Wii Sports Resort

By Simon Parkin Published 24 June, 2009

Wish you were here?

With global sales approaching 50 million units, Wii Sports has comfortably overtaken Super Mario Bros. as the best-selling videogame of all time. Of course a great deal of that success can, as with the previous record-holder, be ascribed to the fact that the game comes bundled with the console upon which it plays in every country outside of Japan. But the link between Nintendo's Wii and its number one sports game runs far deeper than a physical tie at the point of sale.

Just as Super Mario Bros. defined the NES so Wii Sports exemplifies the Wii's functionality and appeal, along with its maker's current vision and ambition, better than any other. Arguably the principle success of this immediately irresistible sport-themed mini-game collection has been in revealing to non-gamers why gamers play videogames.

With a barrier to entry as low as swinging the controller like a racket or bowling ball, anyone can experience for themselves the joy of digital cause and effect. In this way Wii Sports has broadened gaming's boundaries and improved the mainstream cultural standing of the medium more significantly than almost any other title.

But who cares, right? The record-breaking stats and industry-redefining influence are irrelevant to players who felt let down by the brevity and shallowness of the Wii Sports experience. After extended play anyone can see that Nintendo's digital puppetry makes us believe we have more control than we really do; the subtlety of our shots during a tennis match, for example, is simplified almost beyond relevance in the short journey from Wii remote to sensor bar.

Without a fun or thoughtful context for the mini-games, which were instead plonked within an abstract hub as if they were dry options in an extended tech demo, it was easy to feel shortchanged. Even though the game had come for free, the Wii Sports promise cost our expectations dearly.

'Wii Sports Resort' Screenshot 1

Fable II, Fallout 3 and now Wii Sports Resort: soon we'll have enough videogame canines to hold a virtual Crufts. Rockstar can bring their winning bitches.

On almost every one of these counts, Wii Sports Resort seeks to answer its critics. Without doubt it's the flagship title for the Wii Motion Plus, the controller attachment that promises to upgrade the sensitivity of player movements on screen, allowing true nuance of hand movements to be replicated with an accuracy that's been maddeningly out of reach thus far.

Then there's the island resort itself, a context that's valuable for both providing an overarching theme to the activities on offer and a sense that the new Wii Sports offers a true gaming destination - not just another menu screen's worth of Wii Fit-style workouts.

Indeed, as you skydive in formation with your Mii buddies from 10,000 feet, a never-ending SEGA-blue sky stretching off into a watery horizon while chick-yellow beaches and bean-green forests jostle far below, there's a sense of being on holiday. A new summer of gaming has arrived and there's no need to bring a book.

As a place the Wii Sports Resort is the Silent Cartographer with the saturation filter turned up, a too-perfect recreation of a holiday destination built from honeymooners' recollections. As you wheel and dive over its waters in the air sports activities, or rip through them on a wakeboard, Mii chums cheering you on from the back of the speedboat, the environment becomes a character in its own right. It's the sort of sunlit paradise that defined the GameCube's Super Mario Sunshine or the Dreamcast's first Sonic Adventure.

The resort offers 12 core activities (swordplay, wakeboarding, archery, basketball, table tennis, golf, bowling power cruising, canoeing, cycling and air sports) all of which are broken down into subset activities. This effort to expand upon the core sports' rulesets, which was touched upon in the original game's training modes, greatly expands the package.

For example, Frisbee offers two ways to play. In the first you throw your disc across a beach towards a transparent bull's-eye target. If your throw lands close enough to the target, your dog will catch the Frisbee and bring it back you, points earned for your proximity to the central target.

Alternatively, you can engage in some Frisbee Golf, which has you choosing between three 'irons' - Frisbees with different distance capabilities - to reach the hole within the shortest number of throws. Bowling, updated from the original offers three modes: Standard, 100 Pin and Spin Control, while Air Sports offers Skydiving, an Island Flyover and Dog fighting.

Control across all of the games we played was tight, responsive and instantly rewarding, offering the kind of precision that, in all honesty, most people had hoped would be present on the console's launch. The Frisbee responds extraordinarily well to the slightest adjustments in throwing angle, changing the height and power as instructed while a slight tilt adds violent spin to the trajectory.

