As an early champion of the Wii (partially because I always loved Nintendo’s games, partially because I was very excited by the possibilities of the Wiimote), who has owned the console since launch day, I’ve found the system’s success pretty fascinating to watch. Initially dismissed by many mainstream journalists, the inexpensive, innovative, and underpowered Wii has become a sales juggernaut thanks to its low price and differentiating motion controls, leapfrogging the way-more-powerful and pricey Xbox 360 and PS3. But is it worthy of its #1 position in the industry? Check out my full Wii Mid-Term Report Card after the jump to find out.

Games
Nintendo systems, ever since the N64, have always been a mixed bag when it comes to games. On the one hand, you have Nintendo’s first party efforts, which are usually instant classics. On the other hand…well, there’s not much on the other hand at all. Third parties, for the most part, have ignored Nintendo since the SNES. This is usually for myriad reasons: Nintendo’s kiddie image; a lower installed base than the competition; a focus on promoting their own first party titles; poor choice of format (cartridges for the N64, mini-DVDs for the GameCube). But the Wii, with fans of all ages and the largest installed based of the current gen consoles, had (and has) the chance to buck the trend.

Wii Sports, the pack-in-game that probably cost Nintendo five dollars to make, is also their most significant game in years. It brought them back from the dead, somehow made them cool again, and successfully expanded gaming demographics, just like they wanted. It’s still fun as hell, and there really is a Tetris-like brilliance in its anyone-can-play simplicity. And as usual, Nintendo has released a slew of first party gems (Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda, Metroid Prime 3, etc.). Plus, third parties have shown the system some love, as the Wii is home to solid titles like Guitar Hero III, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Zack & Wiki, and Manhunt 2.

The truth is, however, that because the Wii is essentially a souped up GameCube, many of the system’s games just feel like upgrades to the GameCube’s versions. Sequels like Mario Strikers Charged and Super Smash Bros. look and feel exactly like their GameCube predecessors. While Super Smash Bros. Brawl is garnering huge praise, I couldn’t help but feel I’d paid for the same game twice. They didn’t even give the final boss, the same boss from the GameCube edition, any new moves! WTF, Nintendo?

And weirdly, the Wii library contains mind-numbing, tossed off crap more than anything else. Dreck like Escape from Bug Island, Chicken Shoot, Barbie: The Island Princess, Dancing With The Stars, My Horse and Me, and Game Party, to name a few, dominate store shelves. The creation of these games is most likely a sad byproduct of Wii’s low game development costs and a rush from developers to get something on the system due to its surprise success, but I don’t remember ever really seeing so many awful games under one roof.

Compared with the Xbox 360, the Wii game selection leaves a lot to be desired. And the PS3, for all its software problems out of the gate, is at least starting to pump out new franchises (Heavenly Sword, Uncharted, Little Big Planet) that are pretty damn good. After the release of Mario Kart in April, what’s left for the hardcore fans? The probably-going-to-be-huge Wii Fit will keep the casuals — people like my dad, uncle and lapsed gamer cousins, who are the real reasons for Wii’s popularity — happy for the next year. But for the rest of us, the future doesn’t look bright, and the last year and a half, with a few exceptions, has been a disappointment.
Grade: C+

The Wiimote
As previously mentioned, Wii Sports was probably the perfect pack-in game for the system, and that’s mainly because it shows off what the Wiimote can do so damn well. Want to play tennis? You just swing the Wiimote like a tennis racket! Want to play baseball? You swing the Wiimote like a bat! And again, nothing that has come since has really lived up to the promise of Wii Sports.

Most developers seem to just tack-on motion controls, without putting in much thought. Passing and receiving in Madden is a chore, The Bigs was awful, and even Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles plays more like a point-and-click game than a light-gun title, which it should.

Some titles, however, have made good use of waggle. The terrific Excite Truck has made the prospects of steering a car by tapping a D-pad seem primitive, and Super Mario Galaxy combined classic button schemes with motion controls in a masterful way. But it hasn’t really been enough.

My guess is that 1:1 controls — where the character on-screen perfectly mimics your movements with the Wiimote — is either impossible with the Wiimote, or no one has figured out how to do it yet. Case in point, where the hell is the no-brainer Star Wars lightsaber game that everyone wants? If it was possible, it would’ve been out last Christmas.

The saddest thing though, is that these sloppily placed motion controls really do disrespect the art of a well-developed control scheme. I find myself missing the exquisite controls of classic Nintendo games, or other greats like Street Fighter II, God of War, and Halo. Complex controls may be a barrier to gaming for non-gamers, but they also represent a big part of the art of video games.
Grade: C

Online
While Nintendo has finally shown an online initiative with the Wii, it still doesn’t compare to Xbox Live. It’s not all bad, though. It’s free, it’s wireless, the Virtual Console’s library of classic games is terrific and reasonably priced.

Still, Nintendo continues to drag its feet in head scratching ways. First of all, the “Friend Codes.” Oh, Friend Codes, how I hate you so. While for the 360 and PS3, you create a login name, make a friends list, etc., you can’t do that with the Wii. No, Nintendo had to make things far more unnecessarily complex. For those who don’t know, to play a friend online on Wii, you have to register their Friend Code, a long number included with each game. It hearkens back to the days of 8-Bit gaming when you had to write down a ridiculously long password to be able to continue your game. It’s annoying and antiquated. Plus, there’s no voice chat or any real options. You might as well play against the computer. What’s the difference?
Grade: B-

Overall
So I know this may all seem very negative, but as someone who doesn’t play games every day, the Wii actually isn’t half bad. It’s still the best system to play with friends. Games like Wii Sports, WarioWare, Mario Party 8, and even trivia games like Smarty Pants all make for a good time. And Mii-creation is strangely addictive and fun with other folks around. People love it. On the single-player side, Super Mario Galaxy is going to be remembered as one of the all-time greats.

It’s too early to call the motion controls a gimmick, but it’s starting to look that way. My only hope is that Sony and Microsoft figure out a way to incorporate it without getting rid of classic controllers; you know they’re going to copy the Wiimote next time around, because right now, Nintendo’s laughing at them all the way to the bank.

I’m still happy with the purchase of a Wii, I just hope that Nintendo releases some new franchises, stops the influx of crap titles, and that third parties make a better effort at incorporating motion controls. But if I had to make a recommendation, I’d say go with a 360 or PS3.
Grade: B-

Video Games