I once seen a wii in the entertainment center of a 68 year old man, who lives out in the woods, with no wi fi or cable, But he had grandkids. That’s the epitome of the wii “success”.

So I've got a Wii sitting next to my TV. When people (my non gamer friends) see it they're like "Wow cool you have a Wii!" and I'm always like "No that's a Gamecube. It just looks like a Wii"

Wii is the best console ever to spend hours playing . . . gamecube games.

If Nintendo simply allowed every big game to work with the classic controller

I love the Wii. I still use it in 2021!

Nintendo's future seemed grim for awhile with the Wii U. It legitimately felt like they were going to turn into Sega for a bit. 3DS was their life support. Fast forward, now the Switch had surpassed the lifetime sales of the Wii. Glad to see they bounced back.

Plot twist: the aunt and cousin are the most gamer ever

For me, the Nintendo Wii pushed me into becoming the person I am today. It was the first true gaming console that I ever owned and it introduced me to the gaming community. It paved the way for me to go in deeper into gaming's past. I probably would have never picked up a PS2 slim from a thrift store when I was 11 if not for the Wii. Same goes for my Nintendo 64, Xbox 360, and even more consoles that I currently own. I may not have grown up with the older generation of consoles (when they came out) but they grew up/ they're growing up (I'm 15 at the time this is posted) with me and I am truly grateful for that.

Agree with almost everything you said. Glad you had the balls to say it, when most others would try to sugar coat everything in an effort not to ruffle any their subscriber's feathers. Kudos.

I have a lot to say about the Wii. It was the first game console I owned (I did play other consoles my family and friends owned). Being 7-8 playing Smash Bros. and Mario Kart on that little white box helped me get into gaming. Even though I moved on and the system hasn’t aged well compared to its contemporaries, I can’t deny the fact that I wouldn’t be a gamer now if the Wii didn’t exist.

Soft modding the wii actually made the console much better.

One Good thing about the Wiimote is you can use it to play lightgun style games like House of the Dead:Overkill on a modern TV.

I respect your opinion, and yes I can relate to the frustrating Wii remote controls, but for me, the Wii will always hold a special place in my heart and a lot of nostalgia. It was my first gaming console - before then I was not a gamer. Good times playing Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii, and the like.

The irony is some of the best games on Wii use little or no motion controls, and had a great virital console service, that with GameCube support it ended up being the definitive system for Nintendo fans, something I didn't expect early into the systems life.

I was born in '97 but luckily my older sibling use to be into video games, so I grew up playing the NES, SNES, N64 & Playstation. The consoles were passed down to me & Im so happy I never got rid of them.

Am i the only one who didnt have motion control problems with their Wii??

I love the Wii, but that's not stopping me from giving this vid a thumbs-up :)

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" haha Watched this video so many times and it never gets old. Why do I watch these game console retrospectives time and time again Adam? I think it's because you share so many similar view to my own. That must be it surely.

Great to look back at these videos Adam!

The gamecube is an amazing system, who cares about the colour? It had great games...

Metroid Prime Trilogy was amazing. Motion control for that was pretty good.

I never had that problem with my Wii. I had a blast with it.

Hey man, really enjoying your console retrospectives. Your knowledge and passion for the industry and the games is easy to see. Entertaining, informative and thoughtful views, thanks!

Your videos are good. I've watched a whole bunch of them and though i'm not a passionate gamer, or expert on gaming history i know enough to say that these videos are pretty damn good.

Loved this video. I agree with so many things you said.

My favorite Wii game is Mario kart Wii because I love all the ultra shortcuts there are.

I really enjoy this videos, Adam! Nice work!

One of the biggest paradoxes in gaming history. The Wii had the biggest sales and soundly defeated its competitors with ease in market dominance, yet it had the crappiest library of games during that whole generation. I wonder if something like that will ever happen again.

The way i see it there are 4 different types of wii games: beneficial motion controls, optional motion controls, tolerable motion controls, and forced motion controls. Beneficial motion controls is stuff like wii sports and pikmin. Wii sports couldnt have worked without motion controls and pikmin benefits from the increased precision of ir over a second analog stick. Optional motion controls is stuff like mario kart, smash bros, and sonic colors; where the game allowed you to not use motion controls at all, and instead use a classic or gamecube controller. Tolerable motion controls is mario galaxy or new super mario bros. These games have simple motion controls that dont ruin the experience, but dont really add anything either, and really only exist because there werent any buttons left to map certain abilities to. Forced motion controls is mostly shovelware, and i dont actually find this category particularly egregious, as i doubt that imagine party babyz wouldve been a good game whether it had motion controls or not.

