EGM says Nintendo damaged the Wii brand, gives the console a 1/10 rating for 2011

There’s no question that 2011 was a down year for the Wii. In North America, Nintendo published just one game for the console in the first half of the year and there was a dearth of hardcore titles aside from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (some of you may/may not want to include Kirby as well.) It didn’t help that third-parties all but abandoned the Wii.

Because of this, along with Nintendo of America’s disappointing localization efforts, EGM has declared 2011 one of the worst year’s ever for the console. The magazine believed that Skyward Sword wasn’t enough repair the damage done to the Wii last year and gave it a 1/10 for its system rating.

In its Holiday Gift Guide feature, EGM wrote:

“Sure, we know the Wii U’s on its way next year…but that doesn’t mean the Wii had to be DOA this year. Nintendo’s absolutely complicit in this live burial – as the Operation Rainfall campaign has continually pointed out on Twitter, Facebook, and message boards for months. NOA had three excellent RPGs primed for release – Xenoblade Chronicles, Pandora’s Tower, and The Last Story – but didn’t bother to bring them Stateside in 2011, though Xenoblade’s finally coming next year. And it’s not like Nintendo’s a niche developer like Atlus or NIS America who can’t afford to splurge on a localization budget. Sorry, Nintendo – even an end-of-year gem like Skyward Sword can’t salvage the damage you did to the Wii brand this year.”

Thanks to Jake for the tip!