When the likes of Ocarina of Time and Star Fox were leaked for the Switch 2, there were a few other games that slipped under the radar. Games that were covered by the same leaks, but which got little attention from the internet at large.
One of those games was a new Nintendo Switch Sports title. A follow up to both Wii Sports Resort and Nintendo Switch Sports for a new generation.
And today, that got revealed at the Direct. Uncreatively titled Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, this seems to mix the island setting and greater variety of the best Wii Sports game with the somewhat contentious original Switch Sports.
Here’s a trailer showing it in action:
As you can see, it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect it to be. A bigger, more interesting follow up to Switch Sports, with much the same art style and characters.
Sports in Switch Sports Resort
- Boxing
- Table Tennis
- Archery
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Bowling
- Basketball
- Golf
- Thumb Wrestling
- Skateboarding
- Power Cruising
- Pop Plane
But in this case, that’s not really a bad thing. Indeed, with 12 sports to play around with this time around, it’s arguably what the original Nintendo Switch game should have been. A pleasant, somewhat content packed collection of sports mini games with a cohesive world and setup.
That’s gotta be better adding Golf a few years later, right? Especially when the original Switch Sports only had 6 sports total before that point in time.
Regardless, while the game itself looks decent enough, there were a few things that annoyed us in the presentation.
First, they spent way too much time focusing on this game at the expense of everything else here. Indeed, while the Ocarina of Time remake got less than 2 minutes of screen time and other rumoured titles like a new Wario Land were nowhere to be seen, Switch Sports Resort got an extended playthrough mid-Direct, complete with an embarrassing amount of attention being paid to the new thumb wrestling mini game.
This didn’t exactly sit well with us. Or with an audience that cared a lot more about Mario, Zelda and Xenoblade than sports games.
Secondly, we have to question why the Sportsmates were the main focus here. Like sure, the Miis are available in this game.
But is there a legitimate fanbase for these things? Is there anything in the Nintendo community who actually prefers Sportsmates to Miis?
Because if there is, we sure don’t see it online much. The Miis seem to be the go-to here, and the option will probably get a lot of use in Switch Sports Resort too.
So, we have to wonder why they brought them back. Why they didn’t just take a leaf from Tomodachi Life’s book, and go all in with the Miis instead.
Still, it did look like a good game, and it’s one with all the options you’d want in a sports game like this.
So, if you’re a fan of that kind of thing, check it out when the game launches on October 22nd 2026. It’s almost certainly going to be the best option for a Wii Sports style title for the console.
Source:
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort launches October 22nd (Nintendo Switch 2)