In the meantime, let’s tell them which ones we want
Nintendo recently started selling full Wii games on the Wii U eShop, leaving only the GameCube’s library off the list of Nintendo’s past home console titles that you can play (officially) on the system. Other than faster load times for some games like Metroid Prime Trilogy, these Wii re-releases haven’t received any improvements since they were originally put on the market, but people are still darn excited about them, sometimes more than they were when the games were first introduced. I think that may have something to do with the Wii U’s underdog image, but that’s a topic for another time.
I reached out to Nintendo to see if third-party Wii games might be coming to the Wii U eShop anytime soon, and it didn’t have comment. My guess is that’s either because it’s planning on rolling out third-party games on the service with the announcement of some fan favorite like No More Heroes or Resident Evil 4, or third parties just aren’t interested in getting their old Wii games on Nintendo’s new console. That would be a shame, because the Wii was packed with the kinds of third-party games that would have sold great on Steam, PSN, and XBLA. Having them available for download on a system with a relatively small install base but a great attach rate might be the perfect way to give them new life.
If third parties do start putting Wii games on the Wii U eShop, which would you want them to start with? My short list includes Little King’s Story, Muramasa (preferably with the new DLC from the Vita port), MadWorld, No More Heroes 1 & 2, Lost in Shadow, Fragile Dreams, Trauma Team, Geometry Wars: Galaxies, Zack and Wiki, A Boy and his Blob, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, though I assure you that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
