The Wii has a reputation for being a shovelware dump, but its actually a hidden gem goldmine!
Throughout the Wii’s lifespan, hardcore gamers looked down their nose and Nintendo’s little white box as something for grandmas and kids to play. While there is definitely a lot of quick cash-ins, flimsy games built on TV shows and movies and cheap mini game compilations, there’s also a lot of fantastic games that were unfairly overlooked and underappreciated.
Is the shovelware dump a fair judgement?
For anyone looking at just the surface, I’d say absolutely. Scanning the shelves of Wii games in video game stores, garage sales and thrift shops reveals a library filled with titles like The Biggest Loser, Just Dance and endless games based on popular movies, TV shows and cartoons of the era.
People would frequently talk about how their Wii was “collecting dust” because of a lack of good games. The thing is, the games were there, but they were lost in the flood of quick cash ins and licensed properties. Finding good games to play on the Wii is like panning for gold.
So let’s go panning!
Depending on what types of games you prefer, its hard to make suggestions for everyone, but here are a few categories that are well represented by hidden gems. One thing that will not make this list is anything developed by Nintendo (I'll let Nintendo published titles slide).
Strategy/Puzzle
More titles:
Phantom Brave
Zack and Wiki
Action/Adventure
More titles:
No More Heroes 1 & 2
Pandora’s Tower
A Boy and His Blob
Mushroom Men
Horror
More titles:
Calling
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero
Role-playing
More titles:
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Arc Rise Fantasia
Rail shooters
More titles:
House of the Dead 1 and 2
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Gunblade NY / LA Machineguns
Ghost Squad
Compilations
More titles
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
Samurai Showdown Anthology
Metal Slug Anthology
First person shooters
Shoot 'em ups
More titles:
Ultimate Shooting Collection
Blast Works
The Wii has a massive library, and just as there were companies cranking out cheap games to cash in on the hype, there were many others who made great games that have gotten overlooked and lost in the tidal wave to Wii games. Dig through the junk and there is a lot of wonderful stuff to discover on this system. The best part is, Wii games are dirt cheap right now. Stock your collection now before prices start to rise on some of these future classics.
Now is a great time to start grabbing some of these Wii titles before collectors and resellers discover their value.
@triverse is right on the money here, literally. Wii software is currently in a market trough where nobody's currently interested in it: it's old enough that you can't walk into most stores and find it, but it's still new enough that collectors aren't paying much attention to it because titles from the previous generation are so much more interesting.
With Wii titles, now is the time to risk shelling out $20-50 on something solid, because I guarantee in five years once the PS2/Xbox/GameCube markets start to really dry up, you're going to see those prices skyrocket. We're already seeing it with Data East Arcade Classics, a compilation disc with fifteen arcade titles released in 2010 that now sells for $75+ on the second-hand market. Dokapon Kingdom is another one which has absolutely exploded in value in the last few years, going from something you could pick up for $20 in any GameStop to a title it's impossible to find for under $100 anywhere.
Xenoblade Chronicles, Obscure: The Aftermath, Godzilla Unleashed, F1 2009, The Last Story, and Metroid Prime Trilogy are all primed to blow up as well.
Great comments! This is the 'sweet spot' for collecting games for a system, just like you said its far enough from the generation that nobody wants the games, and too new for collectors to have their eye on it yet. Identifying future classics is the best way to capitalize on this low point, and you mentioned some really good ones. Games released in small batches, anything released by Atlus and games from popular franchises like Mario and Zelda will only increase in value from where they now lie. The three Operation Rainfall titles (Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower) are must-haves for collectors and should be snatched up before they start to rocket up in price.
The wii, is in my opinion, the console that will be the focus of attention for collectors in a short time. Because under casual gaming, there are incredible gems. You can easily add on your list : Sin And Punishment 2, A Shadow's Tale and Legend Of Saiyuki: a game that wants to be the continuation of kikikai aka Pocky And Rocky.
Definitely on Sin and Punishment. Great choice and cheap too.
A lot of hidden gems 😊