Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Back in the day, it was an incredibly common practice for gamers everywhere. Whenever a brand new video game system would come out, you would inevitably box up your old hardware and trade it in. For example, going from the original 8-bit NES to the 16-bit Super Nintendo, you sold your NES at the local game shop to help pay for that shiny new system, especially since backwards compatibility simply wasn't a standard feature back then. The new console didn't play the old cartridges, so why keep it? But did you ever reach a specific point in your gaming journey where you finally stopped doing that? I certainly did. And for me, that massive shift in how I approached retro game collecting dates all the way back to one specific console. And the Nintendo Wii was the system that marked an end to my purchase strategy, and I stopped trading old gaming systems for new ones after it.
This right here is my original, launch-day Nintendo Wii. And yes, it does have a custom DecalGirl wrap on it specifically designed to make it look exactly like a classic Nintendo Entertainment System. This is my actual launch day system from all the way back in 2006. It is crazy to think that this console is now twenty years old! Goodness, time flies. This was such a profoundly great system for me for so many different reasons, but the biggest reason involves family. My oldest daughter and I bonded very much over this exact console. Back then, she was only around four or five years old, but we spent countless hours playing titles like Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii, and a whole lot of other fantastic multiplayer games together. EA's Playground was another absolute favorite, a game that we genuinely still love playing to this very day. Seeing her grow up from a little kid swinging a Wiimote to now being an adult in her 20s and moving into her own new apartment with her boyfriend, those early multiplayer gaming memories we built together on this Nintendo Wii mean absolutely everything to me.
Beyond the amazing family memories, this Nintendo Wii was also incredibly significant because it was the very first console that I ever did any serious modding or hacking to. I successfully soft-modded this console so that I could go ahead and connect a massive external hard drive to it. This allowed me to basically back up all of my physical discs directly onto that hard drive. I didn't want my young daughter accidentally scratching our favorite games, so this digital backup method really helped protect our growing collection. I will also freely admit that I utilized this soft mod to run various retro emulators. Having instant access to classic games from the NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance allowed me to go ahead and relive all those incredible games that I had played in the past. Combine that with Nintendo's phenomenal official Virtual Console, and there was just so much endless fun packed into this machine.
For me, this Nintendo Wii represents the definitive start of stopping. It was the exact moment I stopped trading in my older systems towards the next generation of hardware. Now, my hardware journey wasn't perfect after this. I did have a backwards-compatible fat PlayStation 3, but unfortunately, it got bricked from a firmware update directly from Sony. So, I had to replace it with the first-generation PS3 Slim, which I still have today. Since the Wii era, I have successfully kept everything! I have my PS4, my PS5, my Wii U, my Switch, Switch OLED, Switch Lite, and more.
But it all traces back to the Nintendo Wii. Ironically, to actually afford this launch-day Wii back in 2006, I originally traded in my GameCube and either my PS2 or DS. Fortunately, I have since corrected that mistake! I now have both of those systems back in my RoXolid Productions studio collection today. Not the exact same original units, sadly, but beautiful working versions nonetheless.
What about you? Do you remember what the very last system was that you purposefully did not trade in towards the next generation of hardware? What was the console that you ultimately kept because you absolutely loved the gaming library? Again, for me, it was this iconic Nintendo Wii. I absolutely love this platform. Let me know your stories down below in the comments!
#NintendoWii #RetroGaming #GameCollecting #Nintendo #WiiSports #MarioKartWii #DecalGirl #WiiModding #VirtualConsole #GameCube #PlayStation2 #SuperNintendo #SegaGenesis #RetroGamer #RoXolidProductions #GamingMemories #Nostalgia #ConsoleGaming #NintendoSwitch #GameCollector
Back in the day, it was an incredibly common practice for gamers everywhere. Whenever a brand new video game system would come out, you would inevitably box up your old hardware and trade it in. For example, going from the original 8-bit NES to the 16-bit Super Nintendo, you sold your NES at the local game shop to help pay for that shiny new system, especially since backwards compatibility simply wasn't a standard feature back then. The new console didn't play the old cartridges, so why keep it? But did you ever reach a specific point in your gaming journey where you finally stopped doing that? I certainly did. And for me, that massive shift in how I approached retro game collecting dates all the way back to one specific console. And the Nintendo Wii was the system that marked an end to my purchase strategy, and I stopped trading old gaming systems for new ones after it.
This right here is my original, launch-day Nintendo Wii. And yes, it does have a custom DecalGirl wrap on it specifically designed to make it look exactly like a classic Nintendo Entertainment System. This is my actual launch day system from all the way back in 2006. It is crazy to think that this console is now twenty years old! Goodness, time flies. This was such a profoundly great system for me for so many different reasons, but the biggest reason involves family. My oldest daughter and I bonded very much over this exact console. Back then, she was only around four or five years old, but we spent countless hours playing titles like Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii, and a whole lot of other fantastic multiplayer games together. EA's Playground was another absolute favorite, a game that we genuinely still love playing to this very day. Seeing her grow up from a little kid swinging a Wiimote to now being an adult in her 20s and moving into her own new apartment with her boyfriend, those early multiplayer gaming memories we built together on this Nintendo Wii mean absolutely everything to me.
Beyond the amazing family memories, this Nintendo Wii was also incredibly significant because it was the very first console that I ever did any serious modding or hacking to. I successfully soft-modded this console so that I could go ahead and connect a massive external hard drive to it. This allowed me to basically back up all of my physical discs directly onto that hard drive. I didn't want my young daughter accidentally scratching our favorite games, so this digital backup method really helped protect our growing collection. I will also freely admit that I utilized this soft mod to run various retro emulators. Having instant access to classic games from the NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance allowed me to go ahead and relive all those incredible games that I had played in the past. Combine that with Nintendo's phenomenal official Virtual Console, and there was just so much endless fun packed into this machine.
For me, this Nintendo Wii represents the definitive start of stopping. It was the exact moment I stopped trading in my older systems towards the next generation of hardware. Now, my hardware journey wasn't perfect after this. I did have a backwards-compatible fat PlayStation 3, but unfortunately, it got bricked from a firmware update directly from Sony. So, I had to replace it with the first-generation PS3 Slim, which I still have today. Since the Wii era, I have successfully kept everything! I have my PS4, my PS5, my Wii U, my Switch, Switch OLED, Switch Lite, and more.
But it all traces back to the Nintendo Wii. Ironically, to actually afford this launch-day Wii back in 2006, I originally traded in my GameCube and either my PS2 or DS. Fortunately, I have since corrected that mistake! I now have both of those systems back in my RoXolid Productions studio collection today. Not the exact same original units, sadly, but beautiful working versions nonetheless.
What about you? Do you remember what the very last system was that you purposefully did not trade in towards the next generation of hardware? What was the console that you ultimately kept because you absolutely loved the gaming library? Again, for me, it was this iconic Nintendo Wii. I absolutely love this platform. Let me know your stories down below in the comments!
#NintendoWii #RetroGaming #GameCollecting #Nintendo #WiiSports #MarioKartWii #DecalGirl #WiiModding #VirtualConsole #GameCube #PlayStation2 #SuperNintendo #SegaGenesis #RetroGamer #RoXolidProductions #GamingMemories #Nostalgia #ConsoleGaming #NintendoSwitch #GameCollector