Likewise, the Swordplay Duel mode - which had us battling a opponent in an effort to be the first to push their opponent from the small platform upon which we stood into the water below - had the sword moving in exact accord with our own movements (something no doubt helped by the extra, though unobtrusive, calibration it received before each and every round).

'Wii Sports Resort' Screenshot 2

In lieu of a new Wave Race proper, Wii Sports Resort's Jet-Skis do a good job of continuing Nintendo’s illustrious water sports tradition.

The main menu, laid out like a patchwork quilt of square options, blinked with recommendations of what game to play next, although what this advice was based on was unclear. Most of the more traditional activities such as canoeing and cycling offered both a speed challenge as well as versus competition and almost every mini-game we played was available for up to four players to play either simultaneously or one after the other.

As such, Wii Sports Resort represents an evolution, not revolution of the template laid out by the original. Each event retains the elegant simplicity that made the first game popular with everyone from young children to octogenarians. But with a more rounded, coherent world and the hardware upgrade that the Wii Motion Plus seems to offer in this context, the improvement to the more demanding player is already discernible.

As such we hope that Wii Sports Resort represents Nintendo's renewed vision to continue serving its new customers, providing accessible experiences while extending their appeal to us old faithful.

Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A regular contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, his work has also appeared in Edge, The Telegraph, Gamasutra and Boing Boing.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (52) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • neil_likes_bums #1 3 years ago

    +1 if you like bums

  • Zomoniac #2 3 years ago

    Can't wait for it, although the fact it's using less appealing sports disappoints a bit, was hoping for all (not just two) of the games in the original to be remade in it. But as a side note, a bit more depth would've been nice. It's 50% of the way through the 'hands-on' before the article actually gets to the point of the game rather than just general conversation, and each mini-game barely gets as much as a name-check. A bit more detail would be appreciated.

  • insincere_dave #3 3 years ago

    My only pre-order in a LONG time. Any word on whether you can explore the island outside of the minigames yet EG? Any chance of Tennis, Baseball and Boxing being hidden away as unlockables?

  • videogangs #4 3 years ago

    I'm quite looking forward to this actually, after all the smashing the crap out of things in Prototype and hours logged in Team Fortress and left for dead, something more pedestrian and fun to break out on the weekends is welcome. It certainly seems like the issue of depth is being addressed.

  • Burkey123 #5 3 years ago

    Cannot wait for this.
    I love the island idea. It brings everything together nicely.

  • Spooke #6 3 years ago

    GST + Tiger10 + Sports Resort + Wii Fit 2 = My Wii sorted for a while.

  • jonsaan #7 3 years ago

    I have to say that this game is looking really good! I've gone from complete apathy to actually quite excited.

  • Bigglesworth #8 3 years ago

    Any word on whether you can explore the island outside of the minigames yet EG?

    Only if you make the prerequisite walking motions with your arms the entire time...

  • el_vicio #9 3 years ago

    Arrrgh a whole month to go :(

  • JetSetWilly #10 3 years ago

    The core activities list only has 11 items (if you assume there needs to be a comma after bowling)?

  • JeroenZM #11 3 years ago

    So is the subtitle a Pink Floyd or an Incubus reference?

  • lemonfist #12 3 years ago

    @JetSetWilly

    I believe he forgot the dog frisbee in that list.

    Anyway, really looking forward to this. Me and my family must have clocked a couple of hundred hours on Wii Sports since christmas 2007. Definitely my favourite game for local multiplayer, but I'm sure Resort will be even better with M+ and all the new modes.

  • Physically_Insane #13 3 years ago

    I couldn't be bothered reading.

    So it's a bunch of wank right?

    -1 me guys!

  • peterfll #14 3 years ago

    I love water sports, so this is a defo pre-order for me.

  • KevRuss #15 3 years ago

    It looks absolutely tard.

