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Wii Sports
Developer(s)Nintendo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
SeriesWii Series
Platform(s)Wii
Release[1]
Genre(s)Sports game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Wii Sports is a sports game developed and produced by Nintendo as a launch title for the Wii video game console.[2] It was first released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and was released in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month. The game is included as a pack-in game with the Wii console in all territories except Japan,[3] making it the first game included with the launch of a Nintendo console since Super Mario World or Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. Wii Sports is part of an ongoing series of games sometimes referred to as the Wii Series.

The game is a collection of five sports simulations, designed to demonstrate the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote to new players. 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.[4] The rules for each game are simplified in order to make them more accessible to new players.[3] The game also features training and fitness modes that monitor player progress in the sports.[5]

Overall, Wii Sports has been well received by critics, and has received awards from the gaming press and entertainment community. Although not sold separately outside Japan, the game has been commercially successful. In Japan, it was the best-selling game of 2007 with 1,911,520 units sold.[6] By the end of 2007, Wii Sports sold 17.85 million copies worldwide—including bundled copies.[7] The game has been featured on television in Wii commercials,[8] news reports,[9] and other programming.[10][11] It has become a popular device for social gatherings and competitions among players of varying ages.[9][12][13]

Gameplay

Wii Sports consists of five separate sports games—tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing[3] —accessed from the main menu.[14] The games use the motion sensor capabilities of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment to control the actions of the on-screen character. 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 or bowling ball.[4] Some aspects of the gameplay are computer controlled. In tennis, player movement is controlled by the Wii, while the swinging of the racket is controlled by the player. Baseball consists of batting and pitching, with all of the fielding handled by the Wii.[14]

Each game features a standard play mode, training mode, and multiple player options.[3] The standard play mode mimics each game's respective method of play: tennis, a doubles match; baseball, a simple game of pitching and batting; bowling, a ten-frame game; golf, playing on a golf course; and boxing, a three round boxing match.[15] Training mode is a single player option that allows a player to practice certain aspects of the sports.[14] Every game has a single player or two-player mode, and some games allow up to four players via various methods.[15] Bowling and golf allow for multiple players taking turns with a single Wii Remote,[14] while tennis requires each player to have their own. The multiplayer mode for Wii Sports usually has the players competing against each other in the normal manner of the specific sports; the one exception is tennis which allows for two players to play together or against each other.

The in-game characters 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.[3] Miis saved on the Wii will appear in the crowd during tennis and boxing games, as bowlers during bowling games, and as team members in baseball. The non-player characters in the game were also created using the Mii Channel toolset. 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.[15]

Player progress

After a game, a player is awarded or penalized skill points based on performance, though some games do not calculate points during multiplayer sessions. The game keeps track of these points by charting them on a graph. After obtaining enough skill points in a sport, a player is awarded "pro level", along with a cosmetic feature for their Mii. A Mii newly turned pro will receive a message on the Wii Message Board notifying them. In single-player boxing and tennis, the size of the crowd grows with the player's skill level. Wii Sports also features a fitness test that calculates a player's fitness age. The test gauges the player's performance in three randomly chosen challenges from the training mode. Calculating the fitness age takes into account a player's balance, speed, and stamina. The test itself can only be taken once a day per Mii. Fitness age results are graphed over one, two, or three months. Daily results are posted on the Wii Message Board.[15]

Development

Satoru Iwata at Nintendo's 2006 E3 press conference

Katsuya Eguchi, who managed Software Development Group 2 at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, produced Wii Sports.[16] With the Wii, Nintendo desired to reach people that 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.[17] Nintendo also wanted players to use the system daily, and intended Wii Sports to be the console's flagship title to help accomplish this.[18] Wii Sports was designed as a simple introductory line meant to offer something for both gamers and non-gamers.[19] Sports were chosen as the theme because of the wide-spread 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.[16] The game displays at a 16:9 widescreen ratio, features progressive scan, runs at 60 frames per second,[3] and makes use of the Wii Remote's accelerometer to interpret the player's motion.[20] Wii Sports was bundled with the Wii because Nintendo did not expect players to purchase the system solely to play the game. Nintendo thought that by including it with the Wii, players would be more likely to play it, and that if they enjoyed the game, that enjoyment would spread.[21]