As much as I want to like the Wii, it is hard. The motion controller....fuck that. There's some very good games but when you have to use motion controls I just can't.

Adam you're a legend!

i agree with you man, i personally bought the wii coz i loved the idea of being able to play nes , snes , n64 and various games from past game consoles i use to love, only to find out that a lot of the games that i wanted to play never got release in the Australian virtual console or at list they were never available while i had the console.

good lord did you just admit to eBay scalping?

The Wii has a ton of shovel-ware, but it has some amazing exclusives like Mario Galaxy. I didn’t like the motion controls though, so I have a love/hate relationship with the console.

Agreed. Glad somebody said it. No need to elaborate here 👍👏👏👏

Passed up Super Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Metroid Other M, Super Smash Bros Brawl and pretty much every exclusive title, no wonder you had a bad experience with it, you shouldve known that Nintendo's best work is their exclusives

Not going to lie, my Wii is nothing but a glorified emulator box now and it hardly ever gets used for that.

"It's a party device that lives in their house" lol Love it.

My mom bought a Wii when it first came out, i had the same reaction as well, "uhh...what? you dont play video games?" She and my dad played it for a solid 2 months off and on. Then it sat and collected dust for the next 7 years in their entertainment center. Now its currently in my possession, sitting in a box in my closet, and hasn't been turned on in like 6-7 years. haha

I love these, keep in' coming

I'm personally not such a big fan of the Wii either. However, I still think this video was long, drawn-out, and simply did not do a great job at all of getting your point across. Your beef with the Wii controller seems more of a personal issue if anything. Seriously is "I don't want to hold two things at once" the best you can come up with"? Then again the N64 gets similar complaints.

I see people trying to sell their Wii's for $100 - $200 Nowadays, you'd be lucky to sell one for $10

The thing that makes me love the Wii is nostalgia and pretty much nostalgia alone. Every time i went over a friends house from 2006-2012 we played Wii and it was amazing. So this Christmas I decided to buy a Wii and I have not been dissapointed I guess due to the fact I've only really bought first party games.

The part about growing up with gaming is spot on. As a 27 year old watching the progress has been crazy.

You've explained your reasoning well. To me, the Wii represents the last of old kind of gaming. It may technically be a 7th gen console, but the way it operated was closer to how the 6th gen ones did. This would be the last time when players can just simply insert a disk into the slot and play without installation process, updates, and DRMs. This was the last time that Nintendo tried with their "No DLC" policy. A lot of compilations came out which happened to be the best version of a series, like Metal Slug, for example. I prefer to play Metal Slug on the Wii's Anthology, even though I have them for my Neo Geo CD, because it plays the best.

The only thing for me is that my favorite game of all time (Resident Evil 4) is best on the Wii. The point and aim was so much better than the laser sight and the auto knifing made the game a breeze to play, felt really natural. Wish I still had it.

Great video, always nice hearing your opinions before I decide to buy certain consoles.

So clear your disappointment with this console and the love for “true” gaming. Been rewatching all of these, great videos

It's sad that you never really played the Mario Galaxy games. By far the best in the franchise. I didn't play the games for a longtime because I thought that I would hate the controls. I was completely wrong. Though the controls are unconventional, it didn't take me long to get over it and really enjoy the game. The controls really work excellent for it. It even surprised me alot. I was only disappointed that I didn't play this game sooner.

Many of the quality motion control games can be played with your hands resting in your lap using very minor movements. I wish the Wii was better overall but I still think there's a lot of fun to be had with it, especially if you think of it as a complimentary type console and don't expect the same experiences you would find elsewhere.

Great video! I share a similar disdain for the Wii. So much so, that it's the reason I turned to retro gaming back in 2007. Haven't looked back since!

