Wii series
The Wii franchise[1][2], is a video game franchise initially made of various games released on the Nintendo gaming console bearing the same name, such as but not limited to Wii Sports, Wii Play and Wii Fit.
Successors of the Wii continued the Wii franchise, such as the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch; games such as Wii Party U and Wii Fit U, the spin off, Pilotwings Resort and Nintendo Switch Sports respectively. "Wii" not being a part of the console's name doesn’t stop a game of the Wii franchise of being released on it.
The Wii franchise has been used multiple times as a way to market all sorts of Wii accessories, such as but not limited to : Wii Remotes, Wii Motion Plus, and Wii Balance Boards.
Franchise description
Every game in the "Wii" franchise can be linked together via multiples factors; such as Miis as the playable characters, and the simplistic artstyle.
Genre(s)
Due to every series composing the Wii franchise being made of games with multiple genres, such as sports simulations for the Wii Sports series, fitness for the Wii Fit series, rhythm for the game Wii Music, party for the Wii Party series, karaoke for the game Wii Karaoke U by JOYSOUND, and so on; making it impossible to point a precise genre in which the Wii franchise could be placed and instead being a mix of genres.
Gameplay
There is no set gameplay throughout the Wii franchise, as each series is set in a vastly different genre.
The main similarities between the games is that the player plays as a Mii, the game mainly consist of other games inside of it, and the game is usually made with the intent to showcase something new.
Artstyle
The artstyle is somewhat simplistic, being made of vivid color and rough bold shapes, being choose to fit well with another factor linking these games together, an almost entirely Mii-based cast, both for the player's avatar and the background characters.
Cast
In every game in the Wii franchise, an almost entirely Mii-based cast is used, with both the player's avatar and npcs being one, from a list of either player created and premade ones.
List of games
As of recently, the Wii franchise is composed of 4 majors series, with the first and last installment, being of the Wii Sports series as Wii Sports released in 2006 and Nintendo Switch Sports released in 2022, it is the largest series of the Wii franchise with 4 "main" entries and is often considered to be the "main series" of the franchise, even though the 3 other series, Wii Fit series,Wii Play series, and Wii Party series, easily stand on their own with 3, 2, and 2 entries respectively. Along with these series, two one-of game used the "Wii" name in their title, Wii Music and Wii Karaoke U by JOYSOUND, who never had sequels but used an artstyle somewhat simplistic and a Mii-based cast, these two being majors factors linking the Wii franchises's games together, proving that they are in fact part of the franchise.
List of series
Wii Sports series
Main article : Wii Sports (series)
The Wii Sports series is the largest series out of the Wii franchise, being composed of 4 main games, a compilation disc bundled with some Wiis, and a spin-off crossover with the Pilotwings series on the 3DS. The main Wii Sports games are compilation of multiple minigames centered around sports, most of them having simplified rules and being entirely controlled via motion controls. The series used Miis as the player's avatar and opponent in every game until Nintendo Switch Sports which made the uses of Sportsmates as the primary characters, with the Miis still being a side option.
Main games
| Main games in the Wii Sports series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Sports |
Wii | The first ever game to be a part of the Wii franchise. This game served as a launch title for the Wii console and was included with the console as a bundled offering in all regions except Japan and South Korea. |
 Wii Sports Resort |
Wii | The direct sequel to Wii Sports. This game was often bundled with the Wii Motion Plus accessory. |
 Nintendo Switch Sports |
Nintendo Switch | The first new installment in the Wii franchise in nearly ten years and currently the only one on the Nintendo Switch. This game comes bundled with a Joy Con leg strap. |
Spin-offs
| Spin-offs of the Wii Sports series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Sports + Wii Sports Resort |
Wii | A compilation disc included with some Wiis in 2012 in America. |
 Pilotwings Resort |
Nintendo 3DS | A spin-off crossover between the Wii Sports series and the Pilotwings series on the 3DS, the game is an amateur flight simulation video game for the Nintendo 3DS, that takes place on the Wuhu island, linking it to the Wii Sports series. |
 Wii Sports Club |
Wii U | A remake of Wii Sports. This game was only digitally available with the sports having to be bought separately for a time, before a physical version with every sport included was released. |
Wii Play
Main article : Wii Play (series)
The Wii Play series is, similarely to the Wii Sports series, composed of games being compilation of multiple minigames, but as opposed to Wii Sports, most of them don't have a proper theme linking them together. The first game was focused on pointing the Wii Remote whereas its sequel is focused on twisting it to serve as a showcase of the Wii Motion Plus accesories. The series uses Miis in almost every minigames. This series never made it past the Wii console and is only composed of 2 games; Wii Play and it's sequel Wii Play Motion, both serving as showcases for the Wii Remote, a normal one being included with the first game and an a more advanced one that had a Wii Motion Plus build-it with the sequel.
