The N64 was an absolute powerhouse of multiplayer titles. There's a reason that it's remembered more fondly than the ps1 in the states (euro faggots will still bemoan why eurojank shovelware like croc isn't as much of a household name as mario), because no one wanted to have a party at the kid's house who had a ps1 and watch them play final fantasy, they went to the n64 kid's house to play goldeneye, smash, mario kart, pokemon stadium, etc. Despite ps1 outselling n64 almost 2:1 in the states (3:1 worldwide) I bet more people PLAYED an n64 as a kid because a single n64 would probably be used by every kid in the neighborhood.
Gamecube definitely benefited from this effect, to a lesser extent. Melee, double dash, the best version of SC2, but it also lacked things like goldeneye.
Wii brought a lot of this spirit back, but at the same time, the market was shifting away from couch multiplayer to online, though being so much cheaper than the competition and bringing in a new audience sent it to ridiculous success.
Wiiu however got the short end of the stick. Smash 4 has no identity. Mario Kart 8 is good, but wouldn't be great until the switch version. ZERO good mario parties. The gamepad's design constantly pushed assymetric games, which never caught on. The FOURTH nsmb. 3d world was good, but definitely scratches a 2d mario itch more than a 3d mario itch. No original Zelda, animal crossing, metroid, Kirby, fire emblem, and many more.
