Since Nintendo introduced motion controllers with the Wii in 2006, and continued to feature the same technology with their Wii U controller in 2012, we’ve been getting Nintendo sporting games which specifically made use of them. For those of you who aren’t familiar with these two consoles, I’m referring to the “Wii Sports” line of games that aside from the original also include “Wii Sports Resort” and “Wii Sports Club.” While the idea seemed a bit gimmicky to me at first, I ended up having a lot of fond memories playing those titles and have since warmed up to the concept. It’s the kind of tech that makes gaming accessible to non-gamers and is a lot of fun play with your friends and family. For some odd reasons, there hasn’t been a sequel on the Switch until now… sort of.
While not a direct sequel, “Hyper Sports R” announced during E3 may be the defacto Switch successor to the “Wii Sports” series. Developed by Konami, it’s actually the latest game in a sporting series dating back to 1984. If you’ve never heard of it before, take a look at the trailer below which actually starts with a throwback to this classic 1984 title.
Though it doesn’t have exactly the same aesthetics as the Wii Sports series, I feel the cartoon graphics do a solid job capturing the same kind of feeling.
The game will feature beach volley ball, track and field events, as well as swimming races all utilizing motion controls. Many visitors to E3 got the chance to play some of these modes and the reactions varied. Some praised the game for the accuracy of which the controller motions simulated the real thing, specifically with the track events. Others had a clunkier time with it, citing “stutter animations” and “sluggishly timed action prompts” made the game feel as though it was developed with very little enthusiasm.
As someone who ended up becoming a big fan of motion controls thanks almost entirely to Wii Sports, I’m hoping that the incomplete demo version that was displayed during E3 was just that – a demo. I’m betting that Konami will get their act together and iron out all of the bugs and performance issues before the official release of the game. In the end, I feel that this game has the potential to be the worthy successor to Wii Sports that I’m sure fans of the series have been waiting for.
Featured image courtesy of Konami
