Meet Malta’s largest Wii games collector

An impassioned gamer is on a mission to collect every Wii game ever made.

Dominic Tringali is already most likely to be Malta’s largest collector of games for this console. He owns just over 1,000 of the 1,600 unique titles made for the Nintendo console over 15 years. 

Having lived in Malta since 2014, Tringali, who is a Japan-born American, keeps a log of his collection and all the titles he has yet to source in a Mario book, an official red diary featuring the famous Italian plumber.

“Whenever I find one, I can mark it off my list. I get excited,” he said. 

Born in 1985 in Tokyo, the same year as the release of Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Tringali grew up playing video games, naturally gravitating towards Nintendo consoles and games.

“I always thought video games were a great way to bond with someone instantaneously,” he said. Growing up in America after moving from Japan, Tringali would invite his friends over for a few Mario Kart circuits.

However, in 2006, Tringali’s love for the Japanese company would reach new heights with the release of the Wii. 

For Tringali, it is just about the thrill of the hunt.

The company’s fifth major console, the Wii revived Nintendo within the gaming industry as both major gaming competitors, Microsoft and Sony, tried to copy the console’s spatial gimmick. The Wii was eventually discontinued in 2013 as Nintendo focused on their next generation of consoles.

Unlike other consoles, the Wii utilised motion controls which instantly made it intuitive to all generations. Because of it, the Wii outsold the combined sales of Sony and Microsoft’s consoles in its launch period, shipping nearly 3.2 million units before the year was out.

“It was the kinaesthetic, physical controls of the Wii that drew me in,” he said.

From a hobby to a mission

At first, the console was like any other for the Nintendo fan, using it to play games such as Wii Sports and Mario Kart purely for enjoyment, but after hitting 50 games, the gamer realised that a small collection was growing.

“At 200 I was like: I’m just going to go for all of them.”

Yet, despite his passion to tick every game off his list, Tringali has left many of the games untouched and unplayed, sitting on his shelf still in their plastic wrapping.

Despite being widely known as a family-friendly console, the Wii is not without its adult-rated content. We Dare is a mature party game that was marketed as a sexy and quirky game for partners that led to its release being cancelled in the US and UK and making it one of the rarer games on the console.

“I bought it in Malta,” Tringali exclaimed.

Constantly scouring sites such as Facebook Marketplace to find local sellers who are undervaluing their items, Tringali said it is the thrill of the hunt that keeps it exciting.

“The impressive thing for me is not the size of my collection, it’s that I acquired it for next to no money.

“I found a guy locally in Malta who sold me a copy of Klonoa for €5 and that game is easily over €100 in value.

“It makes me sound really shady,” he smiled, but Tringali said his responsibility is collecting and not valuing other people’s stuff as he tries to complete his collection as cheaply as possible.

With no idea when the collection will be completed, neither does Tringali have an idea what he will do once his Mario diary has nothing left to be ticked. But, if that day ever arrives, the collection might exchange hands as the collector sees the numerous discs as “just things”.

As to how much he would sell them for, Tringali valued his current collection at around €13,000, a price that would see the thrifter make a profit.

Tringali valued his current collection at around €13,000.