The new generation is here, so I thought I would look back at the systems of the last generation and discuss some of the highlights these systems offered to each of us.  

The Wii

Hardware:

The baffeling name aside, the Nintendo Wii truly was a revolitionary piece of technology.  Motion controls had been hinted at in previous generations, but not integrated into the core experience like Nintendo did with the Wii.  Nintendo's focus on unique gameplay instead of graphics cause many gamers to scoff at them before the hardware came out, but in the end, the Wii approach was the more successful one.  The system itself was sleek and appealing and offered a different way to use a game system.  

The Wii broke into new markets and skyrocketted quickly into the top of the sales charts.  The system didn't stay on store shelves for long for the first couple years.  The motion controls on the Wii were new and word of mouth for the system was huge.  They also added gameplay changing peripherals as the system continued with the wii fit board and the motion plus attachment.  

In the end, the demand for the system was a quick burn.  It sold quicker than the others, but it also dropped off quicker than the others.  

Software:

The biggest part of any game system is its catalogue of games,  these are the 5 game series that defined my time with the Wii.

Wii Sports

It is interesting that this free pack in game probably sold more Wii's than anything.  These 5 simple sports games showed off how motion controls can be utilized to get people off their feet and into the game.  This is the game the spread the joy of the Wii around and it really was something.  You know a game is magical if you can get your 92 year old grandma playing it!

Wii Fit

Talk about breaking into new markets.  Before this game came out, video game consoles were synonimous with lazy, overweight people and the video games were looked at as a underlying cause.  Suddenly, video games could make you fit?  Soccer moms by thousands rushed their local electronic stores for this so that they could lose weight.  How many of them actually lose weight?  Probably not that many... but it was fun to play!  

Mario

Mario is Nintendo's mascot, so you can't really get a more defining experience than with Mario.  He definteily had his A game out for the Wii, with games like galaxy and NSMB we experienced the best the plumber had ever been.  I'm going to also include smash bro's and mario kart under the mario umbrella.  With Mario Kart being another one of those games that broke into new markets with motion racing controls.  

Zelda

The system launched with one of the darker Zelda's we have ever had in Twilight Princess.  It was ported up from the gamecube so it didn't necessarily use motion controls that well.  However, when skyward sword came out it utilized motion plus to create some of the best one to one swordplay in video games.  It also gave a whole new perspective on the Zelda storylines and was one of the best looking games of the generation, even if it wasn't in HD.  

Xenoblade Chronicles

Ah, the last Hurrah that almost wasn't.  Why Nintendo needed to be petitioned to bring this amazing gem of a game stateside is beyond me.  This game is quite frankly the best JRPG in a very long time.  The genre has been stagnant or degrading for a while now, and this game breathed new life into the genre for me.  The gameplay was amazing, the story was incredible, and the voice acting was top notch.  This is a game to buy the Wii for.  I loved it, and everything about it.  

So what are your fondest memories of the Wii?  What moments, games do you think defined the Wii?

Undoubtably will have the most classic games when people look back on these three systems years from now, favorites include Xenoblade Chronicles (about 20+ hrs in and I love it, I can't belieive such an impressive game is running on the Wii), both the Galaxies, Twilight Princess, SSB, Donkey Kong Returns, Sonic Colors and Mario Kart Wii.

A system that was a revolution (like the codename before 'Wii') in the beginning but went out with a whimper, the 'revolution' never really materialized.In the end, it wasn´t the 'second coming of the NES' I originally thought it could have been.

I haven´t played Mario 3D World yet, but so far it has, imo, the best 3D Mario and Mario Kart to date and I finally saw 2D platformers making a comeback.For those three reasons alone, the system is leagues better than the GC, imo.

Have you tried the last story yet?

Just bought it but wanna finish Xenoblade Chronicles and Lost Odyssey before I play it.

I have never been more wrong about a system. When I saw the Wii reveal I said "Nintendo has given up" and I was very sad. While the system never appealed to me the way it obviously did for the mass market, it did change gaming and the industry perhaps more than any console since the NES revitalize the whole thing.

I got my Wii the first month it was on retail and really loved it for the first 3 years or something. I bought lots of games, from niche titles such as Muramasa and Fatal Frame 2 to blockbusters such as Mario Kart and NSMB. The only "casual" game I ever bought was probably Boom Blox 2 (which by the way must have been the biggest inspiration for Angry Birds).
I loved that Nintendo brought back the old-school 2D platformers of the 90's with DKCR being the best of the genre since Yoshi's Island. Aside from the casual games that didn't appeal to me, Nintendo released some truly amazing games. They were better that gen than during the GameCube-era if you ask me. the Super Mario Galaxy games were the highlights for me last gen. The ability to play lots of older games through Virtual Console was fantastic (although I'm wondering if Nintendo lost the original code to Yoshi's Island).

On the other hand, I believe the Wii is a reason why the Wii U is struggling at the moment. I'm pretty sure most Wii owners except the casuals and the most die-hard Nintendo fans used it as their secondary console, which means that the HD twins got the most attention from the so-called core gamers. The casuals are now too busy playing on their phones, tablets and whatever, and everyone except the biggest Nintendo fans are ready to upgrade to a PS4 or an XONE. The fact that Nintendo basically left the Wii to die at the beginning of 2011 surely didn't help the transition to the Wii U either.

Yeah finish xenoblade first, but I think you should play last story before lost odyssey.  Last story is much better than lost odyssey.  It is up there with xenoblade maybe even equal to it.  Those are my 3 favorite jrpgs this gen though