Today, there was a Nintendo Direct presentation that had plenty of surprises for Nintendo Switch owners and Nintendo fans in general. During the 40-minute showcase, Nintendo revealed the first trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, a new Mario soccer title, DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and even a new multiplayer sports title called Nintendo Switch Sports, an iteration on the classic Wii Sports game that launched with the Nintendo Wii back in 2006.
It's been quite some time since Nintendo put out another entry in the series, as Wii Sports Resort in 2009 was one of the last ones to be released. One of the main differences with this new entry though is that all the game modes will be available to play online with friends and randoms. Nintendo Switch Sports players will be able to earn points for playing matches online and use those points to unlock in-game rewards like outfits, gear, and other accessories for players' characters.
Nintendo confirmed in the reveal trailer for Nintendo Switch Sports that there will be six sports at launch, and additional ones will come later as part of a free DLC initiative. The games that come included are: Soccer, Volleyball, Bowling, Badminton, and Chambara, the latter being very similar to the Swordplay sport that's available in Wii Sports Resort. Of course, players will be using the motion controls of the Joy-Con controllers to perform actions like curving a bowling ball or putting a spin on a hard-hitting tennis shot. Nintendo also announced that a seventh sport will be added to the game in the fall of 2022, and that sport is Golf.
For folks that can't wait to get their hands on Nintendo Switch Sports later this spring, there's some good news that Nintendo shared. There will be an Online Play Test for the game running from February 18 to February 20, giving gamers the chance to try the game out for free. However, Switch owners won't be able to jump into the playtest whenever they like.
There are specific Play Test times available for Nintendo Switch Sports, which are listed down below for those interested. It's worth pointing out that only Tennis, Bowling, and Chambara random online matches will be available for players during the test period:
- February 18 - 7:00-7:45 pm PST
- February 19 - 3:00-3:45 am PST / 11:00-11:45 am PST / 7:00-7:45 pm PST
- February 20 - 3:00-3:45 am PST
Nintendo Switch Sports will launch on April 29, 2022.