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The six-year lifespan of the Nintendo Wii produced hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of games, but not necessarily for the better. That's because most of them were cheaply-made forms of shovel-ware that usually ended up in a department store bargain bin (if they hadn't started there to begin with), but not all Wii titles are bound to this fate. The 15 games seen here are the biggest of the big ticket items in the Wii's library. Some will surprise you, others are expected additions, but all of them could make you (or cost you) a nice chunk of change if put up for sale on the collector’s market.
Guilty Gear Accent Core XX Plus
New: $100
The Wii's unique Wii Remote and Nunchuk controller setup wasn't exactly built for fighting games like Guilty Gear, which made the existence of Accent Core XX Plus all the more surprising. The game tried to implement force-based motion controls, but most players just used the way more familiar Classic Controller to get their fight on. The understandable apprehension in buying a fighter on the Wii has made a new, sealed copy of Guilty Gear particularly hard to find, so expect to pay a fair amount more than usual if you intend to pick it up after all these years.
Hot Wheels: Beat That
New: $60.24
When you stop to think about it, the Hot Wheels collectors community is a truly strange and magical place. To be compelled to pay thousands of dollars for plastic toy cars, some of which cost more than buying a brand new motor vehicle, you quite literally need to have more money than sense. In comparison, 60 dollars for a Hot Wheels video game comes across as a slightly less ridiculous purchase, but not by much. This is another strange instance where the unopened Wii version has accrued bizarre amounts of value, which apparently gets obliterated as soon as the box is contaminated without any shrink-wrap to protect it. If you care little for polymer plastic casing, though, you can nab a used edition for less than a fiver.
Xenoblade Chronicles
New: $44.49
Of all the games on this list, this one might be the only to come with a justifiable price. Xenoblade Chronicles has been heralded by many as the Wii’s epic swansong, and an English localization was hotly anticipated for years after the game’s 2010 release in Japan. By the time fan demand had finally spurred Nintendo to release the game stateside, two years had elapsed, and the limited launch came and went with surprisingly little fanfare. If you were astute enough to pick up a copy, you should give thanks to the intuitions of your younger self, because Chronicles will remain a treasured piece for a long time to come.
Godzilla Unleashed
New: $59.99
If Pacific Rim has taught us anything, it's that there's a place in the world for skyscraper-sized kaiju battling it out with the fate of the planet at stake. That surge in popularity may have contributed to Godzilla Unleashed's rise in value, as a mint copy is now as much as a newly released triple-A title. The game supports up to 4 players in local monster-bashing action, with three main kaiju factions and loads of monsters to choose from, including the original 1954 Godzilla that started it all. Act soon if you want to get in on some kaiju carnage, as the game won’t be around forever.
Dokapon Kingdom
New: $98.44
Dokapon Kingdom actually looks like a lot of fun. It's a shame, then, that it costs so much money, with some sellers even flogging the disc and nothing else for over $200 online. Dokapon Kingdom is a port of a PS2 game that blended board game and RPG elements together, with a cutesy coat of anime paint. Think Mario Party, but with knights instead of plumbers and battles instead of mini games. Like many Atlus titles, it had a limited print run, and when you combine rarity with quality, the market value can only go in one direction. Up.
F1 2009
Used: $32
What is it about the Wii version of multiplatform games that bestows over-inflated value? One thing’s for sure, it can’t be the graphics. While they’re perfectly serviceable running on the Nintendo console, they paled in comparison to other contemporary titles on PS3 and Xbox 360. Developer Codemasters apparently took this to heart, because from 2009 on, the Wii has been completely excluded from the F1 franchise, making 2009 the last Formula One Wii game of its kind. Collectors are therefore keen on snapping up the last in a series before they become increasingly difficult to find.
Walk It Out
Mint: $34.73
Fore those of us who have never played Walk It Out before, the box art alone is enough to make you cringe, and it only goes downhill from there. In what is possibly the most painfully boring game ever made, the player literally marches in place on a Wii Balance Board or dance mat to simulate a walk through a park. Yet it seems that some buyers would gladly spend a great deal on what is, in our estimation, another piece of Wii shovelware, than take an actual walk in an actual park for free. If you've got the money, you can purchase Walk It Out for around $30 in new condition. That’s $30 too much if you ask me.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
New: $89.99
We're not surprised Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is one of the most expensive games on the Wii. After all, it launched at a time when players in the West had barely heard of the series, with no idea of much they’d grow to love its unique blend of strategy and action. Yes, Marth and Roy super smashed their way into our hearts a few years before, but few had played a true Fire Emblem game beyond Path of Radiance on GameCube and a few other GBA games. It wasn't until Shadow Dragon released on the DS that Fire Emblem began to make its mark, culminating in the excellent Awakening in 2013. If Radiant Dawn launched now instead of 2007, it’s almost certain that many more copies would have sold.
