How Nintendo Killed Their Best Selling Game

Nintendo. The brand is synonymous with Mario, Zelda, and, of course, Pokémon. Without them, it’s safe to say that the widespread acceptance of video games themselves would’ve been a short-lived dream, one where a childhood would consist of boredom instead of action-packed fun. Yet despite the popularity of the red-capped Italian and sparkly yellow rat, Nintendo’s most popular game is actually the 2006 sports-simulation game, Wii Sports. 

Why was Wii Sports so popular?

One reason for Wii Sports’ major popularity was that it came with whoever bought a Wii console, the 7th best-selling game console. This itself highly boosted the game’s sales rate, and it was also beneficial that Wii Sports was an incredibly easy game to pick up, learn, and play. Using the Wii Controller, the player could use motion controls to move the playable character around, allowing you to play games like golf, bowling, boxing, baseball, and tennis all from the comfort of your own home. With such an easy and fun video game, you would think that it would be popular with kids, which was the target audience, but it was actually incredibly popular and accessible to all ages. In fact, when searching on YouTube for Wii Sports gameplay, most videos don’t include children playing at all, instead, adults and the elderly. To quote one avid player … "The game is rated E for Everyone for a reason". The game itself even leaned into this feature later, promoting itself as a party/social game made for building long-lasting friendships. 

The sequel. 

On February 9th, 2022, Nintendo announced another title to the Wii Sports series, Nintendo Switch Sports (NSS), and it looked promising. Although the game would use the motion control on the less refined Nintendo Switch’s Joycons instead, it was advertised to still allow similar accessibility as previously. So when the game was released on April 29, 2022, fans flocked to the shelves, hoping to relive the nostalgia of the original Wii Sports games. Yet when the dust settled, a community-wide consensus was reached. It sucked. Really, really badly.  

Where did it go wrong? 

First off, Nintendo decided to change the playable characters, foregoing the beloved Wii’s - easily customizable cartoon-like characters, for Sportmates, a more human-like playable character that required a battle-pass system to gain more customizable options. Secondly, the controls were not only more difficult, but also worked only ½ of the time. Instead of one controller, sports like soccer required two, and the overall precision of the motion controls was heavily nerfed due to the Joy-Cons poor design. Some even complained that the Joy-Con was "too small", making it uncomfortable to hold. Lastly, the main selling point of NSS (the new game) was online matchmaking, where you could compete with players across the world. However, it was plagued with lag. Picture this. You’re playing soccer in real life, and your teammate gives you a beautiful pass. The game is tied 1-1. You can win the game right there. In a split second, you take your shot, the laces of your shoe hitting the heart of the ball at a blazing speed. Time seems to slow, the goalie dives, but you know that they can’t reach it in time. You did it. You scored. You won the game. And then the ball suddenly warps to the other side of the field, right into your net. That’s NSS.