is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in North America along with the Wii on 19 November 2006, and in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month. It was included as a pack-in game with the console in all territories except Japan and Korea, making it the first sports game included with the launch of a Nintendo system since Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy in 1995. The game was later released on its own as part of the Nintendo Selects collection of games.
Wii Sports is a collection of five sports simulations designed to demonstrate the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote. The five sports included are tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. Players use the Wii Remote to mimic actions performed in real-life sports, such as swinging a tennis racket or rolling a bowling ball. The rules for each game are simplified to make them more accessible to new players. The game also features training and fitness modes that monitor players' progress in the sports.
Wii Sports was well-received by critics and audiences, and is considered one of the greatest games of all time. It was also a commercial success, selling 82 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Nintendo video game, as well as the fourth-best-selling video game of all time and the best-selling game exclusive to one console. It has been featured on television in Wii commercials, news reports, and other programming. The game has become a popular means for social gatherings and competitions among players of varying ages.
On 25 June 2009, a sequel, Wii Sports Resort, was released, which contained 12 sports, 10 of which were not seen in the original. A high-definition (HD) remake of Wii Sports titled Wii Sports Club was released on 11 July 2014 for the Wii U. Another sequel, Nintendo Switch Sports, was released for the Nintendo Switch on 29 April 2022.
Gameplay
Wii Sports consists of five separate sports games—tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing—accessed from the main menu. The games use the motion sensor capabilities of the Wii Remote to control the player's dominant arm and/or the appropriate sports equipment it wields. Boxing utilizes both Wii Remote and Nunchuk gestures to control both of the player's arms. The player moves the remote in a similar manner to how the separate games are played in real life; for example, holding and swinging the Wii Remote like a golf club, baseball bat, tennis racket or bowling ball. Some aspects of the gameplay are computer controlled. In tennis, player movement is controlled by the game's AI, while the swinging of the racket is controlled by the player. Baseball consists of batting and pitching, with all of the fielding and baserunning handled by the computer. Due to their turn-based nature, golf and bowling support hotseat multiplayer and can be played with just one Wii Remote that can be shared among players.
The in-game players are taken from the Wii's Mii Channel, which allows the user to create a Mii (a customized avatar) that can be imported into games that support the feature. Wii Sports is the first Wii title to use this feature. Miis saved on the Wii will appear in the crowd during bowling games and as members of human-controlled teams in baseball. Miis created on one Wii can be transferred onto the internal memory of a Wii Remote for use on another Wii with different save data.
After a game, a player is awarded or penalized skill points based on performance relative to the computer's skill level, though some games do not calculate points during multiplayer sessions. The game keeps track of these points by charting them on a graph, as well as increasing the size of the crowd in Tennis and Boxing single-player modes. After obtaining 1000 skill points in a sport, a player is awarded a "pro" level, along with a cosmetic feature for their Mii in Bowling and Boxing. A Mii newly turned pro will receive a message on the Wii Message Board notifying them. Wii Sports also features a fitness test that calculates a player's fitness age (ranging from 20 to 80 years old, 20 being the best possible). The test gauges the player's performance in three randomly chosen challenges in each test from the training mode that have been played at least once, and can only be taken once a day per Mii. Calculating the fitness age takes into account a player's balance, speed, and stamina. Fitness age results are graphed over one, two, or three months, with daily results posted on the Wii Message Board. The challenges from the fitness test are taken from another mode in Wii Sports, the training mode. The training mode allows players to practice three challenges for each sport. In these challenges, players can earn medals by reaching certain scores. Medals range from bronze to platinum, bronze being the easiest, and platinum being the hardest.
