Nintendo has announced the next game in the Wii Sports franchise. Nintendo Switch Sports. After years of waiting, Nintendo Switch owners will finally be able to play a fun collection of various sports and compete against their friends. It will feel like a return to the Wii era of gaming for many, but something about Nintendo Switch Sports feels off.
Nintendo Switch Sports is the fourth entry in the very popular Wii Sports series, two games were released on the Wii and one was released on the Wii U. Each game was created to showcase motion controls and were not very advanced games. Now Nintendo Switch Sports is taking that concept and turning it into a more advanced AAA game, leaving the aspects that made the Wii Sports series behind.
Nintendo Switch Sports is Lacking the Personality of Wii Sports
When it was released, Wii Sports was a showcase of the Wii motion controls. It was a pretty bare-bones game that was bundled with the Wii and allowed players to play against each other in five different sports. Each sport was meant as a way to show off what could be done with the motion controls, boxing also showed off the Wii Nunchuck. The graphics were lacking, the gameplay was not that advanced, and there just was not much to the game, but it was also charming for it.
Nintendo Switch Sports promises to continue the fun of the Wii Sports series, but it seems to have lost the majority of the charm the series is known for. The focus on utilizing Miis to play the various sports has vanished, replaced with avatars that do not look that special or unique, they look more like Xbox Avatars. Mii support still exists in the game, but the focus has been moved to these new avatars, even the Miis look very similar to them. One of the major aspects of Wii Sports was playing as Miis and that aspect has seemingly been moved away from.
The graphics of Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort were never very advanced, but it made up for it with fun gameplay. Players turned on these games not to be wowed by the graphics that the Wii could deliver but by the fun motion control mayhem that each sport offered. Nintendo Switch Sports is moving away from the drab settings of Wii Sports and replacing them with better-constructed locales. While there is nothing wrong with improving the graphics, part of the Wii Sports charm was the lack of quality graphics.
The majority of the sports seem to maintain a similar look and feel to those in Wii Sports. However, one of the new sports, Soccer, looks much more like Rocket League with avatars than a Wii Sports sport. The game has a giant soccer ball in a giant field with teams chasing it which already shares similarities to Rocket League, but what really cements this feel is the camera angles and look of the ball. It looks very much like Nintendo's version of Rocket League and not a sport that someone would play on Wii Sports thus losing its unique feel.
Nintendo Switch Sports Needs more Sports
At launch, Nintendo Switch Sports will have five different sports for the player to mess around in. These sports are soccer, volleyball, bowling, tennis, badminton, and chambara. Post-launch the game will be receiving an update that adds golf to the mix. All of these sports sound great, but the game is missing some fan favorites, and it has seven less at launch than the previous entry in the series, Wii Sports Resort.
While Nintendo Switch Sports may receive post-launch DLC adding sports, the omission of certain sports at launch is noticeable. The original Wii Sports had bowling, tennis, boxing, baseball, and golf for players to enjoy. While Nintendo Switch Sports will include tennis, bowling, and golf it is missing the other two fan-favorite sports of boxing and baseball. Wii Sports Resort had a total of thirteen different sports while Nintendo Switch Sports will only have six at launch, seven after a free update.
Currently, Nintendo Switch Sports does not really feel like the next iteration of the Wii Sports series. It is missing the personality of Wii Sports and a portion of the sports from previous games. Fans of the series will have to wait and see if all that holds true when the game launches on April 29. For now, all they can do is speculate and participate in the online stress test on February 18 to get a feel for the game themselves.
Nintendo Switch Sports releases April 29, 2022 for the Nintendo Switch