http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in … 30255.html

No more Wii for you! Overall it was a successful console, with innovative ideas that worked sometimes and were horrible other times (hello Skyward Sword).

Hopefully the Letterbomb hack will still work on it in a few years. The Wii is worth its weight in being a pure 8/16 bit emulation machine (and one of the best controllers in the biz for that very purpose).

It doesn't have the biggest library of must-have games, but it's home to some of the greatest Mario games out there and what is hands-down one of the best RPGs ever created, so it's a great console to own in my book.

Also, yes, quality homebrew helps too.

It's always a kind of sad thing when a console dies. Nothing but wistful thoughts of what could have been. Amidst the desolate landscape of shovelware, a few gems could be gleaned. A quick count from my shelf yielded 14 games. I'm somehow shocked that it's that many, though there are  quite a few more that I want to add to my collection.

Few thoughts running through my head: Still confused why we never got Fatal Frame 4. Still confused why we got Tatsunoko vs Capcom at all. Megaman 9 and 10 just feel right on the Wii remote. Punch-Out!! is the best sports game I think I have ever played.

This is kind of ironic in a way as I didn't get a Wii until the last holiday and I have a backlog of games to get through. The only game I finished was Metroid Prime 3: Corruption which was pretty important as it showed me that motion controls really can work. Prior to this I was kind of skeptical of the Wii.

Still, who knows when I'll get around to the heavy hitters like Xenoblade or (maybe to a lesser extent depending on your opinion) The Last Story that I have squirreled away. As much as I loved RPGs in the 32-bit days I have a hard time getting started on games from this genre anymore...

I had some really good times with my Wii.  I can no longer claim to be a serious gamer so I'll confess it was the casual games - Rayman Raving Rabbids, Wii Sports, Mario Kart and New Super Mario Brothers Wii - that I had the most fun playing with friends and dates.  Hardcore gamers can lambast the motion controls all they like but I will never forget smacking out-of-tune rabbids with my Wiimote.

Conversely it was the "gamers' games" that I gave less attention to.  Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess turned me off near the beginning with its juvenile storytelling, Super Smash Brothers Brawl in my first outing with the series was hyperkinetic overload, and the lack of motion controls in seemingly one of the best genres for it baffled me in Punch-Out.

That said, Super Mario Galaxy in the short time I spent with it was delightful in every way.  I would also have loved to have seen whether Xenoblade truly was the JRPG renaissance people claimed it to be, but alas once making the switch to PS3 and HDTV I couldn't force myself to turn back.  (Ironically now that I've lost my HD setup and gained some down time I would love to be playing both games now, but Xenoblade is now rare and extremely expensive, and my Wii console sadly seems to have died.)

A question to ponder:  In hindsight was making the Wii non-HD the right move on Nintendo's part?  Given the lower cost and huge sales it afforded it'd be hard to say no, but following its peak the console's decline seemed faster than most, and with their followup console struggling Nintendo seem to be paying the price for it.

I don't know if you can really consider Xenoblade as rare as it once was anymore due to Gamestop's efforts to "restock" it... or as others have speculated their hidden effort to "reprint" the game.

I don't think anyone can really prove it, and I'm sure some are sick of the hate, but something is REALLY fishy about how this game became easier to find all of sudden. The same goes for the non-metal tin/collector's edition version of Metroid Prime Trilogy. It was said they were offering pretty good trade in deals on these games... but considering the number of copies I've seen of these games I fail to see that many people clamoring to trade them to Gamestop rather than posting them on an internet auction site.

But seriously... I see copies of Xenoblade and Metroid Prime Trilogy everywhere now. Yeah, they are still pretty expensive... but now that you can actually find the games people don't seem to want them because the ONLY reason they wanted them in the first place as because they were rare and they wanted to flip them for a profit... so they just seem sit there with the $70 price tag after debuting at $90.

I should probably point out that if this is indeed what happened I'm not really upset like some people. Personally, I'm glad the price on the games has been reigned in a little... but again the quantity I've seen really makes me suspicious.

In fact, those two games are going to be $40 on Black Friday

New or used?  If it's new I might bite if I can figure out what's wrong with my Wii console.

I just remember looking for Xenoblade a few months ago expecting the $20 or so you find most older / greatest hits Wii games going for and being shocked at seeing prices four times that and up.

Pretty sure used. But the "used" copies may be pretty much "new" anyways...

...cause part of the "reprinting" rumor was Gamestop was opening the newly pressed versions to sell them as "used" so they could mark them up. See, if the games were sold still sealed they would be bound by Nintendo's original price point. That doesn't apply to used copies and that's why you won't find a sealed copy unless you go on the internet and pay major dollars.

Again, this was all a big rumor... and I'm not trying to hang Gamestop here... but again some of the things I and other people have noticed really do arouse suspicion.

That never occurred to me! However, I can't say that I'm too surprised. Still, not as deplorable as some companies (hello Monsanto, EA, etc). That does raise an interesting question. How long can a company hold on to games and still sell them for retail value? If gamestop comes across 100 copies of Panzer Dragoon Saga, can they sell them at any price?

Worst system I've owned. Amazing how it had visual gems like Oboromuramasa, Mad World, and No More Heroes. Still furious Nintendo did not put Custom Robo on it with Wii-mote controls. Oh well.

About 3 months ago, Xenoblade was regularly $90-$100 on ebay. Now I see it regularly around $60. So something wack happened with that.

Punch Out did have motion controls, but they weren't very good (as usual). I heard it was similar to using the Power Glove to play Mike Tyson's Punchout. Great game. That and the semi-2D platformers-on-console revival were welcome additions. And I want to check out Fortune Street. Was always curious about this series.