I've watched a few of your videos and this video is the first i disliked. I grew up playing video games since 1983 and in my opinion the Wii is the best video game console for "family" with the like of games; mario kart, new super mario, smash bros, donkey kong country returns and many family/party related games. I adore you to set up a family/friends/kids gaming session with any of the games mentioned and you will go nuts. My wife is a non gamer and "together" we clocked new super mario brothers and collected all coins and beat the extra level. All that love and hate went into the game was all worth it! I also love hardcore games with 5-1 surround sound and high end TV I'm not dissing other consoles or game genre. Just enjoy!

I basically use my wii for Netflix and GameCube. I love the gamecube

If you play with games that don't rely on motion controls it becomes a system very unique out of the 3 with it's own style. And a lot of surprising games. Even some multiplats with their own Wii styles. Also I hear some versions of Metroid prime run better on it and don't freeze up like first and second prints do on the cube sometimes if you move to fast in the tunnels while it's trying to load.

I have great memories of playing the Wii with friends and family and it makes a great GameCube! I still visit places where Wii sports is played.

Great video

Tatsunoko VS Capcom is hands down my fave Wii title. Also, that game rapes MvC3/UMvC3 in every way. So amazing!

I love the Wii. Possibly my favorite console of all-time; and I have been playing since the Famicom days. It was the perfect compliment to my gaming PC . And the motion controls didn't bother me at all. It had amazing exclusives, and it was just a fun console to play with friends and families.

I have been working as a game developer for a long time. I coded two 'indie' games for the Wii. When I was trying out the dev kit, I wrote a small test app that visualized sensor input. Even when the Wii Mote was simply laying on the table, we got 'random' signals every time a car passed in front of the office. As we quickly realized, it was suitable as a device for detecting earth quakes or counting cars, but it was hard to tell weather a small signal was a soft movement or just some "interference". Unless you pointed at the screen and used the sensor bar, it was not possible to detect direction in relation to the screen. That's why you still have to set direction 'by hand' in Wii Sports Golf. As you pointed out, your arms can easily generate accerlerations way beyond what the sensors can measure. Thats why you can beat Wii sports Tennis without moving much at all. Every child will find out quickly. We had lots of ideas what to do with motion. But we had to forget about many of these because of sensor limitations.

Like Chad Warden said... That Wii sheeeet

Believe it or not, that just sounds like a bad sensor bar or IR interference. Nintendo's first party sensor bars have really bad range, there's even still better 3rd party ones online. Try making sure that you have no direct sunlight in the room you're playing in (close open blinds, etc). Even Christmas tree lights cause IR interference sometimes!

***** I never used the Virtual Console.

I'm interested to hear your opinions on the switch haha

I never had a Gamecube, which is why I still have my Wii and play it regularly with my kids because of it's versatility in that respect. I received this as a gift for Christmas from the in-laws who bought one as well, you really hit the nail on the head when you said it did not appeal to gamers lol! I never gave this console a second thought and it collected dust for 4 years until my kids were old enough to play games on it. We mostly used it for Netflix and Wii fit back in the day lol!! I would hook up my old Xbox when I wanted to play video games.

I see some of your points, but come on. Mario Galaxy was the shit! Motion controls weren't so bad in that game. All you did was shake the controller a bit at times.

Adam Koralik when he says Wii is bad now: *People born 2000-2006 get super angry* Me when I say Switch is bad in future: *People born 2011-2017 get super angry*

The first console I played was the Sega Genesis the first one I own officially was the PlayStation

+AdamKoralik I've put in some serious hours watching your videos recently and just wanted to say I could listen to you ramble on hours pal! You should do a Top 5 games list from each generation and do in depth videos for each generation! I for one would enjoy watching that! Keep on what you're doing lad, we in England thoroughly enjoy it! (Not sure if you'll read this as I don't know how to tag people properly)

Adam have you ever hacked your wii? That makes the system a bit more worthwhile compared to the stock version.

I haven't played a game to date with as solid controls as metroid prime corruption the Wii controller is fantastic when done right. But in the wrong hands its an abomination. And Wii sports is still single handedly the best game to show how motion controls can be amazing

Love all your videos! Soft mod wii FTW!