    I mean, I`ve always wanted to throw frisbees on a computer game, Not. Sword fighting and jet ski`s are hardly appealing either, not in the mini format that will be presented here anyway. Although thats about all they are worth. Its Wii alright and will no doubt sell millions as kids and mums buy it in abundance. Like the rest of the chaff on sale.

    Edited by 1 at 24/06/09 @ 15:43

  • LazyDan #16 3 years ago

    The jet ski stuff is going to make me pain for a full on Waverace game. I can already feel it. Can't wait for this though :D This + GST should occupy me and my friends for a good while.

  • mingster #17 3 years ago

    can't wait to play this.
    Sounds good.

  • KrissAkabusi #18 3 years ago

    This looks good, but I do hope some of it is simply a prelude to other things ie Wave Race and Pilot Wings

  • gohda #19 3 years ago

    lol sucks

  • Genji #20 3 years ago

    @ Physically_Insane

    I gave you a +1. I think you deserved one.

  • Canyarion #21 3 years ago

    Air sports: dog fights? What's that?

    Also Simon, when naming the 12 sports, I think you forgot Frisbee.

    This game seems like a must-have for every Wii owner. My only concern is getting a 2nd WM+...

  • KevRuss #22 3 years ago

    ah, it seems if I dont like this I will get a score battering...lol

    I`m devastated.

  • raion #23 3 years ago

    yeah, really, all this +1s and -1s are more of a way of saying "you don't have the same opinion as mine? you are WRONG and deserve to be... uh, -1pped. on the other hand, if we all repeat the same thing, we can all +1 one another and nod proudly"
    personally I never use these things, I'd rather engage in conversation as to why I believe it is that way/not that way.

  • woodnotes #24 3 years ago

    Reminds me of Dead or Alive Extreme Volleyball, minus the tits, but with better gameplay.

  • Senate #25 3 years ago

    what? no large tits!

  • IronCladChicken #26 3 years ago

    As such.

  • oldfruit #27 3 years ago

    Not sure I like this new forum rating system. It's like mob censorship. Quite frankly I enjoy reading many of the tards comments as much as the intelligent analysis. 'Ignore poster' worked. Why make it difficult for us to see the flow of comments?

  • secombe #28 3 years ago

    I'm a bit surprised by the generally negative thoughts on the original Wii Sports at the start of this preview. I've not met too many Wii owners who think of it as any less than a complete blast, and - along with Mario Kart - it's still the multiplayer game of choice whenever we have friends round.

    Considering what is meant to do, I think it did (and still does) hit the spot perfectly. Sure it's not overly deep, but the majority just wanted to jump in and play, which it caters for perfectly. On the other hand, with a lot of practice there is a surprising depth and subtlety to the controls, you can squeeze much more out of Tennis, for example, than many would think possible.

  • lemonfist #29 3 years ago

    I agree 100 % with the fruit.

    But I just set my threshold to 'Show all'.
    Edited by 1 at 24/06/09 @ 20:42

  • bad09 #30 3 years ago

    I loved the tech demo that came with the console more than most of it's retail games but, sorry guys, number 2 leaves me cold.

    More interesting things heading Wii way TBH....



    Edited by 1 at 24/06/09 @ 20:49

  • oldfruit #31 3 years ago

    Ahhh Threshold control drop down. Of course. Thanks. Still don't like it. Must......resist.....change...

  • oldfruit #32 3 years ago

    "true gaming destination". It's always nice to see a reviewer comment on that sense of place that can make a game feel magical. That's a huge plus point for me and looks like I will be dusting off the wii come July. The swordfighting looks like a step in the right direction for the lightsabre dueling we have all been dreaming of.

  • Agent_Llama #33 3 years ago

    I like the move to a hub around which all the games are based - the original felt very cold and clinical. However I found Wii Sports ultimately a bit shallow for my tastes, definitely best in multiplayer. Number 2 looks interesting but going to try before buying me thinks.

  • scouserfuller9 #34 3 years ago

    Can't wait to get the game it's just the sports that are my slight concern. Don't all look great but I'm sure they'll be ones on there for everyone to enjoy!

  • holydrone #35 3 years ago

    "the subtlety of our shots during a tennis match, for example, is simplified almost beyond relevance in the short journey from Wii remote to sensor bar."

