9 Best Things About Nintendo Switch Sports
One of the games that made the Nintendo Wii a classic was Wii Sports, released in 2003 as the Wii’s first pack-in title. An instant smash success, Wii Sports was a collection of multiplayer sports minigames simulating boxing, baseball, golf, tennis, and bowling.
Wii Sports and its 2009 sequel, Wii Sports Resort, introduced people who had never been gamers to video games. After a string of successful fitness-themed titles like RingFit Adventure and Fitness Boxing, the question of a motion-control multi-sports title on the Switch was not “if,” but “when.” The answer was May, 2022 when Nintendo Switch Sports hit store shelves.
9 A Variety Of Games Means Something For Everyone
On release, Nintendo Switch Sports featured two racquet sports in tennis and badminton, two ball-based team sports in volleyball and soccer, plus bowling and sword fighting. The last brings an American Gladiators flair to the game, being fought on a platform over a swimming pool.
With such a variety of games, there is bound to be a mode that can become every player’s go-to. The game features customization rewards and ladder-based competition for every skill level. As with its predecessors, Nintendo Switch Sports encourages players to experiment to find their comfort zone.
8 Easy Leveling And Obvious Incentives Make Customization Rewarding
Earning points after every game, win or lose, makes playing Nintendo Switch Sports its own reward. Play rewards vary intuitively based on the length of a game. 100 points earns a level up, and every level gains the player a random reward from a grouping of collectibles.
With customization drawing from the pool of collectibles that the player wins over time, Nintendo Switch Sports incentivizes length of play. It also reminds players to take breaks, with reminder screens popping every hour. With only a few days of play, every player’s Nintendo Switch Sports avatar can quickly grow into a customized avatar of their idealized self.
7 Challenge Or Casual, Switch Sports Is Appealing To All
Whether players are looking for a leisurely game of bowling or a cutthroat tennis or Chambara match, Nintendo Switch Sports caters to all tastes. The variety of game experiences available in Switch Sports allows players to tailor their game choices to their own tastes.
After a short introductory period, players will be able to customize their matchmaking to their three favorite games or focus on a single favorite. The latter is helpful for the bowling mode. Bowling’s 16-player online matchmaking tends to take longer than other modes to build a game.
6 The Sports Are Carefully Chosen For A Global Experience
The inclusion of soccer makes the global mission of Nintendo Switch Sports visible at first glance. Switch Sports is designed to include the entire world, and there is no greater symbol of this than including the world’s foremost team sport. Every sport in Switch Sports is chosen for broad appeal.
Volleyball and bowling likewise are global sports with broad appeal. Tennis and badminton are included to appeal to Westerners, being highly popular sports that originated in Western Europe. This gives the game added appeal in North America, the market which made Nintendo a name with global appeal and cachet three and a half decades ago.
5 Motion Controls Designed For Small Spaces
Nintendo has two decades of experience designing motion controls for video games. Starting with the development cycle of the Wii in the early 2000s, Nintendo has ground all of the rough edges off of their motion-control gaming experience, and what’s left is tightly optimized and highly responsive.
Nintendo has always designed with home living rooms in mind, where space tends to be at a premium. Their motion controls work equally well lwith short, flicking movements as with wide sweeps, so gamers with smaller game rooms will still find themselves both included and challenged by the title.
4 Bowling Is A Nintendo Sports Comfort Classic
One of the most popular modes in the original Wii Sports was bowling. A popular game mode for players of all ages, there were many players for whom Wii Sports simply was a bowling game. The competitive online bowling game in Nintendo Switch Sports is a survival-bracket experience, allowing unlucky players to drop out early to try again.
By letting players opt-out when they no longer have a chance to come back in the online arena, bowling makes sure that frustration never lingers. In the same way, in-room multiplayer permits bowlers of all skill and ability levels to compete in a friendly and low-stress way.
3 There Is Clear Room For Expansion
Several of the widely-praised modes for the original Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort are noticeably missing in the new game. With six sports on release, and only three drawn from the original two games, Nintendo Switch Sports has obvious room to add new game modes.
All of the powersports from the highly-rated Wii Sports Resort are missing from Switch Sports on launch, making them obvious opportunities for addition later. In addition, the original’s widely praised baseball mode isn’t present in Switch Sports on launch, being perhaps the most obvious room for addition besides the promised golf expansion.
2 Old Favorites Plus New Sports Equals Instant Classic
Of the six sports featured in Nintendo Switch Sports at launch, two, bowling and tennis, come from the classic Wii Sports; one, Chanbara (a swordfighting mode), come from its sequel, Wii Sports Resort; and three, volleyball, badminton, and soccer, are new to the series. This has created new and exciting challenges for players used to Nintendo’s classic sports offerings.
With badminton being widely praised as an instantly accessible simulation, the new games are an immediate fit for the title. Both volleyball and badminton are sparkling simulations of their respective games, with controls intuitive to anyone who has ever played either game.
1 Miis Make A Comeback, Sort Of
One of the criticisms leveled at Switch Sports when it was announced in late 2021 was the use of cartoon-styled player avatars rather than the highly stylized Miis seen in the Wii and WiiU iterations of Wii Sports and WiiFit.
Switch Sports players have the option of using Mii characters, which were introduced to the Switch generation in games like Miitopia. In Switch Sports, much like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Mii avatar is limited to the head of the character and replaces the head customization. While imperfect, the mode is available for those who want it.
Read Next
About The Author
