Overall I like the Wii's library too. Previously well documented, yeah I fell for some shovelware early on (Wii Play anybody?), but much like Jim I think it stemmed from wanting to incorporate my Miis into the fun as well. Even so though, to write the Wii off is wrong IMHO. You just need to take a closer look these days.
There's plenty of good commercial and third party stuff out there for parties, even through WiiWare: Game Show King, Tetris Party, Dr. Mario are all worth the price. Then you factor in Mario Kart, Wii Sports, Raving Rabbids, etc. and you've got what you were looking for.