Wii Sports 2 not inevitable

By Tom Bramwell Published 17 September, 2007

Iwata not keen on "easy" option.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says that a Wii Sports sequel isn't the inevitability you might imagine.

Speaking to Japanese blog 1101.com in an interview partly translated by GameSpot, Iwata says: "We're not closing our doors to the possibility of a sequel, but it's definitely not coming out soon."

Rumours of a Wii Sports follow-up have been doing the rounds since last December. The original game comes free with US and European consoles, and is sold separately in Japan.

Doing a quick sequel would undoubtedly be popular, but Iwata reckons that that's the "easy" route and that by taking it "you disengage yourself with the pursuit of true entertainment".

And of course it all ties in with Nintendo's grand plan to grow the market rather than simply pumping out sequels to diminishing returns. "Even if we make great products, if the number of new customers doesn't increase, it won't reach people," he says.

Besides, if they did a Wii Sports sequel then people would be less impressed by my bowling skills. So, good work.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • huxathon #1 5 years ago

    couldn'r they do pseudo sequel and call it wii music or wii pets or something. or maybe wii autopsy.

  • peterfll #2 5 years ago

    "Mario Party 9"

    That is all.

  • jonsaan #3 5 years ago

    Good for Nintendo. Sequels always suck anyway. Do something new.

  • Steroyd #4 5 years ago

    couldn't they do pseudo sequel and call it wii music or wii pets or something. or maybe wii autopsy.

    I will be shocked SHOCKED I tell ya if they don't turn this into a franchise.

  • Killerbee #5 5 years ago

    Wii Fit is surely a sequel of sorts...

    Actually, I think the hardest bit about doing a Wii Sports 2 is deciding which sports to put in without it seeming like a cynical rehash of the first game.

    Volleyball could be done, but cricket is too similar to baseball, squash/badminton are too similar to tennis... and croquet instead of golf? Curling instead of ten pin bowling?

  • Heitzu #6 5 years ago

    If they did make a sequel it should include the original 5 games with reworked controls to make them better plus at least another 5 games, which I won't suggest any of not only because I can't think of any as I'm not really the thinking type, but it would be flamed upon until the cows come home or some such expression anyway.

  • Razz #7 5 years ago

    FUCKING MAKE THE GAME YOU FUCKING ARROGANT COCKS

    AND WHERE THE FUCK IS WII MUSIC? WAS IT ALL JUST SMOKE AND MIRRORS?

    AND ON THAT NOTE WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT PILOT WINGS GAME THEY SHOWED US 2 YEAR AGO?

    I LVOE YOU NINTENDO BUT YOU'RE TAKING THE FUCKING PISS!

    GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!
    Edited by Razz at 17/09/07 @ 10:47

  • AndyboyH #8 5 years ago

    @Razz

    Apparently that memo about 'caps lock is cruise control for cool' being false didn't reach you ;-P

  • JetSetWilly #9 5 years ago

    I can kind of see why they'd hold-off on a sequel whilst the original still has such impetus. But if their mindset has become "Let's not make Wii Sports 2, let's make lots of peripherals like the Zapper", they can fuck-off.

  • Carrybagma #10 5 years ago

    Space Giraffe?

    Isn't that the new game by Geoff Winter?

  • afghan_jones #11 5 years ago

    As everyone outside of Japan got Wii sports 1 for free the reality is probably that a lot of people just wouldnt bother forking out for Wii sports 2.

  • Darren #12 5 years ago

    Personally, I thought Wii Sports was decent but little more than a tech demo, with most of the games being very basic in terms of options and modes. I'd love to see a more fleshed out sequel myself.
    Edited by Darren at 17/09/07 @ 12:27

  • Sebo #13 5 years ago

    With Mario and Sonic Olympics, Pro Evo Wii controls, and Wii Fit, I don't think Wii Sports 2 fits in anywhere. Nice move Nintendo.

    Got to second the call for the Pilotwings game. And Wave Race. Come on.

  • Antonyw999 #14 5 years ago

    Do we really care? Everything on the Wii is just a gimmick that gets old very quickly. Finally decided to blow the dust of mine and stick it on ebay.

  • Sebo #15 5 years ago

    Yes we, the nine million happy Wii owners, really care.

