I just finished up my Wii set this week. I wanted to share my experience on completing such a huge library, my master list of all games as well as what I consider are rares for the system. This is kind of a mega post for Wii collecting. Although there has been a speculation thread or two on Wii, I don't think there's been a complete system overview. Everyone knows the ins and outs for the NES, SNES, N64, ect... but the Wii is still mostly uncharted.
First off, shout out to Johnny, The Questyen and XYZ here on Nintendoage, Kacydegamenerd (from youtube), thevgdb and retrothunder (from Instagram) they all have been a huge help with completing my set. I really appreciate the sharing of information on this.
My overview on the Wii:
How many Wii games are in a North American Set?
Total unique games in a North American Set is: 1266
A list of those game is linked here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadshe...
What does or doesn't that count?
My list counts all unique games for the system. Includes the three Spanish "Slang" NTSC released games.
It does not count:
- Variants (cover art, special editions, Nintendo selects)
- Demos (NFR or other demos)
- 2-Packs. By this I mean games that were packed together and have an outer-sleeve that holds the two Wii games together. An example of this is Wheel of Fortune/Jeopardy Bundle.
- Netflix disc. This is a fun Wii item to have. But it's not a game. So it's not counted towards a set.
My complete Wii list comes from a few sources. I've cross checked with a few other Wii collectors. Kacydegamenerd from youtube, thevgdb from Instagram, XYZ from here on NA and with my own collection. I've looked at what each person was missing and came up with a good master list. Also thanks to Johnny for helping me proof read it all. Anyways, I feel like this list is the most accurate on the internet for what is a complete set.
Is the Wii officially dead, with no more games coming out for it?
That's tough to answer. Only one game was released for the system in late 2016 (Just Dance 2017). I get a very strong feeling that no more releases will make it to the system.
Is it a good time to collect for the Wii?
Heck yeah! Any long time collector will tell you that the cheapest time to collect for a system is when it's at the low point. If I made up a graph it would show the Wii in a valley in terms of prices. When games are new they are expensive. After five or 10 years, the general public looks at those used games as old hat, no longer the new hot thing. They are collecting dust in closets and ready to be traded into gamestop, thrift stores, pawn shops or sold at garage sales. Now after a period of time, the kids that grew up with those systems start wanting to buy back their childhood, nostalgia kicks in high gear. Suddenly there is a spike in prices. Think N64. When I completed my N64 set in 2012, games were cheap. I average out at under $4.00 per game for a set. Heck I didn't pay over $45 for a single game. That included Bomberman Second Attack, Sculptors Cut, ect. Sure I had some good pick ups here and there, but still, that was during the systems low period. My point is, that's Wii right now. Gamestop has a shelves full of Wii games. A ton for under $5, many in the .99 cent - $3.99 range. Wait until they do a buy 2 get 1 free on used games. Over the next two or three years I'm sure gamestop will start to phase out the Wii selection. Simple reason is shelf space. Why keep Wii on the shelf if you can have Wii U and Switch in the same spot. So general public doesn't care about the Wii and the collecting community largely doesn't care about the Wii. That's the time to pick up games.
Why the Wii though?
Not just for the reason mentioned above. The Wii is a fascinating system. It sold over 100 million units. It was an insane success for Nintendo. No other Nintendo home system including the original Nintendo could touch it in sales. Think about that. Everyone had one (including my grandma). For me, I felt it would be an interesting challenge. The Wii was unexplored territory. Not many people have gone for a complete set. Yes, I can hear it now... so much shovel ware. To that I say sure, there's a ton of great games and a ton of shovelware, but that's cool. The crappy games tell an interesting story as well. I don't know how many times I came across a random Wii game and said to myself... "what the hell, they made this for the system?". That was part of the fun. I personally had never collected for a system this new. Go into any Walmart and you will still see a few Wii games on the shelf. I also had never collected for a set that had soooo many games. With a 1000+ unique titles. This set is four times the size of the N64 set.
What is my history with the Wii?
Let's start at the beginning, the launch of the Wii. The morning of the midnight launch I called Walmart, it was around noon and I ask if the system would be available and how many they had in stock. The clerk said yes, they had around 20ish in stock and there was already around 20ish people waiting outside the store. Well crap, I ran to my car, speed to the store and jumped in line. I had no time to plan, grab lunch or anything. I was in it for the long haul, even if that meant standing on a sidewalk for 12 hours. I counted about 23 people in line in front of me. I gave myself about 50/50 chance of going home with a Wii. An hour later a Walmart clerk came out to where everyone was standing. He had tickets in his hand, each one with a number. If you got a ticket you could come back at midnight and pick up your Wii. Tickets were getting dispensed, no problem, until they came to the lady with five kids about three people in front of me. Now she was putting up a stink "I need six tickets, one for me and one for each one of my kids". WTF?? I know this ladies game, she's a scalper. After the Wii was released they sold out everywhere for months, unless you wanted to pay $400-$600 on ebay. I and everyone behind me was about to riot, but thankfully Walmart had the common sense to limit it to one ticket per family. She was pissed and I was happy, as I got the second to last ticket. I went back at midnight, picked up Zelda, Excite Truck and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. I ended up playing games until I finally passed out at around three in the morning.
By 2014, I've acquired over 100 games over the life time of the Wii, lots of really fantastic titles, one's I've put countless hours into. In early 2015, I sold my collection to build a house, every game I owned found a new home, all as one huge lot. My Wii game count was back at zero.
My December of 2015 my new house was complete. I designated a spare space for the new game room. I spent the next year picking up Wii games I saw them. I detailed every single pick up in this thread:
http://nintendoage.com/forum/mess...
So there's a crapton of Wii games. Is anything rare?
Ah, rares. Yes, a bunch of Wii games came in very limited quantities. I've spent over a year compiling what I would consider the most accurate list of rare Wii games. Base off of current ebay listings, amazon listings and personal experience and I honestly don't think there is a better/more complete list on the internet. I've made a crappy youtube video on it
Top 40 Rare Wii Titles
In order from least to most rare. What's rare today, might not be tomorrow. Rarity changes often, but this is accurate as of January 2017. Keep an eye on these games, especially the top tier rares as they could be next to impossible to find in the years to come.
Some pics of the top 40 Rares:
40 - 31
30 - 21
20 - 11
10 - 1
My list:
What games are Uncommon, but didn't make the top 40?
Below are what I would consider 41 – 90. The list is probably less accurate as after you get out of the top 40, I care less in terms of exact list position. But I wouldn't be surprised if any of these games jump up in terms of rarity in the following years. I'm sure there are others that could be added to this list. Here what I have though for Uncommon Wii games:
What are some of the higher price more desirable but not super rare games?
Here's my list for that. This may not be complete, but is a good start for some of the more desirable, pricey games (not counting the ones mentioned in the "rares" list).
How about those Wiimotes. What's available?
Speaking of just 1
st Party Wiimotes. I've counted 12 unique colors. All 12 colors came as Wii motion plus. Four of those colors also came as non-Wii motion plus. Here's a picture:
What the heck does a complete set look like?
My complete Wii set:
Anymore pics?
As to no overload this thread with a bunch more pics, I put a few of my favorite Wii pictures that I've taken in this gallery:
http://imgur.com/a/5oeAN...
That's it. I welcome any questions. Thanks for taking a look everyone!
Collector's Quest Podcast 
http://goo.gl/xmzKR...
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