Mission: Unportable - how developers felt a call of duty to solve the Wii's hardware limitations

Or, when low power meets high hopes.

Throughout my childhood, I was late to each successive generation at a notable remove. I was faithful to my second-hand PlayStation 2, ignoring its rapturous whirring and percussive disc drive; I upgraded to the Nintendo Wii as many would. Adjusted for inflation, the PlayStation 3 commanded a sturdy $1,528 on launch - sorry for the scrutiny, PlayStation 5 Pro. Thus, no child of modest means could make an argument for ownership of this unwieldy barbecue, particularly when its most renowned titles would arrive in the latter days of its lifespan. Consequently, I had to catch up on the marquee franchises of this time outside of their moment in the zeitgeist: I charted the Mass Effect trilogy through its recent remaster, and the Halo series as it gradually unveiled itself on Steam. However, my latent FOMO meant that I was eager to experience these forbidden formats, seeking out the most perseverant ports of this time.

Publishers of this generation that hoped to capitalise upon the entire spectrum of hardwere were presented with three parallel pathways: to compromise, to convert, or to cease their efforts. Often, a studio would experience these stages of grief in successive steps, characteristed through Activision’s pyrrhic plight to establish Call of Duty as a premier brand on the Nintendo Wii. Though this platform was primarily targeted to families, the industry’s most valorised brand transcended the medium, becoming a shorthand for wanton shooting galleries and speculative military propaganda. Therefore, whenever Christmas came around, your nieces and nephews would use their Mii avatars to share a spot of tennis on Wii Sports; your edgier brother-in-law could sharpen his reflexes on Rust against those who managed to navigate the Wii’s spotty network.

The Wii Zapper encouraged players to learn the art of the crossbow, rather than wage modern warfare.

2006’s Call of Duty 3 was the first in the franchise to debut on the Wii, though it did not feature the series’ primary draw in its multiplayer mode. 2008’s World at War would remedy this omission through its introduction, providing players with the unique challenge of competing against both their opposing team and the steadiness of their sensor bar. Unfortunately, Nazi Zombies was relegated to its contemporaries in the PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows; this mode would later feature in Black Ops’ port. For its canny concessions, the series never quite endeared Wii owners: within the platform’s most successful titles, only World at War appears with less than 1 million sales to its name - one spot beneath Active Life: Outdoor Challenge. Evidently, its audience preferred streamlined, accessible experiences, rather than complicated, retrofitted additions to its competitive catalogue.

UItimately, the series bid farewell to Nintendo following Ghosts, swerving the company’s lost generation - ostensibly to return with their Switch successor, per Microsoft’s protracted Activision Blizzard acquisition. This was consistent with the third-party strategy writ large on the platform, wherein major publishers could not justify sacrificing their presentation on premium platforms to surfeit the Wii’s limitations. Though NBA Jam and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions managed to retain their essential comic qualities, titles of a more demanding design necessitated additional consideration. For instance, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was tailored for the platform’s motion controls, delivering condensed levels that eschewed its contemporaries’ advanced physics engine. Furthermore, multiplayer Jedi and Sith duals were featured, an inclusion exclusive to this edition. Just as the force is dependent upon balance, this port countered its concessions through additions intrinsic to the platform.

Aspyr would later remaster this edition of The Force Unleashed for the Nintendo Switch, though it is still not considered part of the mainstream Star Wars canon.

Again, this is not to condemn the Wii for its underpowered constitution. I would encourage owners (or emulators with limited data to download PS3 roms) to throw a few haymakers in Punch-Out!! or spin through Super Mario Galaxy before investing their time in games that either eluded the clutches of the Wii or appeared in a compromised form. If you want a break from Nintendo’s house style, perhaps the motion-controlled combat of The Godfather: Blackhand Edition would make for an offer you could strongly consider, yet freely refuse.

Similarly, games that were scaled to handheld platforms were further tweaked for its compact form, resulting in delightful creative curiosities. The Simpsons Game for the Nintendo DS, for example, featured a Tamagotchi Homer in place of a sandbox Springfield. Conversely, Tony Hawk’s Underground 2: Remix for the PSP not only ported the primary edition, but added new maps, characters, and cutscenes - however, the “Create-A-Park” feature was excised.

Today, the gulf separating the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S from its portable peers seems to be at once smaller and wider than before. This optical illusion can be owed to the challenges of optimisation, shader compilation, and file sizes; Hogwarts Legacy can run on the Nintendo Switch due to a thorough evaluation of each of its individual elements. For the majority of Triple A titles, this commitment is costly in both time and capital, potentially resembling Mortal Kombat 1’s derided reception. Unfortunately, in this commercial industry, charging $69.99 for a deeply compromised experience will draw ire towards its studio, rather than admiration for trying their best.