    The sensor bar doesn't receive data, it's just two diodes.
    Welcome to Pedantry corner.

  • figaro7 #36 3 years ago

    Definately picking this up! A month to go!

  • Pro_Gamer #37 3 years ago

    Wii is by far the WORST console in Nintendos history. In fact, its popularity with the masses also makes it most DANGEROUS console to the gaming industry and to the core gamer.

  • ShiroBen #38 3 years ago

    I think, aside from everything else, a big plus point for me with Nintendo games is that they're often set in places I'd actually want to visit. Friendly, bright, happy places with ridiculously blue skies and lush green fields and waterfalls and beaches and puppies all over the place. Some people call this 'kiddy', I say what on earth is wrong with feeling like a kid for a little while? I had the most fun with games when I was ten years old, anything that brings that feeling back is okay with me. Don't get me wrong, I like a bit of darkness and grit from time to time, too, but this kind of thing is really refreshing and fun.

  • smelly #39 3 years ago

    @ShiroBen : I took like games which arent grey and brown.

  • ChrisOTR #40 3 years ago

    As long as there are clear goals/unlockables, I'm totally sold. I love mellow games, but it's still nice to have a target to work towards.

    Oh and online would've been nice but I guess they had to save a selling point for the next one...

  • DoKtoR #41 3 years ago

    What!!! When did the pluses and minuses thing happen???

    Surely my absence from Eurogamer is going to warrant me a minus or two... oh well.

  • knightmt #42 3 years ago

    I much more impressed with the negative scoring well done,
    I like the negative comments they give some contrast,
    but it is refreshing to see the balance.
    +10 versus -70 at the moment, well done neil you have illicited a much bigger response.
    I think you may have been mistaken as gay or homeless?

  • General_Zod #43 3 years ago

    I like lamp.

  • MDL199 #44 3 years ago

    Wii owners are raving homosexuals - give me a negative vote if you are one you sad benders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • pjmaybe #45 3 years ago

    Let's hope as a first party title, this does a better job of showing off the WMP than the EA and Sega offerings have so far. Half the time you're not even sure if the bloody thing's working in Grand Slam Tennis, and from what I've heard Virtua Tennis isn't any better either.

    Maybe the device is just filled with old used pinball machine parts.

  • 3william56 #46 3 years ago

    Sssshhhh... don't tell the world that the biggest selling game of all time was based on a con job.
    The emperor might be nekkid, but he sold a hell of a lot of consoles (and is still a lot of fun), so that's all right then.

  • Telepathic.Geometry #47 3 years ago

    I saw this in the shops today on my way home from work. Is that an illusion? Is it already out?

    I'm flat broke at he moment, but I'll stump up the cash for this and Bionic Commando tomorrow to hold me over through the weekend. :)

  • RockIsSponge #48 3 years ago

    You know, I was looking forward to a 'proper' sequel to Wii Sports when I bought my launch day Wii all that time ago. Now after paying around £90 for the extra 3 pads, I'm now asked to furnish them with extra expensive addons to play.

    I've now found a buyer for my Wii. Biggest disappointment ever (and I've owned all of Ninty's home consoles). Gutted.

  • gimo80 #49 3 years ago

    Well, to be honest I think the Wii Motionplus has opened plenty of opportunities for developers to really make the most of the Wii and its hardware. Now we'll be able to play games that are way more responsive, less frustrating and much more fun - the EA games for example seem to be taking advantage of the peripheral perfectly. This looks like great fun and I'm sure we'll be seeing loads of games in the future that will utilise the Motionplus brilliantly.

  • Tonka #50 3 years ago

    I can't wait for this game.
    Easily GOTF for me

  • bdaggers #51 3 years ago

    No explanation of the Air games - aaaargh ! Compare and contrast to Pilot Wings - PLEASE !!

  • zakrocz #52 3 years ago

    A definate must buy!! Totally disagree with the article about feeling short changed by Wii Sports. Wii Sports was a revolutionary new way to play games and was an experience unlike any other that had come before in the world of video games.