While Nintendo Switch Sports shares similarities with the Wii’s sports title, it’s not the first leisure activity game that has released on Switch. Wii Sports was a launch title for Nintendo’s new system, codenamed “Revolution,” but the arrival of its spiritual successor Nintendo Switch Sports is set to release over five years after the console hit shelves. In that time a plethora of sports games have released, with many coming from first-party developers under the Super Mario banner. Though each can offer polished presentations and enjoyable gameplay, the Mario Sports games often leave a lot to be desired. Nintendo Switch Sports is in a prime position to correct Mario’s missteps, and when it releases in April players will know if it succeeds in such a feat.
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Mario’s Many Athletic Talents
Mario is a man of many talents. From Grand Prix driver, to doctor, Mario’s resume is as decorated as he is charming, and many of his proficiencies lie in the realm of sports. There are multiple Nintendo sports games including Baseball, Tennis, Soccer, and even a range of Olympic events. Most offer tight controls and a gameplay loop that is innovative yet natural, with some notable exceptions such as the reviled Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, but often fun mechanics come at the cost of content. Rarely do Mario sports games come packed with modes, side activities, or optional extras.
By providing just a single sport, the respective development teams of Mario sports games can focus on perfecting the feel of that activity, but once a few rounds of Mario Golf: Super Rush or a few sets of Mario Tennis Aces have been completed, the incentive to return is greatly diminished. With Mario Sports Superstars in 2017, Nintendo looked to correct the issue and offered five distinct sports that featured many inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom, but with the relative simplicity of its sports the offerings felt lackluster.
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Nintendo Switch Sports’ Opportunity to Leap Over Mario
Nintendo Switch Sports has the luxury of not having the ever-expanding weight of Mario’s name tied to the project. Comparisons will more likely be drawn to Wii Sports, but where Mario Sports Superstars failed, Nintendo Switch Sports can reaffirm that first-party sports games don’t need Mario to succeed. Nintendo is shaping up to have an impressive 2022, and with Nintendo Switch Sports arriving in the spring and Mario Strikers: Battle League in the summer, each of the games’ approaches to the sports genre are sure to stand out.
Instead of Mario’s sports format of creating, polishing, and perfecting the way a single event feels, Nintendo Switch Sports is placing emphasis on six distinct activities, with more like Golf coming down the line, making the quantity of events its main source of content. Instead of returning to the same gameplay loop and shooting even further under par, Nintendo Switch Sports’ philosophy allows it the opportunity to stay in gamers’ rotation for weeks, or even months. A title featuring many sports also has potential for more DLC, which could serve to heighten the game’s longevity.
Nintendo Switch Sports will have to forge a place in a crowded market of Nintendo sports games, but by offering something unique to Mario’s single-sport titles it stands a good chance of succeeding. Not only this, there’s a chance Nintendo Switch Sports can correct the content-sparse formula of Mario sports games, and keep players coming back in the months after its release.
Nintendo Switch Sports launches April 29 on Switch.
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