Tech

How Nintendo Switch Sports Compares To Wii Sports

The nostalgia is almost too much.

by Kaitlyn Wylde
A screenshot of a sportsmate from Nintendo Switch Sports plays tennis.
Nintendo

Wii Sports Resort

When Wii Sports first came out in November 2006, the video game was the perfect sleepover ice breaker. You’d be sweaty in minutes, gripping the remote for dear life as you thwacked digital tennis balls until curfew. Now, a successor game is coming to Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo

On April 29, the next evolution of Wii Sports, Nintendo Switch Sports, is available to purchase for $39.99 for a digital version or $49.99 for a physical copy. The game is exclusive to Nintendo Switch, so you'll need to upgrade from your OG Wii console to play.

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Thirteen years after Wii Sports Resort came out, Switch Sports has the updated features that you might expect, like new games and visuals, and online play. Now you can spar with strangers on the internet (and keep the peace with your roommates).

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You can also sign up for a Switch Online membership ($3.99 for a month, $19.99 for a year) and play in the ranked Pro League. Going “pro” also lets you collect rewards, like personalizations for your Sportsmate. (Think of your Sportsmate like your Mii.)

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What Games Can You Play On Nintendo Switch Sport?

Switch only offers six games (volleyball, badminton, bowling, soccer, sword fighting, and tennis) — half of what was available on Wii Sports Resort.

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While you can’t golf (yet), wakeboard, partake in archery, cycle, canoe, power cruise, or do air sports, you will get more sensitive game play and, with the physical copy, a leg strap that allows you to put a controller on your thigh for soccer.

How Do You Play Switch Sports Vs. Wii Sports?

Instead of the OG remote, you’ll use the Switch Joy-Con to simulate motion that more closely resembles the sport. Though you don’t have to swing as hard as you would in an IRL tennis game, you can go all out if the spirit strikes you.

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Nintendo

What’s The Difference Between A Mii & A Sportsmate?

Unlike the OG Wii avatar, Mii, Sportsmates are more dimensional, expressive, and customizable. Think: multiple wardrobe styles, technicolor hair, and sweet kicks.

If Sportsmates are too futuristic for you, you can resurrect a Mii by tapping your home screen settings, “Mii,” then “create a new Mii.” When you boot up Sports, you can access your Mii under “body.”

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Nintendo

While for now, there might be fewer games to play than in Wii Sports, Nintendo Switch Sports offers still nostalgic players an excuse to get together, IRL and URL, to jump around and get competitive.

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