Tomorrow, November 19th, is going to be the Wii's first birthday! A lot has happened in just one year so let's go back to 2006 and relive every single moment that made the Wii one of the most talked about systems this generation!
Name announcement and E3 2006April 27th, 2006 was deemed a dark day for MANY Nintendo fans. Nintendo finally unveiled the Revolution's final name;
the Wii. As expected the reaction was NOT a positive one. Fans claimed Nintendo had gone insane in hopes of attracting a different kind of audience and create a "hip" name like "iPod". The negative reaction was so strong many gave up on Nintendo and said the "Wii" was going to flop massively. But that didn't last long...
At E3 2006 Nintendo fully unveiled the Wii along with its launch lineup, including the Wii-tastic version of Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy. Thoughts on the name soon vanished as fans
RAN to the Nintendo booth, ignoring everything else in their path. Clearly, Nintendo "won" this E3.
Launch announcementOn September 14th, 2006, Nintendo did a worldwide press conference announcing the launch of the system along with games and the final price tag. This conference announced many things, including the unveiling of the Mii avatar system and the first packaged game since the Super NES days, Wii Sports. At 250 dollars many thought the system was pricey, especially since Nintendo made claims that they wanted to be the cheapest system possible. They also thought that releasing the Wii a few days after the PS3 launch was a bold move, one that could affect final sales.
But on the plus side, this was truly a world wide release. Every major region got the system a mere weeks from each other and it was a widely successful one.
The big dayThe Wii, name, price, tech demo game and all, launched on November 19th, 2006. Even though many people claimed that it would be a hit the system would be extremely easy to find after launch, that you can just walk to a Walmart the morning after launch and easily get one. Nintendo proved them wrong in the worst way possible. The system was a massive sell out and became EXTREMELY hard to find. Even when Nintendo promised it would work harder on creating more systems the Wii was still hard to find, sending many fans on a wild goose chase.
But those that were able to find a system at launch claim it was a magical moment.
Third party supportA year later and third party support is already stronger than it was during the N64 and GC days. The one downside is that many third party games are really updated PS2/GC ports with tacked on motion controls, making a lot of fans annoyed. Even worse, original IPs failed to bring in a new audience and creating an unique experience on the Wii (EA's Boogie comes to mind). However, despite these issues many third parties saw profit, the big two being Ubisoft and Capcom.
Ubisoft was the first company to support Nintendo and the Wii since day one. Back then, third parties were sure that the PS3 was going to be a massive hit, despite the
infamous press conference creating major internet memes (599 US DOLLARS!!!). But Ubi gambled everything and released two major titles at launch;
Red Steel and
Rayman Raving Rabbids.
Red Steel was the first Wii title ever revealed, quickly becoming one of the most anticipated titles on the system. The game promised a revolutionary first person experience that combined the beauty of sword fights and the mayhem of PC controls. The final product received very mixed reviews. Some thought that despite flaws the game was enjoyable and for the most part worked. Others claimed the game was a disgrace and extremely generic. But everyone agreed; the game was clearly rushed so it could be out by launch.
But despite the controversy Red Steel went on to sell over a million copies. A sequel with a rumored online mode, is in the works.
Raving Rabbids was the second launch title from Ubi. The Wii can now claim to have been the first home of some of the most endearing new characters this generation of gaming has seen;
the Rabbids, a mutant race of dumb rabbits that invaded Rayman's home and forced him to play absurd and bizarre mini games in order to gain his freedom. Some of them worked, others didn't but the game was a massive hit. Even if the game was ported to the other consoles the best experience was found on the Wii.
A year later and a Nintendo exclusive sequel to Raving Rabbids was released, featuring even more insanity and mayhem.
Capcom was the other company to have seen profit on the system. At launch their support was kinda limited, with only an Resident Evil spin off game announced. But that quickly changed as the Wii went on to slowly conquer the Earth, one home at a time. First off, they announced Resident Evil 4: Wii edition, a port of the classic 2005 game with updated Wii controls. The game became a surprise hit, shipping over a million copies worldwide, despite it being a 2 year old title.
Then, they released 'Zak and Wiki", originally called "Treasure Island Z". It was a brand new IP featuring Wind Waker like graphics, charming characters and a throwback to classic adventure titles of old. Even if the game didn't sell as well as expect it gained a very loyal following and is one of the best reviewed third party games on the Wii.
Wii Love Golf was also announced, a golf game created by Camelot, the team behind many of the Mario Sports titles. But the biggest announcement lied on the horizon. Monster Hunter 3, a very popular game series in Japan and one of the biggest titles for the PS3, was moved to the Wii. The decision shocked many as it was a franchise that had gained a following on Sony's systems and was going to be a major title on the PS3. Clearly, Capcom is feeling the Wii love.
