It’s a shame that upon release, the follow-up to the beloved titles “Wii Sports” and “Wii Sports Resort,” “Nintendo Switch Sports,” immediately fell short of its predecessors. It was exciting to see a new generation of kids be able to experience classic Nintendo fun the same way I and many others did with the “Wii Sports” titles, and yet, in most ways, what we got was a hollow mimicry of past games.

“Nintendo Switch Sports” released on April 29 for the Nintendo Switch. “Wii Sports,” the first game in the lineage, released in 2006 along with the Nintendo Wii. “Nintendo Switch Sports” offers a total of six sports upon launch: soccer, volleyball, bowling, tennis, badminton and chambara. “Wii Sports” offers five sports: tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. It has been over a decade and a half since the release of “Wii Sports” and “Nintendo Switch Sports” only features one sport more than the game that started it all. You’ll have to excuse me for being disappointed. Not only that, but tennis and badminton are very similar sports, at least within the game itself.

“Nintendo Switch Sports” pales in comparison to “Wii Sports Resort,” the first sequel to “Wii Sports.” “Wii Sports Resort” features a grand total of 13 sports. That’s twice as many sports as “Nintendo Switch Sports” offered at release. As the game is at release, it does not have the amount of content that it would have if Nintendo waited a few more months to release the game with all of the content in it at launch. Golf is being added as a new sport for “Nintendo Switch Sports” as a content update after release. I do not have an issue with downloadable content (DLC), but I do have an issue with the fact that Nintendo said golf would be a sport within the game upon the game’s announcement, yet it would not be a part of the game at release.

I will admit that what “Nintendo Switch Sports” has, it does well. With the more powerful hardware of the Nintendo Switch and the HD graphics that come with it, the motion controls are much more responsive and accurate than the Wii, and the visuals are sharp and vibrant. I think there were creative ideas to be enjoyed, such as survival bowling, a game of elimination rounds according to points and the newly added soccer sport. The game is still fun, pretty and overall, has quite a bit of polish put into it. 

“Nintendo Switch Sports” is a fundamentally bad game. For what it is, it works well, but I can’t help but be disappointed having grown up playing the two original titles on the Wii. There’s a lot to like, from the online multiplayer, the graphics, the more accurate motion controls and a few new modes within the sports. That being said, the game is incomplete and lacking in content and displays a worrying trend of Nintendo’s. At release, the game has less than half the content of its predecessor, “Wii Sports Resort,” and it has content comparable to the original “Wii Sports,” which was a free pack-in title when buying a Wii. “Nintendo Switch Sports” as it is now isn’t worth the money. I believe you could find more value and content buying an old Wii with the game’s two predecessors.