  • killyourtv #16 5 years ago

    i'm still waiting for a game to come out that interests me (Mario Galaxy at the moment). Ive had the Wii since lauch, and I still don't own any games (well apart from Wii sports that came with it... and like that got played more than once)

  • Sid-Nice #17 5 years ago

    Every sport in Wii Sports will be covered by the moustache faced Italian i.e. Mario Golf, Mario Baseball, Mario Tennis, Mario Bowling and Mario Boxing.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #18 5 years ago

    I might be in the minority (certainly feels like it amongst gamers), but I absolutely fucking love Wii Sports, I could play it every day. I really, really, really want a proper Wii Sports 2 (although I agree things like Wii Fit are a sequel of sorts). But I'd rather they took their time to find a bunch of sports they could adapt convincingly, then added online multiplayer, leaderboards, tournies, etc...

  • Razz #19 5 years ago

    Yes we, the nine million happy Wii owners, really care.

    Actually it's 10 million+ Wii owners
    Edited by Razz at 17/09/07 @ 12:26

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #20 5 years ago

    i'm still waiting for a game to come out that interests me (Mario Galaxy at the moment). Ive had the Wii since lauch, and I still don't own any games (well apart from Wii sports that came with it... and like that got played more than once)

    Are you some sort of moron?

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #21 5 years ago

    Wii Sports 2 is a great idea that I feel Nintendo should be actively pursuing. Why? It could be the perfect tool to show people how to use the online capabilities of the Wii, just as the original was the perfect way to introduce folk to the control scheme.

    Include the 5 original games and add 5 new ones. Show folk how they can play with family and friends around the world (and have nice little other features such as localised weather ripped from the Wii Channel etc).

    I'd buy it in a snap.

    And those that complain that the original Wii Sports is shallow haven't played it fully. If you play Wii Tennis against the computer then you really need skill to beat the higher rated players.

  • Twincoil #22 5 years ago

    "but it's definitely not coming out soon"

    Does anything EVER come out 'soon' on the Wii?

  • DrDamn #23 5 years ago

    Actually it's 10 million+ Wii owners

    Yeah and 1 million+ of them ain't happy.

    Wii Sports is the only Wii title to get consistent play for me. Tennis and occasional bowling.

    Not sure about fleshing out the original 5 sports. If you want them fleshed out then going the whole hog and having individual titles like Wii Tennis would be more appropriate. One of the major selling points of Wii Sports is that it isn't really fleshed out and over complicated.

    I'm not sure about the whole argument from Nintendo here though. If you entend the concept to different games then you are not rehashing and you are potentially bringing in more fans of the sports covered. I accept there is an issue of how many more sports can you cover which are tangibly different. There is also the problem of stepping on other developers toes.
    Edited by DrDamn at 17/09/07 @ 13:24

  • Sebo #24 5 years ago

    @Razz

    More than happy for you to correct me on that, although I thought they said nine million earlier this week.

    ..............

    Wii Sports does take a lot of skill to get good at. Those who put it down in ten minutes have no idea.

    Don't agree with the possibility that Wii Sports 2 might be treading on other developers toes, you can't stifle competition.

    Picking a different five sports is a toughy though. I do think with the Wii fit board though you could have basketball, karate, football, skiing and swimming.

  • BadBoyBonner #25 5 years ago

    Where is Wii Sports Airplane!

    Was gutted when I realised that it would not be in the package.

    Come on ninty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z81KghGzxlw

    and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG201q53b8U
    Edited by BadBoyBonner at 17/09/07 @ 15:10

  • CordableTuna #26 5 years ago

    I would be perfectly happy with Wii Golf course add-on.

  • Triggerhappytel #27 5 years ago

    And of course it all ties in with Nintendo's grand plan to grow the market rather than simply pumping out sequels to diminishing returns.

    Anyone else smell the irony here?

  • smelly #28 5 years ago

    >FUCKING MAKE THE GAME YOU FUCKING ARROGANT COCKS

    How many 1st party games did microsoft make and publish in the first 10 months of it's console?

    (Or indeed sony?)

    Nintendo seem to be doing one a month.. that's not bad for any games company..

  • smelly #29 5 years ago

    >Anyone else smell the irony here?

    Nope? Do tell?

    Cant think of many nintendo sequels (apart from mario party) which didnt change significantly between versions..

    Unlike something like halo, where it's the same game each time with prettier pixels.. aim shoot snore.

  • secombe #30 5 years ago

    I'm STILL amazed by the amount of people who think Wii Sports is 'basic'. Seriously, put a bit of time in and it's ridiculously detailed, winning a game of Tennis against the CPU is now an art-form in itself, after extensive play they get very very good, the best thing is that you also get rather good after practicing, the detail and subtlety in the controls hasn't been touched by any other game yet.

    I'm gradually getting my Baseball skills to a similar level although finding that a bit harder. We could really do with some fully fleshed out full games though, as much as I love Tennis I would love to see a 'Wii Tennis' with tournament modes and everything.
    Edited by secombe at 18/09/07 @ 23:32