Wii Sports Games - It's Time to Evolve Again

Feature Article

Submitted on: 02/11/2009 by Steven Bartlett

Sports video games in the United States make up a strong subculture in the gaming community. In general, video games were able to sustain sales, and even grow during 2008. While video games may not be recession-proof, they do provide a fun and alternative form of entertainment while being financially safe. Most of the video-game growth in 2008 came from the Nintendo Wii, which just so happens to be the cheapest home console as well.

People are reluctant to go out and spend $10 on a movie ticket when they can stay at home and rent something in HD On Demand; or better yet, get together with the family and friends and play some Mario Kart Wii during a cold winter night.

The Wii has been dominating Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 3 in the sales department. Nintendo has dominated because developers have created games that people of all skill levels can easily handle, the console is cheaper, and it is marketed as a console for the whole family.

Moving ahead, If the Wii can capture a piece of the simulation-sports market that EA and Take-Two target on Xbox 360s and PS3s, Nintendo will undoubtedly have cut into a share of the software industry that Sony and Microsoft own. As of now, if people play sports sims, they are playing them on the more "traditional" current-gen consoles (Xbox 360 and PS3) rather than the disruptive-generation Nintendo Wii.

Sports games like NASCAR Kart Racing have taken over the Wii console.

The Future of Wii Sports Games

While the Wii has been revolutionary fun for many, Nintendo must look ahead to create new and innovative software for its system. Developers may be turning to the Wii Balance Board as the future. For those who did not already know, EA Sports is already developing a Wii Fit-style game, EA Sports Active. While this type of cloning seems logical, I believe there are some elements of the Wii Remote, combined with the Wii Balance Board, that could provide great value for sports titles.

Tiger Woods on the Wii is a prime example. Tiger Woods Wii has allowed gamers to take on the most challenging virtual courses in the world while providing a variety of tactical swings at a gamer’s disposal. You can hook, slice, flop, chip, punch and putt in the game, and each swing requires a different feel, motion and touch on the user’s Wii Remote.

Using this approach in sports games can open a whole new experience to sports gaming if you add in the Wii Balance Board element. In Tiger Woods, in addition to using the Wii Remote for the various swings, you could also stand on the Wii Balance Board, which would obviously add a whole new element to the golf experience. Generally, sports can be broken down into a science of the human body in motion; each sport has fundamental techniques and motions that must be mimicked.

These actions include muscle drive and energy, center of gravity, lift-off, push-off, pressure, force and more. The Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit have already shown that these physical movements can be measured with the technology in the Board, the Wii Sensor Bar, and the Wii itself.

Swinging a tennis racket at different angles and speeds will put a particular spin on a ball. Shooting a basketball takes balance and timing. These motions, combined with the Wii Balance Board, can be used to create the illusion of actual participation in a particular sport.

The Wii Balance Board measures your balance, footwork and overall pressure via locations on the pad. This type of technology could be utilized for endless sports-related movements and functions.

Games such as FIFA, Madden and NBA 2K9 are fun in their own ways on the traditional current-gen consoles. Still, there is an opportunity here to add a whole new set of sports-sims to the market; games that break down each sport into a science of physiological movements. This could train users about the sport in a whole new way.

And the general principles that have made the Wii successful so far would not have to be displaced in the process. Not only could you potentially get your simulation needs fulfilled, the rest of the family could enjoy various mini-games with the Wii Remote and Balance Board (4.53 million copies of Wii Fit cannot be wrong). Still, the point is, every member of the family could be on board with the sports game purchase because everyone could potentially get something out of it.

Plus, it would be fun to break down some of the sweetest swings in the MLB, while also trying to emulate them step-by-step, based on timing and rhythm.

Wii Sports is a compilation of mini-games, and it is a blast –- we all know it. Now, it is time to take those mini-games and create some new experiences on the Wii.

Member Comments

# 1 nikkiwii @ 02/11/09 11:18 AM

Could, but wont. NBA Live 09 is a prime example of what we will be getting. Dumbed down, no features, no buys.

# 2 ehh @ 02/11/09 12:29 PM

I hate this phrase, but the Wii is what it is. It has no reason to change, especially something as insignificant to the platform as sports games.

