Wii Sports

This article is about the video game. For the series, see Wii Sports (series).

Wii Sports
Artwork of a vertical rectangular box. The top third displays three screen shots from the game: two characters with boxing gloves fighting in a boxing ring, a character holding a bowling ball at a ball pit, and a character holding a golf at the putting green of a golf course The Wii logo is shown at the upper left corner. The center portion reads "Wii Sports" over five blue boxes depicting different sports equipment. The third displays two more screen shots from the game: a character holding a Tennis racket at a Tennis Court and a character swinging a Baseball bat in a stadium. The PEGI "7+" rating is shown on the bottom left corner and the Nintendo logo is on the bottom right corner.
European box art depicting the game avatars, Miis, playing the five sports: (clockwise from top left) boxing, bowling, golf, baseball, and tennis
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)
  • Keizo Ohta
  • Takayuki Shimamura
  • Yoshikazu Yamashita
Producer(s)
Designer(s)Junji Morii
Programmer(s)Tsutomu Kaneshige
Composer(s)Kazumi Totaka
SeriesWii
Platform(s)Wii
Release
  • NA: November 19, 2006
  • JP: December 2, 2006
  • AU: December 7, 2006
  • EU: December 8, 2006
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
A picture of a Wii Sports disc

Wii Sports is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month. It was included as a pack-in game with the console in all territories except Japan, making it the first sports game included with the launch of a Nintendo system since Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy in 1995. The game was later released on its own as part of the Nintendo Selects collection of games.

Wii Sports is a collection of five sports simulations designed to demonstrate the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote. The five sports included are tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. Players use the Wii Remote to mimic actions performed in real-life sports, such as swinging a tennis racket or rolling a bowling ball.[1] The rules for each game are simplified to make them more accessible to new players. The game also features training and fitness modes that monitor players' progress in the sports.[2]

Wii Sports was well-received by critics and audiences, and is considered one of the greatest games of all time.[3] It was also a commercial success, selling 82 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Nintendo video game, as well as the third-best-selling video game of all time and the best-selling game exclusive to one console.[3] It has been featured on television in Wii commercials, news reports, and other programming.[4][5][6][7] The game has become a popular means for social gatherings and competitions among players of varying ages.[5][8][9]

In 2009, a sequel, Wii Sports Resort, was released. A high-definition remake of Wii Sports titled Wii Sports Club was released in 2014 for the Wii U. Another sequel, Nintendo Switch Sports, was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2022.

  1. ^ "Review: Wii Sports". GamePro. IDG. 16 November 2006. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
  2. ^ "Wii Sports – Wii". ABC News. 18 November 2006. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Getting That "Resort Feel"". Iwata Asks: Wii Sports Resort. Nintendo. p. 4. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023. As it comes free with every Wii console outside Japan, I'm not quite sure if calling it "World Number One" is exactly the right way to describe it, but in any case it's surpassed the record set by Super Mario Bros., which was unbroken for over twenty years.
  4. ^ "Official Wii commercial". IGN. Nintendo. 14 November 2006. Archived from the original on 2 March 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Nintendo Adds an 'I' to Wiimbledon". ABC News. 25 June 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
  6. ^ Miller, Ross (2 February 2007). "Conan takes on Serena in Wii Tennis". Joystiq. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  7. ^ Bergmann, Dean (2 February 2007). "Chrétien delivers Wii knock-out punch". N-Sider. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
  8. ^ Collins, Jennifer (11 December 2007). "Seniors becoming old hands at Wii". Marketplace. American Public Media. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  9. ^ Kolan, Patrick (11 January 2007). "Wii Tennis Tourney in Melbourne". IGN. Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2008.