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, that it would be part of a sports package.[20] Satoru Iwata introduced this package as Wii Sports, and stated that 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 Reggie Fils-Aime in a doubles tennis match against Shigeru Miyamoto and Scott Dyer, a contest winner.[17] 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.[22] At the time, baseball only featured a batting simulation.[23] The airplane title was similar to Pilotwings and required the player to maneuver an airplane through rings within a time frame.[22] It was not included in the final game, but is believed to be part of a future game for the Wii titled Wii Motor Sports.[24] At the Nintendo World event on September 14, 2006, Reggie Fils-Aime announced that Wii Sports would be included free with the Wii. The bowling and boxing titles were also introduced.[25]

Reception

Wii Sports has been commercially successful. In Japan, where the game was not included with the system, the game sold 176,167 copies in the first two days of release, a record for a seventh generation console game in Japan.[33] By February 2007, it had sold over a million copies.[34][35] In early May 2007, game-industry research firm Media Create placed Wii Sports third in their list of top-20 games in Japan.[36] It was the best-selling game of 2007 in Japan with 1,911,520 copies sold.[6][37] As of December 31, 2007, the game has sold 17.85 million copies worldwide—including bundled copies.[7]

Critical response

Wii Sports received positive reviews overall.[31][32] Reviews complained about the game's graphics, but praised the ease of use. GamePro rated the graphics a 2.75 out of 5 and referred to them as "GameCube-like".[4] IGN rated the graphics 4 out of 10 and called them "generic" and "archaic".[3] GameTrailers commented that the graphics were on par with that of the Nintendo 64 system.[14] GamePro rated the controls a 4.25 out of 5, citing the ease of play and the realistic motion controls. They commented that the free addition of Wii Sports with the Wii was a positive, but stated that the separate games offered less depth than regular console sports games.[4] IGN stated, "Wii Sports is a title that demonstrates the potential of the Wii Remote, but comes up short in depth and visuals." They praised the controls, referring to them as "revolutionary", and described them as intuitive. IGN also enjoyed the ability to import Miis.[3] GameTrailers called it a good complement to the Wii system 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. They 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.[14] GameSpot complimented the multiplayer aspect and the fitness test, although they criticized the oversimplified nature of the games and commented that the motion controls were sometimes erratic.[29]

The separate games garnered their own reception among critics. IGN called bowling, tennis, and baseball "fun and addictive",[3] while Eurogamer said baseball, golf and boxing were lacking in gameplay depth when compared with tennis and bowling.[27] PC Magazine columnist John C. Dvorak, an avid bowler, praised the realistic physics utilized in bowling and stated, "Nintendo did a stupendous job of coding." He complimented the addition of physical activity to video gaming, but complained that long term use caused his wrist and shoulder to become sore.[38] IGN ranked bowling as the best experience of the five.[3] GameTrailers called golf the most in-depth, but criticized the lack of multiple courses and the unpredictable controls when trying to slice or hook a shot.[14] GamePro stated that golf offered the most content and was the best looking of all the games, but commented that its controls were the most difficult to use.[4] GameTrailers called tennis the most accessible and easy to play, but criticized the difficulty of putting spin on a shot.[14] IGN stated that tennis was one of the more fun games, but the lack of movement control was a detractor.[3] GameTrailers called baseball the most "worthless" because of the luck factor associated with the computer-controlled fielding. They called boxing the best workout on Wii Sports, but criticized the difficult timing needed to punch properly.[14] IGN criticized boxing for being "like a chore" and ranked it as the worst experience of the five sports.[3] Before its release, IGN commented on an exploit allowing easy strikes in the bowling game that removed the challenge and replay value.[39] After the release, they stated the exploit was not fixed.[25]