# 3 rudyjuly2 @ 02/11/09 12:52 PM

The Wii may dominate the casual gaming sales but it will always suck as a sports gaming system. Tiger Woods may be the only one that can do well because of the swing. As for football, baseball, basketball or hockey, I see the Nintendo controller as a hindrance to what can be done on the 360 or PS3. Plus the graphics pale in comparison. The Wii was never designed for sports gamers and the sales in that department will always be last.

# 4 yamabushi @ 02/11/09 02:19 PM

Your Wiis a party game machine. get over it.

# 5 e0820 @ 02/11/09 03:02 PM

If they want to make a Wii sports game that really involves movement they need to make a dance pad type floor device that would allow you to do movements like jukes and pivots.

# 6 Dondadda @ 02/11/09 07:56 PM

As soon as I heard about the balance board, I dreamed of balance board integration into baseball (true batting stance), golf (body weight shift), and hockey (control your skating with your feet, and have "realistic" control over both of your player's hands with the Wiimote and Nunchuk). Of course, skiing / snowboarding / skateboarding has already been explored. Even boxing and MMA games can incorporate the balance board for footwork.

Come on developers, get off your lazy asses and innovate!!! Cut the "me too" junk. I'm hoping that this stuff is already in the pipeline.

# 7 CarryTheWeight @ 02/11/09 09:06 PM

Some Wii sports titles aren't as bad as people think. Tiger Woods 09, despite a clunky putting interface, was a pretty fun game. PES2008 was extremely innovative last year and a blast to play (here's hoping 2009's the same).

But for every two great sports titles on Wii, there's twenty-two worthless pieces of shovelware. 2K Sports extensively campaigned for NHL 2K9 this year on Wii and the final product was unlike anything their developers announced. It was not an experience that made me want to forget playing the 360 version...sure, its controls were fun but its audio/visual quality was simply ABYSMAL. I'm not expecting wonders with Wii's graphics, but at least give me something that holds up and doesn't make me want to turn on the 360. Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros Brawl and The Conduit do it, so why not the average sports title on Wii? Perplexing...

EA Sports is one of the guiltiest parties on Wii. Not only does it port its last-gen graphics, gameplay and physics engines over to Wii, but somewhere in-between, the graphical quality actually declines. NCAA Football 09 All-Play is the biggest culprit here, as its player models actually looked worse than past NCAA Football titles on PS2 and Xbox. Isn't the Wii hardware supposed to have equal or superior graphical quality over those systems? It's really inexcusable when NCAA Football 2005 is lightyears ahead of NCAA Football 09 All-Play. I mean, the game doesn't even have authentic stadiums (disc space is no issue since Wii Optical Discs hold as much as the Xbox 360 DVD-9's). Just because it uses a control scheme that emphasizes first-time players doesn't mean it needs a graphics scheme designed for people who haven't played video games since hearing "Separate Ways" play off a tape deck in the Journey arcade machine.

Tiger Woods, Nintendo sports games and PES are the leaders of the pack on Wii. Why can't we get quality over quantity one of these days? It pains me to see that instead of 20 solid, fun and intuitive sports games, we get 200 lame pieces of shovelware destined to rot for years in the bargain bin at CVS. And don't tell me casual gamers buy all that stuff, because it's not true...I think if Wii gets a solid sports title, enough word of mouth will build (essentially what happened to PES2008).

# 8 raidersbball20 @ 02/11/09 11:41 PM

The Wii needs some sports games. That balance board is a very advanced piece of equipment

# 9 clevelandspiders @ 02/12/09 12:25 PM

The concept of using the balance board to provide for additional realism through reading another physical input is a good concept, but I'm not holding my breath. What disappointed me in my limited Wii experience was that you throw a curve ball with a button press, not with a wrist snap. (Of course, it's entirely possible that a button press is the only way _I_ could get a ball to break.) I'm pretty sure that there is some sort of accelerometer in the controller, or, if not, there could be.

