Wii (video game series)

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.

Wii
Genre(s)	Simulation Party Sports Fitness
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD NDcube Ganbarion XING
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Wii Wii U Nintendo Switch
First release	Wii Sports November 19, 2006
Latest release	Nintendo Switch Sports April 29, 2022

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 game's 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	NA: November 19, 2006 JP: December 2, 2006 AU: December 7, 2006 EU: December 8, 2006	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]	82.85 million^[9]
Wii Sports Resort		JP: June 25, 2009 AU: July 23, 2009 EU: July 24, 2009 NA: July 26, 2009	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%^[10]	80/100^[11]	33.08 million^[9]
Wii Sports Club	Wii U	Tennis & Bowling JP: October 30, 2013 NA: November 7, 2013 EU: November 7, 2013 AU: November 8, 2013 Golf WW: December 18, 2013 Baseball & Boxing NA: June 26, 2014 EU: June 27, 2014 Retail EU: July 11, 2014 JP: July 17, 2014 NA: July 25, 2014	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%^[12]	68/100^[13]
Nintendo Switch Sports	Nintendo Switch	WW: April 29, 2022	The first game in the series to replace the Wii title.	n/a	72/100^[14]	12.48 million^[15]

Wii Play

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Play	Wii	JP: December 2, 2006 AU: December 7, 2006 EU: December 8, 2006 NA: February 12, 2007	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.^[16]	61.64%^[17]	58/100^[18]	28.02 million^[9]
Wii Play: Motion		NA: June 13, 2011 EU: June 24, 2011 AU: June 30, 2011 JP: July 7, 2011	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%^[19]	60/100^[20]	1.26 million^[21]

Wii Fit

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Fit	Wii	JP: December 1, 2007 EU: April 25, 2008 AU: May 8, 2008 NA: May 21, 2008	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%^[22]	80/100^[23]	22.67 million^[9]
Wii Fit Plus		JP: October 1, 2009 NA: October 4, 2009 AU: October 15, 2009 EU: October 30, 2009	An enhanced version of Wii Fit.	80.83%^[24]	80/100^[25]	21.13 million^[9]
Wii Fit U	Wii U	AU: December 7, 2013 EU: December 13, 2013 NA: January 10, 2014 JP: February 1, 2014	Announced at E3 2012 as a title for the Wii U console.	76.08%^[26]	72/100^[27]

Wii Party

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Party	Wii	JP: July 8, 2010 NA: October 3, 2010 AU: October 7, 2010 EU: October 8, 2010	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^[9]
Wii Party U	Wii U	NA: October 25, 2013 EU: October 25, 2013 AU: October 26, 2013 JP: October 31, 2013	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	EU: January 18, 2008 JP: September 30, 2008	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	JP: October 16, 2008 NA: October 20, 2008 AU: November 13, 2008 EU: November 14, 2008	Players use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to simulate playing instruments.	64.34%^[36]	63/100^[37]	2.65 million^[38]^[39]

Software

Game	Console	Release date	Description	GameRankings	Metacritic	Sales
Wii Street U	Wii U	JP: February 7, 2013 NA: February 14, 2013 EU: February 14, 2013 AU: February 14, 2013
Wii U Panorama View		NA: April 26, 2013 JP: April 27, 2013 EU: April 27, 2013 AU: April 27, 2013

References

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