Bowser goes bowling... From the Game Boy to the Wii, Nintendo popularized video games as a family-friendly activity. Now the 133-year-old Japanese gaming icon is bringing together two of its most popular products. This month Nintendo will release “Nintendo Switch Sports,” a Switch adaptation of “Wii Sports,” the top-selling Wii game that sold 83M copies.
- Interactive: Joy-Con controllers (which break off from the Switch tablet) let you kick, sprint, and hit virtual balls with your hands. You can even strap the Joy-Con to your leg for soccer.
- Immersive: Six mini-games (including bowling, tennis, and sword dueling) play out in vivid graphics on your Switch screen or TV.
Nostalgia crossing... Despite pesky supply shortages, Nintendo boosted its sales and profit outlook for the year. Its greatest strength lies in its iconic franchises, from Mario and Pokémon to the Wii series and Switch console — and leveraging them into new but familiar products. “Switch Sports” could gain hit status by merging two best-sellers:
- Wii winning: Released in 2006, the Wii introduced motion-controlled gaming to a wide audience with winners like “Mario Kart” and “Wii Sports” (shattering TVs in the process).
- Switch it up: This year, Switch overtook Wii to become Nintendo's best-selling home console ever with 100M+ units sold since its 2017 launch. Thanks, “Animal Crossing.”
Nintendo doesn’t need to go meta… Its Wii (and now Switch) games are kind of like a mini-metaverse where you interact with friends, minus the heavy and disorienting headsets. That’s why Nintendo says it’s not interested in getting into the metaverse right now. Products with low barriers to entry from consumer faves like Nintendo could be a threat to the more immersive meta vision that Meta’s banking on.