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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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.