Happy trails: Ten best Wii games remaining

Remember when consecutive vowels were the most confusing thing about a Nintendo system? Those bygone days when console names didn’t end with text messages?

And U thought a remote seemed like a crazy idea.

Nearly five years have passed since Nintendo launched its revolution, a small white console with a silly name that suddenly doesn’t seem quite so silly. Its pace may have slowed in recent months, but since its phenomenal debut in Nov. 2006, the Wii has cemented its legacy as one of the most important game platforms in history.

As its slumping sales have suggested, however, the Wii is also showing its age. But even with its successor on the horizon, this generation’s top-selling system isn’t ready to hand over the reins. From major franchises to interesting new IP, these upcoming games are the ten most compelling reasons not to sell your Nintendo Wii.

Keep those protective silicon saddles secured, partner.

10. Wii Play Motion (Nintendo)

They say numbers don’t lie. Unless they’re talking about sabermetics, they’re lying. Case in point, Wii Play is the best-selling video game of all-time’at least, of those not bundled with hardware.

Sorry, Mario. I guess a controller doesn’t count.

The point is that very few people bought Wii Play because they wanted Wii Play. They wanted the extra Wii Remote the game was packaged with, which they wanted for games other than Wii Play.

But the funniest thing happened when we got home and tried Wii Play’we had fun with it. Despite poor reviews, it turned out to be an enjoyable minigame compilation with an accessibility and multiplayer appeal not unlike Wii Sports.

Four years later, Nintendo’s $10 controller tax is back in a new form and with a new remote. Wii Play Motion features 12 all-new minigames, and as with the original game, they’re designed as introductory courses to demonstrate the unique capabilities of the bundled’and in this case, extra sensitive and responsive’controller.

It may seem like the Wii line of games has run its course, but if the original Wii Play taught us anything, it’s that surprisingly fun games can come in unlikely packages.

And even controller packages.