Third party support continues to grow, even if some companies are just releasing updated PS2 titles on the system.
Major accomplishmentsMario and Sonic TOGETHER AT LAST!: For years now fans have dreamed of a game featuring former rivals Mario and Sonic. It was going to be a major event if it happened. On April 2007 Sega finally announced the game everyone has been waiting for...but not the type of game they expected.
The game turned out to be
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games", a title based on the upcoming 2008 Olympic games featuring characters from both the Mario and Sonic universe. Some fans felt disappointed as they feel Sega finally got Mario and Sonic together and they wasted the opportunity on a lame Olympics games. But even with the fanboys whining all the way Sega felt very proud and confident that the game would be a hit.
But the best was yet to come...
At E3 2006, Nintendo FINALLY unveiled the next Super Smash Bros game, Brawl. The end of the
famous E3 teaser revealed a major new feature: third party characters. As Konami's Solid Snake came out of his box and taunted Mario and Link fans hearts began to flutter in anticipation. The first name to come to their names? Sonic. Clearly, if Nintendo allowed Solid Snake to be in Brawl they can allow other characters to join the Brawl, right?
For nearly a year, fans kept speculating, wishing and DEMANDING Sonic in Brawl. Nintendo and Sega kept dismissing the rumor, saying that nothing was in the works. They were being a bunch of liars...
On October 10th, 2007, through the official Brawl blog
Sonic was confirmed! Everyone cried tears of joy (although for some it was tears of frustration) as they saw Sonic brawling among the likes of Link, Wario, DK and, of course, Mario.
So the Wii has the distinctive honor of being the first Nintendo console to feature this major reunion of gaming giants.
Halo 3? I FART ON YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION!: It was inevitable; Halo 3 was coming. The world slowly came to a halt as the release date slowly approached. Gamers, analysts and companies all said the same thing; Halo 3 was going to murder everyone and everything in its path. The heart stopping release of Halo 3 came on September 2007 and it became a major world news event with fans going insane at the sight of Master Chief on their 360s. Then the final numbers came...
As many foretold, Halo 3 was
the number one best selling title of September. But...it didn't move enough consoles! Despite featuring Halo 3 and being the number 1 console for the month the Wii still marched on, with over 500,000 consoles sold. What's even more surprising is that the console sold extremely well despite having no major titles released.
A month later, Nintendo quickly reclaimed
the top spot.
So in the end, Halo 3 barely posed a threat to the little Wii that could, a major accomplishment very few titles are able to.
Manhunt 2? BUT NINTENDO IS TEH TIKKU TIKKU!: Long before the Wii launch there were rumors saying that Nintendo's main honcho Reggie "The Regginator" Fils Aime were in talks with Rockstar to bring one of their major controversial titles on the Wii. Fans hoped this came true that it would vanish some of the claims that Nintendo systems are for children.
Months later, on February 6th, 2007 to be exact, Manhunt 2, a sequel to the controversial but cult game "Manhunt", was announced for the PS2, PSP...and the Wii.
Fans were shocked as they never expected a violent and bloody Rockstar title to grace a Nintendo system. The Wii version even boasted executions that you could perform by mimicking the actions with the Wiimote!
As expected, though, parents and politicians
cried foul. They demanded Rockstar to remove the title from shelves or to edit everything out.
The game was even banned in Europe! Rockstar went back to the drawing board, never pleasing the loud complainers.
Manhunt 2 was released on October 31st, 2007. The quality of the final product wasn't that great, and the game was heavily edited to the point where it was a different game, but the months in which the game was debated were very memorable and even fun for some.
So the Wii is home to quite a controversial game.
The best reviewed game...EVER???: Ever since it was first unveiled at E3 2006 Super Mario Galaxy was poised for greatness. Analysts and fans couldn't get enough of the magical outer space adventure and with each passing day the game became better and better. So much, in fact, that it could become one of the best reviewed games of 2007! For a while, though, fans doubted that. Not because the game was disappointing, because even though the game was nearly perfect reviewers were giving it 9s instead of 10s. This made some fans upset because some less worthy games were getting 10s like crazy while Mario Galaxy was getting the shaft. But as of November 2007, Gamerankings.com lists Mario Galaxy as
the best reviewed game of ALL TIME, finally defeating the former champion, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time.
We don't know if Mario Galaxy will have strong enough legs in order to hold onto that title, but its extremely impressive to see than in just a year the Wii has an amazing, high caliber game, one that is NOT a PS2 port or a former GC title.
Coming up: Nintendo online, launch stories, the Virtual Console, Wii Ware, Wii haters, safety measures and the great "casual vs. hardcore" debate.
Topic: HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, NINTENDO WII!! (Read 13155 times)
