Wii Sports

Wii Sports. What a phenomenal game. 

Wii sports released in 2006, right alongside the Wii. It is on of the list of the best selling games of all time, but it’s success is largely because it was a pack in title with the Wii; the game was included with the purchase of the console. Wii Sports was a good game in itself, but the game was more of a demonstration of the Wii’s motion controls, which were the staple of the Wii.

As for the sports included in the game, Nintendo didn’t go too far out deciding what to include.

The games included were Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Baseball, and Boxing. Gameplay in each sport is simple, with simple controls that everyone from children to grandparents can grasp, and understand. There’s enough content in the game for seasoned players to enjoy, but the concept of each sport is easy enough to understand that newcomers to video games could feel comfortable playing, which was important because the Wii was marketed as a console that appealed to a wider demographic of people. 

Wii Sports had a great impact on me personally, as the Wii was the very first home video game console I ever played, and Wii Sports may have been the very first video game I ever played. I fondly remember me being terrible in every single sport in the game. But as time passed, I gradually got better at the game. The sports became less of a challenge over time, and I quickly surpassed even my older brother in Wii Sport skills. 

As for my preferences in sports, I don’t really have any. It’s been a while since I’ve played Wii Sports, and anyways, If I was going to play a Wii Sports Game, it would be Wii Sports Resort ( soon to come in another blog post ). But from what I can remember, I didn’t really have favourite sport, and instead enjoyed all of them equally. I can’t say exactly how much I enjoyed each one, but after racking my brain for memories of this game, I can give a short summary of each sport:

Baseball – Two teams. One team takes up batting, while the other plays the outfield. Motion controls are fun, and easy to use. Can get very competitive if playing against someone else. 

Ranking : 7 / 10

Golf – Standard golf. Can be played multiplayer, but the pace of the game slows down significantly. Probably the most fun in my opinion, but takes longer to play.

Ranking : 6 / 10

Tennis – The sport always featured in Wii Sports commercials. I found that games of tennis can be as long or as short as possible, depending on how you play. Good sport.

Ranking : 5 / 10

Boxing – Probably played the least of this as a kid. I recall the motion controls being spot-on, but the gameplay being a bit repetitive. Always lost whenever I played this.

Ranking : 5 / 10

Bowling – Easy, and fun once you get the hang of it. Motion controls are a bit difficult to learn, but feel really intuitive after using them for a while. By no means a bad sport, just maybe a bit too simple.

Ranking : 4 / 10

And there you have it. While I can’t confirm how accurate these reviews are since its been so long since I’ve played Wii Sports, I can definitely say that this game was a big part of my childhood entertainment-wise. And yes, Wii Sports Resort, which came out a year after Wii Sports, may be the superior Wii Sports game, but this game was very influential in the Wii’s lifetime ( and mine ), and is also one of the best-selling games of all time. This game will always be more than just a  memory.