Awards

Wii Sports has been the recipient of multiple awards. At the 2006 E3, it won the Game Critics Award for "Best Sports Game".[40] 1UP.com listed it as the "Best Wii Game" and "Most Original Game" in their "Best of E3 2006" feature.[41] IGN awarded it "Best Sports Game of 2006".[42] Time magazine listed the game as the number one game of 2006 in their list of "Top 10 Video Games of 2006".[43] Wii Sports won Famitsu's 2006 "Innovation Award".[44] Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it "Best Multiplayer Experience" in their 2006 "1Up Network Awards".[45] At the 2007 Interactive Achievement Awards, Wii Sports won "Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering",[46] "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design",[47] and "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming".[48] In 2007, the game won the "Innovation Award" and "Best Game Design" at the Game Developers Choice Awards,[49] and won "Grand Prize" in the entertainment division of the Japan Media Arts Festival.[50] At the 2007 BAFTA Awards, Wii Sports won in six out of the thirteen categories: Casual, Gameplay, Strategy & Simulation, Sports, Innovation, and Multiplayer.[51][52]

Impact

Wii Sports is the first in a series of games by Nintendo titled Wii Series. The series includes Wii Play, Wii Fit, and the upcoming Wii Music and Wii Chess.[53] It has been attributed as a major factor in the Wii's worldwide success.[54] The game, along with Wii Fit, has been cited as attracting more casual, female, and elderly gamers.[55] It has also been cited as one game that can provide a bonding experience among family members,[56] and as a means of exercising and losing weight when played regularly.[57] A study involving 13–15 year old teenagers was conducted by the Liverpool John Moores University and concluded that players used 2% more energy than by playing on other consoles. They stated that it was no substitute for playing a real sport, but it could contribute to weight management.[58] Wii Sports has been used to aid in the physical therapy of a boxer at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Canada,[59] stroke victims in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and injured soldiers in Landstuhl, Germany[60] and Prescott, Arizona.[61]

New Wii Remote strap (left) next to older strap (right)

After the release of the Wii, players began incurring injuries while playing Wii Sports, among other games, when they accidentally hit other players or objects while swinging the Wii Remote.[9] This string of accidents, and others related to players throwing the Wii Remote while playing Wii Sports, prompted Nintendo president Satoru Iwata to develop a campaign to reduce such incidents.[62] In regard to the issue, Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa commented, "People tended to get a bit excited, especially while playing Wii Sports, and in some cases the control would come loose from their hands." Nintendo responded by recalling 3.2 million straps and producing new straps that were almost twice as thick.[63]

Wii Sports has become a popular device for social gatherings and competitions. Residents at senior centers and retirement homes have formed leagues using Wii Sports bowling.[12][64] After its Australian release, Nintendo and Myer, an Australian department store chain, held a Wii Sports tennis tournament in January 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.[13] The winners competed against professional tennis players Pat Cash and Mark Woodforde, and were awarded with new Wiis.[65] An unofficial Wii Sports tennis tournament titled "Wiimbledon" was held in a Brooklyn, New York bar on June 23, 2007.[66] It featured 128 competitors, many of which were dressed in costumes. The winner was awarded a new Wii.[9][67]

Wii Sports has been featured on television multiple times. The game was featured in commercials for the Wii system,[8][68] and in news features on the American Broadcasting Company and National Broadcasting Company networks.[9][69] The game has appeared on various comedy shows. An episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien featured host Conan O'Brien competing against his guest, tennis star Serena Williams, in a match of Wii Sports tennis.[10] On an episode of the Rick Mercer Report, former Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien beat Rick Mercer in a game of Wii Sports boxing.[11] The boxing game also appeared on an episode of The Colbert Report where a clip featured Mii versions of Stephen Colbert and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi boxing.[70]

References

  1. ^ "Wii Sports — Release Summary". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ Schneider, Peer (2006-09-13). "New Wii Titles Announced". IGN. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
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