experience also challenged opinions I had held. For example, I used to consider '09 a forgettable year for the Wii, but I found that many titles had actually caught my attention back then. I had just not felt like buying anything. I'm very sure many others consider '09 a weak year for the Wii, but I'm speaking only for myself here.)

The list was not posted with the intention of being "evidence" against the reasons others either never purchased or stopped playing the Wii. It was not posted with the intention of converting detractors or reverting deserters. It was not posted with the intention of marginalizing or invalidating anyone or anyone's opinions regarding the Wii, Nintendo, and/or the rest of Gamingdom (TM).

The list was posted with the intention of painting a picture of a single, real person who does not regret her purchase of a Wii several years ago. I'm a firm believer that the art a person enjoys and the entertainment a person consumes can reveal a lot about that person. The list was posted here to answer a very simple question Wii detractors and deserters may have: "What person in their right mind (still) likes the Wii?" I mention that there are titles on the list both critically and publicly well-received to lend credence to notion that I don't just want "any ol' games."

The purpose of the post was not to defend or champion Nintendo. While I'll indeed call-out factual inaccuracies or urge more thought go into statements, my performance of those actions is not limited to topics involving Nintendo. I simply don't care for the spreading of misinformation or hollow arguments about anything. Also, I feel it bears mentioning that I have many gripes with Nintendo. Just because I feel my Wii purchase was worthwhile doesn't mean I'm not critical of Nintendo.

The purpose of the post was to remind people that when they paint people in broad strokes while discussing video games, there are indeed real, thinking people on the receiving end of their brush, people who ultimately are no different than they in motivation.

Now to some quick responses:

It's nice you enjoy your system of choice but to be honest there isn't a need to stand on the roof top yelling that you've been a gamer since the NES era. I never understood people who have to do this no matter what game/system.

I know people exist with histories similar to mine that have either stopped playing or never owned a Wii. I mention my history with video games to separate myself from those they may quickly dismiss as neophytes.

Good for you?

Yes, there's a difference between not liking a game and a bad game, but there's also a difference between liking a game and it being a good game.

That is totally not lost on me. I never said every single game I listed was critically and publicly well-received. I definitely know why those that weren't didn't catch on. And there are certainly games I own that disappointed me in some way despite reading around prior to purchase.

A lot of people are disappointed Nintendo hasn't been putting out many good games lately. See how your 2011 list is much shorter than your 2007 list? The year isn't over, but it's clear the games are slowing down/coming to a screeching halt as they prepare for the WiiU.

Again, not lost on me. While I look at the Wii's wind-down as time to catch-up, I understand those that have been caught up are likely disappointed, especially those wanting certain titles localized.

You may not be disappointed with the Wii, and good for you, but a lot of people are. Let them vent their frustration without nitpicking their words that do an accurate job describing how they feel.

They do an accurate job of describing how they feel when they are expressing truths of their experiences. The Wii is a failure to them because it failed them. It doesn't matter to them if others don't regret their purchases because as far they're concerned it's a disappointment. I get that.

I'm bothered when those people decide that based upon their disappointment with the Wii the satisfaction others have is somehow wrong or misguided. Really, I'm not trying to "nitpick." I'm specifically talking about those who are absolutely convinced that anyone enjoying or not regretting purchasing their Wii, anyone who hasn't "woke up" like they have, is part of some problem.

Put another way: It's not the steam vents that bug me. It's the flamethrowers.

 

[Zhukov]

Umm... cool? Good for you?

No really, good for you. No sarcasm or snarkiness intended.

Incidentally, I do not regret not buying a Wii. Yay. Everyone's happy.

 

[Chibz]

SNIP

Just throwing it out there, but you should consider buying Monster Hunter 3 & Phantom Brave: We Meet Again. Both are fantastic third party titles on the wii.

 

[Vault101]

I regret asking for one for my birthday....

 

[Erana]

So this topic is just about how TC is happy he bought his Wii and is tired about people bad mouthing it? Not to be rude but what is the point of even making a topic like this? It's nice you enjoy your system of choice but to be honest there isn't a need to stand on the roof top yelling that you've been a gamer since the NES era. I never understood people who have to do this no matter what game/system. If you like it good, if not good. Every has a thought on it, but something to this wall of text is just to much if you ask me. Maybe I should list a topic of the 80+ games I own for the DS to show my love for the system eh?

Aww, give her some points for effort! She did put thought and effort into writing the OP.
In this kinda situation, its usually not too hard to coax the topic of discussion out of a poster.
And from the input of others, she has provided further information on the thought that brought her here, and she seems pretty well-written, herself.

So, OP, what input do you want from us? Dealing with people criticizing something we like needlessly? When our love of something has gone against the norm? Our feelings on the Wii? Try to be specific; we'll find our way outside of the box on our own.

 

[Azure9]

The only reason i personaly don't regret getting a will is brawl. All the other games i have are ethier mediocre or sucky