| Games in the Wii Play series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Play |
Wii | The second game to be a part of the Wii franchise. This game was often bundled with a Wii Remote. |
 Wii Play Motion |
Wii | The direct sequel to Wii Play Motion. This game was often bundled with the Wii Motion Plus accessory. |
Wii Fit
Main article : Wii Fit (series)
The Wii Fit series is the second largest series in the Wii franchise, being composed of 3 main games : Wii Fit, an expended version called Wii Fit Plus, and a proper sequel called Wii Fit U, as well as two channels available to be installed on the player's Wii once the channel's game counter part was launched, the two channel being the Wii Fit Channel and the Wii Fit Plus Channel. The Wii Fit games were sold as exercising games, with multiple yoga lessons and fitness exercise being available next to minigames with Miis taking place on multiple location, most famously the Wuhu Island who was at the time called Wii Fit Island. The majority of the games have to be played with the Wii Balance Board.
Main games
| Main games in the Wii Fit series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Fit |
Wii | The third game to be a part of the Wii franchise. This game was often bundled with a Wii Balance Board. |
 Wii Fit Plus |
Wii | An expansion of Wii Fit. This game was also often bundled with a Wii Balance Board. |
 Wii Fit U |
Wii U | An expansion of Wii Fit Plus. This game just like its predecessor often came bundled with a Wii Balance Board, and some versions came bundles with a Fit Meter |
Spin-offs
| Spin-offs of the Wii Fit series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Fit Channel |
Wii | A smaller version of Wii Fit that can be installed in the games settings. Allows users to do their daily body test and edit their profiles. Adding new profiles, using guest, accessing the settings s on the main menu, and training all require the player to insert the disc |
 Wii Fit Plus Channel |
Wii | Exactly like the Wii Fit Channel, just with more things. Babies and Pets can do their measurements, and users can do their quick body test. Everything else requires the Wii Fit Plus disc to be in the console |
 Wii Fit U Quick Check |
Wii U | Very similar to the Wii Fit U Channel, just with more things. Users can now add their Fit Meter data to the game, and use the Fit Meter data. Everything else requires the Wii Fit U disc to be in the console. If the player has the full Wii Fit U game installed on their console, the app will simply prompt the player to launch the game. As of March 27, 2023, this app is now unavailable to download. |
Wii Party
Main article : Wii Party (series)
The Wii Party series is composed of 2 games, being Wii Party and its sequel Wii Party U. As their name would imply, The Wii Party games are party games focused on various multiplayer games, with one being sold for the Wii and the other one for the Wii U. In this series, the Miis takes the roles of the player's avatar as well as background characters, being put in various area and costume based of the mini-game currently being played.
| Games in the Wii Party series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Party |
Wii | A party game released for the Wii with multiple gamemode, some being somewhat similar to Mario Party and other being created specifically for the game. Thought not always being the case, the game sometimes was bundled with a Wii Remote. |
 Wii Party U |
Wii U | The direct sequel to Wii Party, with almost entirely new (mini)games. Just like Wii Party, it was sometimes bundled with a Wii Remote. Some bundles also had a stand to lift up the Wii U GamePad |
List of one-of games
Wii Music
Main article : Wii Music
Wii Music is a musical game, focusing primarily on arranging existing songs, most of which are in the public domain, by playing them as a Mii, with over 60 instruments being available to play by shaking the Wii Remote or pressing buttons.
| Wii Music | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Music |
Wii | A music focused game for the Wii. |
Wii Karaoke U by JOYSOUND
Main article : Wii Karaoke U by JOYSOUND
Wii Karaoke U by JOYSOUND (also known as Karaoke Joysound for Wii U or simply Wii Karaoke U) is a karaoke game developed by TOSE and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in 2012 in Japan and 2013 in Europe that has the core of it’s gameplay unavailable nowadays, as similary to the original release of Wii Sports Club, the game itself was free with the songs present in the game having to be purchased from the Wii U's eShop via a ticket system. The player had to purchase tickets to temporarly have access to songs, the time available ranging for 1 hour to a full day, with a a 30 day ticket also being available. Once the ticket bought, the player could select any song available on the service, but with the songs available changing between regions. With the end of the service, no sounds can be purchase nowadays.