I agree the controller was little more than a gimmick that never did what it was supposed to do, but when I look at this gen as a whole, there are maybe three games on the other platforms I wasn't able to put down (Fallout 3, Skyrim, and Fable 2), whereas on the Wii I've been addicted to: Skyward Sword, DK Country Returns, Arc Rise Phantasia, The Last Story, Xenoblade Chronicles, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, and Super Paper Mario.

The Wii had some great games and will go down as a classic console

The Wii was an okay console, I mean it's not good but it's certainly not a bad console, it had some of my favorite games of all time like the metroid prime trilogy pack and Super Mario Galaxy, it also had some great 3rd party games that may or may not have used the motion controls in a great way like Red Steel 2 (that one had great motion controls) and no more heroes, the call of duty ports on it weren't half bad and it had some good sonic/sega games as well

Hold a wii controller sideways and its basically a wireless nes controller. There should've been a pro controller option in all games for people who don't want to use motion controls.

As an Ex-Nintendo fan, I agree wholeheartedly with this video. Wii was the last Nintendo console I bought at launch. Massive dust collector......

I think you're being very harsh on the Wii for a number of reasons. Nintendo had way more third party support for the system than the GameCube had, so much so that there was more initial 3rd party support for the Wii U at launch than the original Wii. I think you forget that e3 during the GameCube era was nothing but Nintendo titles (the likes of Akklaim, Rockstar, Namco & Konami more or less only made games for the PS2 & Xbox). The Wii's also not just for casual gamers at all. It has by far the best version of Resident Evil 4 (including the control scheme), Mario Galaxy is phenomenal, for the first time we had a Nintendo Virtual Console & online Mario Kart, it was backwards compatible with the GameCube & most games that weren't suited to the remote were compatible with 'conventual' controllers (I.e. Smash bros, Mario kart etc). Of course there was a lot of crap (like any system which is the most popular). That doesn't define it though

I think you had bad luck with the game you choose, wii had nice fun games and a lot of good rpgs

Good Video, I like the Wii but some good points made.

It's crazy to think in retrospect that Nintendo could have just released the GameCube a year later than they did with the same specs as the Wii, a better none kiddy designed console and used motion controls as they originally intended with the Cube then they could have had the GameCube as their main console for 2 whole generations.

You let your Wii collect dust and you don't play it huh? You are the one that's missing out then.

Wow, it's not THAT bad mate! Ever played Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword, Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart, Twilight Forest, DK Country Returns, Rhythm Heaven Fever, PokéPark, Xenoblade Chronicles, Metroid Prime 3, or New Super Mario Bros.? You said some of these became bad because of the controller, but it's not bad! Some of them don't even use the motion controls, like Smash, so WHAT THE FUUUUUUUCK??? It's a great console!

I did bought myself a wii for Christmas it will be interesting revesist to a console I grew up with haven't missed out on a nintendo console only two I couldn't get was nes and snes. Do own n64 and gamecube. I luv the motion controls at least it works unlinked ps move.

Dude, just because your experience was bad it doesn`t mean everyone else`s was, the motion controlls worked fine, your sensor bar wwas probably bad or something, if you were right, mario galaxy and zelda skyward sword wouldn`t be contenders for game of they year when they launched, there are many games not directeed to casuals on the wii, smash bros, xenoblade, donkey kong country returns, metroid prime and there are all the virtual console games

I am a Nintendo fan, I own every single major game console they've put out from the Nes to the Wii U. I have absolutely no problem saying that the original Wii was Nintendo's worst console. It's not because of the motion controls, it's not because it was underpowered, it was because of all the shitty games that came out. Don't get me wrong, the Wii has its fair share of good games. But there's so much shovel ware and so many terrible games that flooded it. When I go to a game store, I really have to dig through the crap in order to find a good Wii game. Every console is going to have bad games, but I feel like Wii was struck worse with them more than any other major game console.

I found the Wii to be the weakest of that generation. The games that were first party were often good but the third party support and shovelware brought it library lower then the 360 and Ps3. Wii being able to play Gamecube was cool and the virtual console was a nice idea but again Ps3 and 360 have a bunch of retro games also along with better graphics in there games. I thought the Wii was not bad but it felt like a step back from the previous Nintendo platforms like the nes Snes and N64 and Gamecube too.

I loved the Wii. I think the wii mote functioned really well

Amazing video - every point was solid.