Maybe the balance board could be designed so that if you don't step quickly enough while carrying the football, the board jumps up and knocks you on your butt. :-)

# 10 PhillipMG @ 02/17/09 11:13 AM

You guys need to chillax. This is the first release. We all know that technology don't get better til the next round. Wait for it. I bet they will vastly improve the experience.

# 11 goheat @ 02/20/09 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarryTheWeight


	Some Wii sports titles aren't as bad as people think. Tiger Woods 09, despite a clunky putting interface, was a pretty fun game. PES2008 was extremely innovative last year and a blast to play (here's hoping 2009's the same). But for every two great sports titles on Wii, there's twenty-two worthless pieces of shovelware. 2K Sports extensively campaigned for NHL 2K9 this year on Wii and the final product was unlike anything their developers announced. It was not an experience that made me want to forget playing the 360 version...sure, its controls were fun but its audio/visual quality was simply ABYSMAL. I'm not expecting wonders with Wii's graphics, but at least give me something that holds up and doesn't make me want to turn on the 360. Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros Brawl and The Conduit do it, so why not the average sports title on Wii? Perplexing... EA Sports is one of the guiltiest parties on Wii. Not only does it port its last-gen graphics, gameplay and physics engines over to Wii, but somewhere in-between, the graphical quality actually declines. NCAA Football 09 All-Play is the biggest culprit here, as its player models actually looked worse than past NCAA Football titles on PS2 and Xbox. Isn't the Wii hardware supposed to have equal or superior graphical quality over those systems? It's really inexcusable when NCAA Football 2005 is lightyears ahead of NCAA Football 09 All-Play. I mean, the game doesn't even have authentic stadiums (disc space is no issue since Wii Optical Discs hold as much as the Xbox 360 DVD-9's). Just because it uses a control scheme that emphasizes first-time players doesn't mean it needs a graphics scheme designed for people who haven't played video games since hearing "Separate Ways" play off a tape deck in the Journey arcade machine. Tiger Woods, Nintendo sports games and PES are the leaders of the pack on Wii. Why can't we get quality over quantity one of these days? It pains me to see that instead of 20 solid, fun and intuitive sports games, we get 200 lame pieces of shovelware destined to rot for years in the bargain bin at CVS. And don't tell me casual gamers buy all that stuff, because it's not true...I think if Wii gets a solid sports title, enough word of mouth will build (essentially what happened to PES2008).

I agree with you here, although I will say that Madden 09 for the Wii was actually leaps and bounds above NCAA 09 for the Wii, especially with All-Play turned off. Still, there is room for improvement. 2K Sports' MLB 2K9 had a great (IMO) pitching mechanic, but the lack of online and bland graphics didn't help. It's even worse that the new version apparently is lacking online yet again. No excuse.

And, as you say, PES 2008 showed how well the Wii can do sports game, if the developers put in the effort.

# 12 zzyzx @ 02/23/09 04:20 AM

IMO, the Wii absolutely can be a good platform for *some* sports. Individual sports are probably a better bet than most team sports for two reasons: they don't need to push the Wii's processor to churn out huge #s of polygons while maintaining a solid frame rate, and these sports seem best-suited to make legitimate use of the controls. Tiger Woods is a good example. Tennis is another. The first Top Spin for Wii was a bit of a misfire, but next year's titles should be much improved with the new controller that gives closer to 1:1 motion control. Even skiing-type games might have potential.

Auto racing - not so promising. Too many "players" to animate, and not enough processing left over for physics.

Team sports centered around strategy and maneuvering can work - see PES. High-action team sports like football and hockey -- there I'm skeptical.

Baseball's somewhere in the middle. There's less going on (on the field) than in football or hockey, and 2K had some good ideas for pitching (the one area where Wii probably improved on 360). With a year's more experience, they might be able to do something more worthwhile.

edit: On the subject of NCAA Football 09 for Wii...you don't even need to make a detailed comparison between Wii and the original Xbox. The Wii obviously isn't *less* powerful than its predecessor. And when NCAA 09 Wii only looks half as good as NCAA 04/05 on Gamecube, you know EA basically crapped it out on a shoestring budget. Blame for that abysmal failure goes straight to EA.

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