As a Karaoke game, the users had to select the songs on the Wii U GamePad and designate a singer. The singer's Mii then would appear on the screen when their song was up. As the song was playing, the top of the screen displayed a music sheet with line indicating the tone that the player had to match while singing. The Mii sangs and danced on the rest of the screen with the lyrics being written in the middle. The game would also output the player's voice as they sang.
| Wii Karaoke U by JOYSOUND | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
 Wii Karaoke U by JOYSOUND |
Wii U | A karaoke game for the Wii U depicting the player's Mii singing in front of a crowd made out of Miis. |
Debatable inclusion
Due to the popularity of the Wii franchise, as well as being the name of the console in general, somes games and applications that have very little to do with the rest of the franchise, such as Wii Chess, Wii Panorama U and Wii Street U powered by Google, who are only linked to the Wii franchise by their name, leaving those games in a gray area concerning their inclusion in the Wii franchise.
Wii no Ma
Main article : Wii no Ma
Wii no Ma[Japanese title] (Wiiの間, Wii Room), was a japanese exclusive Wii channel available to be downloaded for free on the console bearing the same name that launched on the 1st May 2009. This channel was composed of multiple services such as a film rental service, a video-on-demand service, and a shopping service, all available via a japanese living room with Miis doing everyday things. Wii no Ma had its service ending on the 30th April 2012.
Wii Chess
Wii Chess is a chess game developed by Nintendo released exclusively in Europe on January 18, 2008 for the Wii. While this game was exclusive to Europe, Japan later got it as a WiiWare title under the name "通信対局 ワールドチェス", Tsūshin Taikyoku: World Chess", roughly translating to "Communication Game: World Chess" and was not a part of the Wii franchise over there. This game is rather odd as it does not feature Miis anywhere, not even as the save file or player's icon.
Wii Panorama U
TBA
Wii Street U powered by Google
TBA
Games linked to the Wii franchise
| Games linked to the Wii franchise | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game(s) cover(s) | Console | Description |
| File:SSBBCover.jpg Super Smash Bros. Brawl |
Wii | Super Smash Bros. Brawl, being a crossover between various Nintendo franchises, has two music tracks originally played in games in the Wii franchise that can be heard while playing on the Stage "Pictochat", the two music tracks being "Charge!" from Wii Play and "Opening Theme" from Wii Sports. |
 Personal Trainer: Walking |
Nintendo DS | The DS game Personal Trainer: Walking is closely linked to the Wii Fit series, as it is also an exercise game with Miis available. This game and Wii Fit Plus's game data could be sent to a real doctor. In one of the minigames called "Illuminate", multiple signs have the title "Mii Walk" written on them, either being a reference to the Wii franchise or an unconfirmed codename. |
 Mario Kart 7 |
Nintendo 3DS | The 3DS racing game Mario Kart 7 have two race tracks taking place Wuhu Island, the main setting of Wii Sports Resort : Wuhu Loop and Maka Wuhu. In addition to those two tracks, a battle course is also taking place on Wuhu Island, being Wuhu Town. Oddly enough, Wuhu Loop and Maka Wuhu are the only race tracks of Mario Kart 7 that never got ported to the mobile game Mario Kart Tour. |
  Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U |
Wii U / 3DS | Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, being crossovers between various Nintendo franchise, have represented several games in the Wii franchise. |
 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe |
Nintendo Switch | The Enhanced port of Mario Kart 8 released on the Nintendo Switch had amongst other changes, eight battle tracks added to the battle mode, as opposed to simply having race tracks like in the Wii U version of Mario Kart 8. Amongst those eight battle course is Wuhu Town from Mario Kart 7, now being set on daytime and having enhanced visual. |
 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate |
Nintendo Switch | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being a crossover between various Nintendo franchises, has represented several games in the Wii franchise. |
 Ring Fit Adventure |
Nintendo Switch | The Nintendo Switch game Ring Fit Adventure could be considered a spiritual successor of the Wii Fit series, as it also is an exercise game with a target audience of people who don't play video games often. An update released in March of 2020 added a new mode called "Rhythm Mode", which has the player move in rhythm to the music. Amongst the list of music tracks available are soundtracks from of other games created by Nintendo, such as Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, and a medley of Wii Fit music, with the lattermost being the only franchise without an installment released for the Nintendo Switch. |
Reception
The Wii franchise has achieved remarkable commercial success, with almost every single main game selling millions of copies. Notably, as of 2024, Wii Sports is currently the fourth best-selling video game in history and holds the distinction of being the top-selling video game exclusive to a single gaming console, helped by being a pack-in game at the launch of the Wii.
With the exception of some games, all titles in the franchise have been released worldwide, Wii Sports and Wii Play were the first two games of the seventh console generation to surpass 10 million units sold, Wii Sports having sold other 82 million sales, a significant portion of those coming from bundling.
Trivia
- Nintendo Switch Sports is the first main game in the franchise to:
- Not have Miis as the only playable characters.
- Not have "Wii" in the title.
