Memories of the Wii...

Memories of the Wii…

Although it comes as no surprise, the news that Nintendo is ceasing production of the Wii this week leaves me a little sad. To be honest, I often get a bit melancholic when a console is discontinued but this time I find myself feeling almost guilty as I read through the ‘obituaries’ appearing on the various gaming websites. (My favourite is by Edge, found here: http://www.edge-online.com/features/a-temporary-revolution-our-tribute-to-nintendos-wii/)

Without wanting to sound too dramatic, it is a bit like reading about the passing of an old school friend in the local paper; one that you have had zero contact with for a number of years, but one that you were close to for a while.

Yes, my Wii has been back in its box for around 10 months and before that it suffered 2 years of neglect; its only use being that of my 7 year old nephew playing Ben 10 on his Sunday visits. For shame!

But with the discontinuation comes a flood of memories: laughing at the ridiculous name when it was first announced at e3 2006. Ridiculing the ridiculous control system as something that would never work. Guffawing at the re-hashed GameCube architecture; how ridiculous was that? Ridiculous.

I also remember the first time I played a Wii in December 2006 at a friend’s house and realised that I had been wrong. Realising that it did work. Realising that whenever a software house got it right, the Wii could be fantastic.

I wasn’t alone as the Wii sold out that Christmas and remained in short supply for months after. I purchased my own Wii in April 2007 after seeing an advertising board outside Electronics Boutique kindly informing me that the Wii was in stock that day. I didn’t even check my bank account for funds I just bought one.

For the next 6 months I played on Mario Strikers Charged endlessly. Tense online co-op sessions with my housemate saw us ranked in the top 10 of the world on more than one occasion.

For Christmas 2007 I received what may be the greatest ever Mario game: Mario Galaxy. Through January 2008 I drank wine and worked to complete Galaxy night and day. The addition of the co-op mode meant that both my housemate and I could share in the experience.

In Summer 2008 Smash Bros came out and replaced Strikers Charged as the multi-player game of choice and this was followed by Mario Kart. Multi-player hadn’t been this good since the N64.

But, in August 2008 I moved into a shared house occupied by staunch non-gamers and this is when the Wii stalled for me. MadWorld and Super Mario Galaxy 2 would drag me back for a short time but it was obvious: the Wii was the life of the party; it wasn’t your best mate.

At this point I drifted to the PS3 where deep one-player experiences were the norm not the exception and again I know, I am not alone. The PS3 slim became a go to place for many disillusioned Wii owners.

So the news this week is a reminder that for a time, the Wii was my number one console. In fact, in its 2 years of real use it probably experienced the equivalent of 4 years worth of gaming. It also reminds me that there are still some exceptional titles I have not played: Xenoblade Chronicles is just one.

Finally, it is a reminder that, although it lost its momentum, the Wii remains Nintendo’s greatest expression of creativity and that against all the odds, whisper it, it won the last generation; 100 million sales ain’t half bad for a ridiculous little white box.