After years of waiting Nintendo has finally revealed the next game in the Wii Sports franchise, Nintendo Switch Sports. Nintendo Switch owners will be able to experience one of the defining games of the Wii era with updated hardware. It looks to be almost everything that fans of the franchise have wanted, but it will be facing an uphill battle as it enters an already crowded market.
Wii Sports launched bundled with the Wii and was able to make its presence known quickly on the brand-new machine. The Nintendo Switch however is five years into its lifespan and only now Nintendo Switch Sports is being released. The console has become increasingly crowded with sports games, making it very difficult for Nintendo Switch Sports to have the same impact that Wii Sports had.
Nintendo has a lot of First Party Sports Titles
When Wii Sports launched it was the only sports game on the Wii. Wii owners got the game included with their console and were able to bowl, box, golf, play tennis, and play baseball with all of their friends. There was not much competition facing Wii Sports as every single owner of the Wii had it, and it was a launch title. Nintendo Switch Sports will not be able to release in a similar market as the Switch has become very crowded with sports games, and a lot of them come from Nintendo itself.
In 2018, Nintendo released Mario Tennis Aces, bringing tennis fans to the courts for wild rounds of golf as the Mario characters, Almost all the well-known Mario characters are here, even Waluigi makes the cut. Mario Tennis Aces takes the rules of Tennis and adds arcade mechanics like slow motion shots to the mix. The game was met with pretty good reviews and became the best-selling Mario Tennis game.
In 2021, fans of golf were treated to Mario Golf: Super Rush which lets players play golf with the entire Mario cast in fun and competitive golf game modes. Players can simply play a round of golf as Mario, or they can compete in wild modes like Speed Golf and Battle Golf. While the game received mixed reviews, it did provide golf fans a game to fill their time.
The latest Mario sports game to be announced for Switch is Mario Strikers: Battle League. Mario Strikers brings the Mario cast to the soccer field for some over-the-top soccer mayhem. The standard soccer gameplay is present here, but it turns it on its head as Mario Strikers introduces tackling, attacking, items that can be used, and an electric fence that keeps players on the field. The game has not been announced yet, but it will surely attract the attention of soccer fans.
Those three Mario sports games each fill a sport that is present in Nintendo Switch Sports; Mario Tennis Aces fills the need for Tennis, Mario Golf: Super Rush pulls in golf fans, and Mario Strikers: Battle League will grab the attention of soccer fans. That only leaves Nintendo Switch Sports with chambara, Bowling, Badminton, and Volleyball, but even those may be filled by third-party titles.
Nintendo eShop is Filled with Many Third-Party Sports Titles
The Nintendo eShop is filled to the brim with different sports games for players to check out. One of the biggest draws of Wii Sports was the bowling game, which Nintendo Switch Sports will be bringing back, but the eShop already has many decent bowling games. Knock 'Em Down! Bowling, PBA Pro Bowling 2021, and Strike! Ten Pin Bowling have all been received well and each delivers bowling for cheaper than Nintendo Switch Sports.
Also, on the Switch is Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 which provides a multitude of sports to play. If players want a Mario aesthetic then they can pick this up, it has both Mario and Sonic along with 30 other playable characters. While it does not include chambara, Mario & Sonic does provide Badminton and Volleyball, as well as Boxing which is missing from Nintendo Switch Sports.
There are many sports games both from Nintendo and third-party companies that are already vying for the attention of sports fans. Nintendo Switch Sports will have to provide something unique that none of these other sports games offer. It already has one advantage over the others, all the sports are bundled in one package. Fans will just have to wait and see if Nintendo Switch Sports can slice out a part of this crowded market for itself.
Nintendo Switch Sports releases on April 29, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.