Development Wii Sports was produced by Katsuya Eguchi, who managed Software Development Group 2 at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development. With the Wii, Nintendo desired to reach those who had not played video games before. To do this, they needed software that allowed both long time and first time players to interact together in a fun way. Nintendo also wanted players to use the system daily and intended the game to be the console's flagship title to help accomplish this. Wii Sports was designed as a simple introductory title meant to offer something for both gamers and non-gamers. Sports were chosen as the theme because of the widespread familiarity with them. Rather than feature professional athletes or have realistic graphics, the game was designed to be simple so that anyone could play. Gameplay like running towards a ball in tennis was excluded to maintain simplicity. At one point in development, Super Mario characters were used, but were removed from the game because of feedback from players who preferred Miis. The non-player characters in the game were also created using the Mii Channel toolset. The game supports a 16:9 widescreen ratio and progressive scan, runs at 60 frames per second, and makes use of the Wii Remote's accelerometer to interpret the player's motion. Motion-sensing actions, like pitching and hitting, were prioritized to make them as realistic as possible. Because Nintendo did not expect players to purchase the Wii solely to play Wii Sports, they bundled the game with the console in all regions except Japan; Nintendo believed players would be more likely to play Wii Sports through this distribution method. They also felt players that enjoyed the game would increase its popularity by word of mouth. Initially, Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo President Satoru Iwata were hesitant to include the game as a pack-in title, but were convinced by Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé, who believed that Wii Sports would be key to the success of the Wii console.
Before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) Media and Business Summit of 2006, the first sport in the game was announced as Wii Sports: Tennis. It was later announced, at Nintendo's press conference prior to E3 2006, it would be part of a sports package. Iwata introduced this package as Wii Sports, and stated it would include tennis, golf, and baseball. The game was featured as both a video demonstration and an on-stage playable demo. The demo featured Iwata and Fils-Aimé in a doubles tennis match against Miyamoto and Scott Dyer, a contest winner. The other sports titles were on display at E3 and shared a similar naming convention to the tennis game, such as Wii Sports: Baseball, Wii Sports: Golf, and Wii Sports: Airplane. At the time, baseball only featured a batting simulation. The airplane title was similar to Pilotwings and required the player to maneuver an airplane through rings within a time frame. It was not included in the final game, but was later incorporated into Wii Sports Resort. At the Nintendo World event on 14 September 2006, Reggie Fils-Aimé confirmed the game's five playable sports and announced that Wii Sports would be included free with every Wii console.
Reception
Critical responses
Wii Sports received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. GameTrailers called it a good complement to the Wii console and referred to all five games as a "nice total package". They commented that the games provided enough gameplay for long time gamers without making it inaccessible to novices. GameTrailers stated, however, that the lack of a tournament mode was a detractor, and did not recommend paying for the game if it did not come bundled with the system. GamePro also commented that the free addition of the game with the Wii was a positive. Matt Casamassina of IGN called it a "successful showpiece for Nintendo's new hardware" and enjoyed the ability to import Miis. GameSpot editor Ryan Davis complimented the multiplayer aspect and the fitness test. Reviewers praised the game's controls and ease of use. Casamassina referred to the controls as "revolutionary" and described them as intuitive. GamePro echoed similar comments, praising the ease of play and realistic motion controls, while Davis commented that the motion controls were sometimes erratic. Common criticism focused on the graphics and lack of depth in the separate games. Casamassina stated that the game "comes up short in depth and visuals", and called the graphics "generic" and "archaic". Other reviewers said the graphics were on par with Nintendo's older gaming systems, the GameCube and Nintendo 64. Davis criticized the oversimplified nature of the games, and GamePro stated that the separate games offered less depth than regular console sports games. Nintendo Power listed Wii Sports along with its sequel, Wii Sports Resort, as two of the greatest multiplayer experiences in Nintendo's history, stating that everyone from young children to grandparents can enjoy the games. The magazine praised the grouping of sports and the game's longevity. In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine said the game was "Responsible for the biggest turn-around the console wars has ever seen", placing it 21st on a list of the greatest Nintendo games. In 2019, the game was ranked 28th on The Guardian newspaper's The 50 Best Video Games of the 21st Century list.