Let's be clear here: The cessation of Wii production only applies to the Japanese market for now. I'm sure it will spread to other regions in time, but right now, this specific announcement applies only to Japan.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-di … 0-6415717/

Apparently GS selling new stuff as used is a thing, to the point that the do it for systems even.

Looks like Europe will stop getting normal Wii shipments, but may still get Wii Minis:

https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/arc … urope.aspx

I previously complained about how stupid Motley Fool is ("fool" is way to good a term for them), and one example is this article titled

"3 Reasons the Nintendo Wii Failed"

Mind you, not the Wii U, but the original Wii. Because, apparently selling 100 million units is not a measure of success!

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2 … ailed.aspx

I don't think the Wii "failed" in a financial sense, and I do think that it broke into the casual market that Sony and Microsoft wasn't able to do right off the bat. But, as the years went on... well, that market share table and stock chart break it down pretty clearly. I can see why third party devs didn't break the top 5, as it is mostly a franchise system and Nintendo is a franchise company, and having to incorporate motion controls into titles that don't use them on the other systems can be a pain, and that's not mentioning the factor of how the hardware is less powerful than the 360 and PS3.

I think the Wii U will be a moderate success, especially with big titles like Mario World 3D and the eventual Zelda, but how many more consoles can Nintendo put out relying on the same franchises before people move on to something new? All that said, I was planning on picking up the Wii U Mario/Luigi bundle tomorrow but read that the console has problems with 4:3 SDTVs, so I'm going to hold off.

Yeah, that's kind of the thing. Nintendo sold out in a sense to increase the Wii fanbase and it seems like all those casual fans bought a game or two and forgot about their Wii's. It was kind of like Tickle Me Elmo in a sense, where the fad died after a period of time, except game consoles are supposed to exist as a vehicle for people to buy games on, not as a standalone.

They can boast about selling exercise boards to people all they want and having grandma go bowling with the family in the living room, but no serious gamers want anything to do with crap like that. Now the Wii U is out and trying re-target the hardcore audience again with a half-baked at-best plan. The tablet controller is pretty much a concession to the current fad of cheap tablet games, without the cheap tablet games. At this point, they're going to get what they deserved. At least we'll get some decent games out of them in the meantime, but it's good to know they can't away with junk like Nintendoland like they did with Wii Sports.

What they really should do is license NES and SNES games on the tablets. That will net them some cash and it will let some really excellent games thrive on those platforms.

What kind of SD TV problems? I still use a regular CRT, not an HD TV.

Wii Mini coming to the U.S. for $99.99 with Mario Kart included.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/4/50648 … to-america

This seems to be another one for the kiddies - besides the plasticky design there's no internet connectivity or SD slot.  I suppose the former means Nintendo are done releasing system updates.  When was the last one they released anyway?

Split off the SD gaming discussion into a new thread btw.

If this means a red Wii remote without Mario branding will be readily available in the US, I'm happy.

I was under the impression that this mini Wii wasn't new at all. It's been at my local Shopping mart for the better part of a year now.

That's because it's been out in Canada for a while now.

Yeah, I saw a video on YouTube and the author pretty much confirmed that. Before seeing that video I had no idea it even existed.

I really don't get why Nintendo would remove WiFi from this unit. At $99, it could compete effectively with streaming boxes plus it plays all those Wii games. I can't believe the component cost for the WiFi antenna is very much, so its omission just doesn't make sense to me.

Not sure how many people are interested in a streaming box in standard definition though (except for a certain few of us ).

Probably the same sort of people who waited seven years to buy a Wii.

Looks at self in mirror...

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread... but I kind of had an odd encounter at my local Gamestop that regards what I said earlier about Xenoblade and Metroid Prime Trilogy that makes me wonder... and I didn't want to start a new thread for it.

Anyway, I was looking at the Wii games at the store next to where I work and the "game adviser" suggested these two games to me WITHOUT any prodding. Seriously, didn't ask him a thing. I explained I already had them but I found the fact he was pushing these games to be a VERY telling.

First off all they're probably making more of a profit in these games IF the reprinting rumor is true and, to a certain extent - as I said earlier - I can't help but feel they overestimated the desire out there for these games. Personally I think many people only wanted Xenoblade BECAUSE it was rare... once it was made more available I think many people backed off.

Just a weird moment that really made me pause.

I had a very awkward moment at a Gamestop the other day. The sales guy couldn't answer my question if the Wii U gamepad could be used to play Wii games (I was looking at picking up Fortune Street, Mario Galaxy 2 and Punch Out). Then he goes out of his way to try to get me to buy the new Wii U Mario and Sonic Winter Olympics game. That was one of the few times in my life where I feel totally justified telling someone they are out of their f*cking mind.

Can anyone answer that question? Can the Wii U gamepad be used for Wii games? Even looking online, I'm not really getting a straight answer.

Nope.
With the most recent Wii U update, you can now display Wii games on the Wii U gamepad, but you can't actually use the gamepad to control the games.

Thanks! It's seriously appreciated.

Is there a good reason for this?  Why would this be a useful feature?

It's a technical limitation. All Wii games connect to controllers by Bluetooth. The Wii U Pad uses a custom 5Ghz WLAN connection, primarily for offering latency free video, but control data is sent there as well. And that's something Wii games can't recognize as is, Nintendo just activated the hardware section necessary to transmit video data to the pad even in Wii mode without the Wii games knowing about it. Honestly I'm pretty shocked Nintendo even managed to offer displaying Wii games on the pad in Wii mode, back on the Wii the GameCube mode never got any official feature extensions beyond straight BC.

I don't own a WiiU (maybe someday) but interesting info nonetheless. Thanks for posting that tidbit.