History Platform / Wii

* ''VideoGame/AliceInWonderland''

* ''VideoGame/SpongeBobsTruthOrSquare''

* ''VideoGame/{{Madagascar}}''

* ''VideoGame/FreddiFish: Kelp Seed Mystery''

[[caption-width-right:350:"Two UsefulNotes/{{GameCube}}s duct-taped together" = ''[[CrazyEnoughToWork The best selling console in its generation]].'']]

* ''VideoGame/PajamaSam: Don't Fear The Dark''

However, despite cries of "inferior" graphics and processing power, the Wii continued to sell better or as good as the other systems, depending on whether there was a recent KillerApp release, with the Virtual Console being used as a way to offer re-releases of older games as effective stopgaps. Much of the early analysis of the console's inevitable failure comes across as ItWillNeverCatchOn mentality in light of its overall success, and the occasional [[http://www.gamespot.com/news/6146958.html April Fool's joke about the Wii being highly successful]] is now HilariousInHindsight.

Nintendo focused on an innovative, motion-based control scheme involving the Wii Remote, or the FanNickname "Wiimote," a controller which can best be described as a fusion between an [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] controller and a UsefulNotes/{{television}} remote control, that could sense both the button presses and motion-based movements of the person holding it. This lowered the difficulty curve immensely. Usually, a beginning gamer would have to not only to learn how to control their character, but also learn how to control their ''controller'': "'[[VideoGame/{{Halo}} Hold X to perform action?]]' What's performing an action? What's X? Do I have to hug him? And is X [[MemeticMutation doesn't afraid of anything]]?" ...Okay, maybe we're exaggerating it a little bit. But maybe we're not. Television has been around for the better half of a century and basically everyone knows how to hold a TV remote, so for all intents and purposes anyone who can buy a Wii already has a grasp on how to use one, so you can see how clever this design trick can be for getting non-gamers to become new gamers.

Nintendo focused on an innovative, motion-based control scheme involving the Wii Remote, or the FanNickname "Wiimote," a controller which can best be described as a fusion between an [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] controller and a UsefulNotes/{{television}} remote control, that could sense both the button presses and motion-based movements of the person holding it. This lowered the difficulty curve immensely. Usually, a beginning gamer would have to not only to learn how to control their character, but also learn how to control their ''controller'': "'[[VideoGame/{{Halo}} Hold X to perform action?]]' What's performing an action? What's X? Do I have to hug him? And is X [[MemeticMutation doesn't afraid of anything]]?" ...Okay, maybe we're exaggerating it a little bit. But maybe we're not. You can think of it this way: television has been around for the better half of a century and basically everyone knows how to hold a TV remote, so for all intents and purposes anyone who can buy a Wii already has a grasp on how to use one.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Two UsefulNotes/{{GameCube}}s [[ItWillNeverCatchOn duct taped together]]" = ''[[CrazyEnoughToWork Seventh best-selling console of all time]].'']]

Many Japanese third-party developers dumped Nintendo for Sony following the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, and many gamers thought Nintendo would concentrate on their handheld dominion or even go third-party like former console makers Creator/{{Sega}}, Creator/HudsonSoft, Creator/{{Atari}} and Creator/{{SNK}}. Things were ''this dire''. In the escalating cost of superior graphics in the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars between Sony and [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]], it was thought that Nintendo couldn't compete. In response, they created an [[NotHelpingYourCase innovative, family-friendly, durable console]]. This time though, they would not be dead last. Meet the '''[[TakeAThirdOption Wii]]''', Nintendo's fifth console released in 2006.

Nintendo focused on an innovative, motion-based control scheme involving the Wii Remote, or the FanNickname "Wiimote," a controller which can best be described as a fusion between an [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] controller and a television remote control, that could sense both the button presses and motion-based movements of the person holding it. This lowered the difficulty curve immensely. Usually, a beginning gamer would have to not only to learn how to control their character, but also learn how to control their ''controller'': "'[[VideoGame/{{Halo}} Hold X to perform action?]]' What's performing an action? What's X? Do I have to hug him? And [[HowDoIShotWeb how do I made him]] [[MemeticMutation doesn't afraid of anything]]?" ...Okay, maybe we're exaggerating it a little bit. But maybe we're not. Compare this to the ease of using of a remote control, and you can see why the Wii Remote was such a clever step.