Used: $10
If you so desired, you could easily open up a new tab in your browser and find a free version of chess within milliseconds. So why anyone would willingly go to the trouble of tracking down a Wii chess game, especially one that had a limited release and is now near impossible to find with the shrink wrap still intact, is beyond me . And I say that as a chess lover. True, Fritz seems about as cool as chess games can get, with its ability to recreate historical matches against the likes of Garry Kasparov and Paul Morphy (big names in professional chess, if you were wondering), but it's still just a chess simulator at the end of the day. Used copies are currently going cheap, but there aren’t many, so make your move now if you’re interested.
Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore
New: $45.90
Were Simon Cowell in charge of reviewing this game, which features his own likeness and voice alongside Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, I imagine he’d have hit the buzzer before reaching the main menu. Gamers seem to agree, with brand-new PS2 versions of the game now retailing for less than $2. And yet, against all reason, an unopened copy of the Wii version will cost you over 20 times that. Konami has since ditched the American Idol branding, so there's no chance that this game will ever see another instalment, but still, that kind of rarity can’t explain the ridiculous inflation jacking up the Wii game's preposterous price tag.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
New: $90
Brace yourself, because here’s where it gets a bit confusing. Despite what the name would suggest, this fighting game is not part of the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai franchise, and therefore isn't a part of the more recent and readily available Budokai: HD Collection. Whereas Budokai was developed by Dimps, the Budokai Tenkaichi series is the work of Japanese developer Spike. Prior to 2010, Atari handled the publishing duties for Tenkaichi in the states, before eventually handing the keys to Namco Bandai. That means that the few copies already out there are now and forever the only copies, as exemplified by the exorbitant rates online for sealed copies. I told you it was confusing.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Limited Edition Bundle
New: $158
Surprise! A Zelda title has made its way onto a most valuable list for a Nintendo system! You're all shocked, I bet. Usually, the popularity of the series makes each game readily available online, but this particular box is different. This is the limited edition Skyward Sword that launched with a golden Triforce-themed Wii Remote, as well as a sampler CD of the Zelda Symphony Orchestra. They were only available during the initial shipment of Skyward Sword, and when they were gone, that was it. Zelda collectors that might have missed the essential package are more than willing to open their wallets for a second chance, so don't be surprised if the price goes even farther skyward as time goes on.
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure
New: $85
Anime games have an unfortunate history of doing poor-to-okay sales at release, before becoming increasingly hard to find as fans quickly snap up the remaining copies. The One Piece brawler is one such game, offering a fun mix of beat-em-up action and a healthy assortment of playable characters to do battle with. Followers of the show adored the game while everyone else ignored it, which led Namco Bandai to abandon a western release of the sequel, One Piece: Unlimited Cruise. Fast forward to today, and One Piece remains the only Wii game of the franchise available in the states, which leaves unlucky customers facing an above-average asking price.
Metroid Prime Trilogy
New: $299.99
Even for one of the most important series in gaming history, $300 is a lot of money. This compilation revamped the GameCube’s Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes with some features seen in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, then plopped all three stellar games onto a single Wii disc. Dubbed a Collector's Edition even though it was the only version of its kind, the collection even came in a spiffy tin case. Nintendo, in true Nintendo fashion, severely underestimated demand for the compilation, and hungry collector’s are now left with a huge hole in their pockets with any bids to pick it up in perfect condition.
My Horse and Me: Riding for Gold
Used: $79.99
Come on, guys. Just because it's rare doesn't mean you should pay the price of a Kindle Fire for a used game about horses. You're better than this. My Horse and Me's rarity is once again courtesy of Atari, who discontinued publishing the game after its licensing agreement with the International Federation for Equestrian Sports expired (I’m not joking). You are now looking at the $79.99 shaped result of that divorce, and it’s not a pretty sight.