Nintendo should have focused on supporting & motivating developers to make the greatest next-gen games to make the most incredible library! That's why the SNES, PS2 and XBox 360 did so well! That's the MOST important thing about a console. The wii only had 40 good playable games. I just got my wii in 2017, and I'm enjoying the fuck out of it's top 30 games! But XBox 360 which is the greatest console in history came out in 2005, the wii came out in 2006 with really poor multiplayer functionality during the spawn of the online multiplayer age. So if u think about it, the wii came out one year AFTER the amazing multiplayer XBox360, they had a headstart to do any improvements and still the wii sucked in that regard! Its a 'catch 22', Nintendo tried to raise the bar and do something new, fresh and innovative for the wii, and I'm very glad they did, they just needed a ton more & better games, a xbox360-like controller retail option for gamers that prefer that type of handheld, and hardcore & delightful online multiplayer functionality. But I'm really enjoying the exp. I'm having with it for what good games it does have. I'm loving the new & original handheld experience, only because I know its a one-time console thing, something we wont see again for a long time, prob. until VR really takes off. It reminds me of a life lesson I learned, when I was young I only really listened to R&B and Hip-hop, and refused to even sample the emerging grunge and alternative genres, but the golden age of those genres are long & gone after only maybe a 5 year run. Wasn't till later today when I started collecting music & sampling what others call amazing albums from the past did I start to realize how many amazing masterpieces in the grunge & alternative genres I missed out on while growing up. Even hip-hop & rnb isn't as popular today, which tells me something of a life lesson: Everything has it's era, and it will only last a short time, so enjoy it while its here! And for the wii controls, I'm enjoying it because I know its an original console experience that we wont see anything like it again for many many years.

The Wii is great... ...That it gave us the Wii U which is Awesome!

I feel your pain regarding the huge potential the Wiimote had. But I do have to say that some games ended up using it in the right ways, and that's when it actually kinda delivered. It was a positive surprise seeing how well the controls were implemented in a few of those. Goldeneye comes to mind. Even Skyward Sword's use of the Wiimote was in some respects really refreshing and fun.

*sees title of video. Grabs popcorn.

Ah, I disagree with everything in this video : p I had sooo many games I loved for the Wii- Arc Rise Fantasia, Pandoras Tower, The Last Story, Xenoblade Chronicles, Rune Factory Frontier, Rune Factory Tides of Destiny, Shiren the Wanderer, Harvest Moon Tree of Tranquility, Harvest Moon Animal Parade, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Fragile Dreams Farewell Ruins of the Moon, Sakura Wars So Long My Love, Little Kings Story, and Okami. I absolutely adored all these games : p And the Wiimote never bothered me with them like ever : p I feel like this is throwing a big fit over something small : p

I've got a funny feeling the wii might be more fondly remembered years down the line. Yes there is a ALOT of shovelware and the wii definitely had a lot of technical shortcomings, but it has the best platform games of that generation like mario galaxy, kirby return to dreamland etc. For fighting games I prefer the wii's Tatsunoko vs Capcom over the far more popular marvel vs capcom 3 (on 360/ps3). I'm not really a racing fan but mario kart was always a laugh. Pikmin just feels right on the wiimote. One thing I'm quite surprised by was the relatively few rail/lightgun games on the system. I would have loved to have had a port of time crisis and point blank. Backwards compatibility with the gamecube is also a huge boon, worth it just to play IMO the best version of soul calibar.

Can't wait to see Wii U recap! Nintendo's DreamCast. Probably my favorite console (Only challenged by GameCube).

I picked up a Wii for 20 bucks at a church rummage sale a few months ago. It was just to add to my collection for a few game and a backup to play GameCube games.

I suppose the controller just isn't for you then.

Wii & Switch: Don't cry that it happened, have a smile that it's over. GameCube & Wii U: Don't cry it's over, be happy that it happened.

im with you man

The Wii holds a special place in my heart. The Wii reintroduced my to the first person shooter genre believe it or not. Playing the COD series with motion controls was pure epicness. I cannot play COD with anolog sticks competitively, yet with the motion controls shit got REAL playing online. The most immersion I've ever had with the genre. 1000's of hours just on that alone. Nintendo messed up with the Wii when they ended the online play for the COD games. When that happened the Wii officially became a dust collector for me as well. Great vid.