During last month’s huge Nintendo Direct, more active gamers were psyched to see Nintendo Switch Sports. The title got a lengthy reveal, not only with a gameplay trailer but with the hosts trying out a few of the available activities. Bowling and tennis, both popular in previous titles, will be making a comeback, with the official game site also listing chambara, golf, football, and badminton. These will all be available on launch day, but according to a Switch Sports datamine, more sports will be coming to the game post-launch.
Twitter user and dataminer @Wipeoutjack7 originally posted the findings, while fellow dataminer @ToyConGarageVR later corroborated the data.
While it’s possible that these sports could be added to the title sometime after the initial launch, this could also signify that Nintendo planned to include them but later scrapped them during development. Given that the title is set up to be a smash hit, adding DLC or additional content post-launch isn’t a stretch. It’s all about staying power.
Last month, an Online Play Test allowed sports lovers to give the game a try ahead of release. If you didn’t see much about it on social media, there was a reason–Nintendo explicitly stated that participants weren’t allowed to share any details on social media.
While general reception has been positive so far, many have taken to the internet to complain about the lack of Miis, which have been replaced by avatars called “Sportsmates.” Despite being more detailed and customizable, the nostalgia of the original player characters has a hold on those who grew up with Wii Sports.
The Nintendo Switch title is the third main entry in the Wii Sports series of games, following Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. A high-definition remake, Wii Sports Club, was released for the Wii U in 2013. Selling over 82 million copies by the end of 2017, Wii Sports is still the best-selling single-platform game of all time. Given the incredible selling power of the Nintendo Switch, we’d expect Nintendo Switch Sports to easily break that record.
Nintendo Switch Sports is scheduled to release on April 29, 2022.
