Nintendo Switch Sports is a Sports Game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, releasing on April 29, 2022.
It is a sequel to both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, featuring many of the same minigames those games had, and much like those games, it uses the motion controls of the controller (in this case, the Joy-Con) to play various sports.
Taking place in the fictional multi-sport facility; "Spocco Square", the game currently features seven sports:
Playable Sports
Note: Bold denotes returning from Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort.
- Tennis
- Bowling
- Chambaranote
- Association Football (Soccer)
- Volleyball
- Badminton
- Golfnote
Tropes:
- Aerith and Bob: As with the other sports games in the Wii lineup, CPU players have regular English names, such as Barbara, Gwen, Martin, Gabriel, alongside Japanese names like Miyu, Yoshi, and Shinnosuke. Given Nintendo is a Japanese company, it makes sense, and it helps provide some multinational representation.
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: You can earn points by playing matches on the global online mode (if you don't have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, you can play against bots instead for a smaller selection and awarded amount of items each week). When you reach 100 points, you'll be able to obtain a randomized piece of clothing from one set of rewards of your choice.
- Ascended Meme: The July 2022 update to the game added a hidden Harder Than Hard difficulty mode for sportsnote wherein you face a secret opponent labeled "Legend" by the game. Who is this opponent hailed as a legendary champion in Chambara? It's MATT
. - Demoted to Extra: Downplayed, as Miis are no longer the main characters you use in this game, but are still playable. The game focuses on the new customizable avatars called Sportmates, akin to the ones on the Xbox 360. There's an option to still play as a Mii, and to set the CPU players to play as them (see below), but none of them ever appear as background characters (which may count as an Inversion of this trope).
- Do Well, But Not Perfect: Strangely, in Volleyball, Badminton, and Tennis online, there is no score bonus for getting a perfect victory, but there is one for getting a deuce. If you're crushing your opponent, you're better off letting them win some rounds to make a deuce happen.
- Dual Wielding: Players can wield two swords in chambara.
- Easter Egg:
- Soccer has one. If you perform the motion for a Diving Header after you've scored a goal, you'll execute a celebratory soccer-player knee slide instead.
- For all sports when playing locally, hold the Joy-Con’s bumper and trigger at the same time when selecting the skill of the CPU players to have the game use Miis for the avatars of the CPU players instead of the usual Sportmates.
- Face Plant: The Soccer moveset includes a diving header to launch the ball further. Performing the move without the ball in front of you results in a face-flop onto the ground, which stops you from moving for a second in play or just lets you look really silly during the "vs." preview screen where players can perform moves while seeing the teams.
- Floating Limbs: Averted, unlike Wii Sports. Everyone has arms and legs to play any sport in the game (or anything else, for that matter).
- Golden Snitch: During soccer games, a golden ball appears after one team gets a two-point lead, offering double points so the losing team can catch up and extend the game. If the winning team scores the golden ball, then they get a knockout victory.
- Later-Installment Weirdness: Nintendo Switch Sports has new, more detailed, yet still cartoony avatars known as Sportsmates. You're still be able to play as Miis if you wish, but it only replaces the head. The Floating Limbs that characterised the Miis are also absent.
- New Season, New Name: Since the Nintendo Switch is unrelated to the Wii in any way, this game is called "Nintendo Switch Sports", the console's equivalent. It's still outright stated to be a continuation of the Wii Sports series.
- Play Every Day: Nintendo Switch Sports uses online play as a way for the player to accumulate a meter of 100 points that adds up to a random reward from a few different collections of player cosmetics each time. The collections are offered for limited times before rotating out, encouraging a player to work hard and play often to complete them while they're offered, and to play frequently to check on new rewards being offered—as a tip screen says, you'll miss out on things if you only play during the weekend.