* ''VideoGame/FASTRacingLeague''

** ''VideoGame/MarioParty 8'' and ''9''

Plus, it did it all without needing specs that raised the cost of the system (which, following Japan's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan) "Lost Decade"]] of economic instability, they could not have afforded regardless). Much of the Wii's internals were based off the [=GameCube=],[[note]]Creator/GearboxSoftware president Randy Pitchford even [[http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/13/interview-gearbox-president-sounds-off-on-wii-ps3-360/ referred to the Wii as a "supercharged GameCube"]] in an ''Magazine/ElectronicGamingMonthly'' interview; and Chris Hecker of Maxis [[MemeticMutation infamously]] called it "two [=GameCubes=] duct-taped together" at the 2007 Game Developers Conference[[/note]] an already pretty powerful piece of hardware (for its time), [[UpToEleven but made even more powerful]]. It had numerous fundamental differences to the [=PS3=] and 360. The make a good analogy comparing the systems is that the Xbox 360 and [=PS3=] are modern, top-of-the-line supercars, while the Wii is a tuned-up roadster from a decade ago, modified to yield higher horsepower. [[labelnote:ex:]]The Wii had no internal hard drive for the sake of cost and reliability. It also lacked programmable pixel shaders, restricting it to simplistic, vertex-based shaders that could not be modified to yield higher resolution. Becoming obsolete with the arrival of Microsoft's UsefulNotes/DirectX 8 (used in the Xbox) and [=OpenGL=] 2. Simply put, in terms of shaders, the Wii and its competitors spoke completely different languages.[[/labelnote]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}''

-->--'''{{Tagline}}''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP-THj03Zk4 English commercials]] for the Nintendo Wii

# Holding up the rear in the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars (only for home consoles, mind you. They remained king of handhelds, with the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance still selling strong and the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS a good amount ahead of Creator/{{Sony}}'s UsefulNotes/PlaystationPortable).

Many Japanese third-party developers dumped Nintendo for Sony following the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, and many gamers thought Nintendo would concentrate on their handheld dominion or even go third-party like former console makers Creator/{{Sega}}, Creator/HudsonSoft, Creator/{{Atari}} and Creator/{{SNK}}. Things were ''this dire''. In the escalating cost of superior graphics in the UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars between Sony and [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]], it was thought that Nintendo couldn't compete. In response, they created an [[NotHelpingYourCase innovative, family-friendly, durable console]]. This time though, they would not be dead last. Meet the '''[[TakeAThirdOption Nintendo Wii]]''', Nintendo's fifth console released in 2006.

* FollowTheLeader: The Wii's runaway success caused the development of things the [=Playstation=] Move and the Xbox Kinect. Neither saw much success, though the [=PlayStation=] Move controllers would gain new life in the following generation thanks to {{virtual reality}} becoming a viable gaming market, while Microsoft would repurpose the Kinect outside of gaming as part of various mixed reality projects such as [=HoloLens=].

# Making their products [[MadeOfIndestructium durable]], equal or surpassing that of ''Nokia'';

Nintendo's first true foray into internet-based play started on the Wii[[labelnote:ex:]]the company toyed with the concept a few years earlier with select DS titles[[/labelnote]] and, much like the console itself, were a far cry from the other systems. These included the [[ScrappyMechanic infamous friend code system]] that would be phased out in later generations in favor of more traditional usernames. The Wii did have [[UsefulNotes/WiiWare a surprisngly deep online store]] like its competitors, and a separate UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole store that essentially served as legal UsefulNotes/{{emulation}}. Unfortunately, a true mass storage solution (like, say, an external hard drive) didn't appear until the end of March 2009, and only a limited number of demo versions of the games are available.