When the Nintendo Wii launched with Wii Sports, it became a cultural sensation. Not only did it sell to Nintendo faithful and gamer alike, but it also expanded the gaming market into unfathomable size. Everyone had a Wii just for the sports-themed minigame collection that it came with, and it made the usual appearance at family vents for the majority of us.
The Wii U launched with Nintendoland which, even though it was technically sound and a lot of fun in its own right, drew nowhere near the amount of attention that its console launching predecessor did. The Wii U has failed to take off like Nintendo expected, partly because of the confusion that has come with the awkwardly named and designed new console and partly because there simply isn’t that culture-grabbing game for it.
The company can’t shake off the misguided perception that the Wii U is just a peripheral for the Wii, and the public isn’t willing to take that plunge and move on from the original to figure it out.
Nintendo is looking to rectify the situation, at least with one idea: if you can’t beat the original Wii, replace it.
Earlier today the company revealed that it is publishing the classic Wii Sports games for the Wii U, now in HD and with the sports separated out in individual download purchases. The largest complaint that the company faced with the original game was that it wasn’t playable online against others. For many users, there was no reason to pick it up outside of family gatherings.
With this latest version, Wii Sports Club, Nintendo allows for online play against others, as well as Miiverse integration and the ability to join “clubs” that compete against each other in the various sports. Think of it like a very rough social eSports league, quite literally focusing on sports. The couch social aspect is what made the Wii popular, and so replicating that identically wouldn’t work with the more complicated new console. By going online, though, the social aspect is brought back through a more competitive and skill-based system. You don’t want to let your Chicago club down as it faces off against New York, do you?
Wii Sports Club is meant to get players to finally leave the original behind. By pushing out digitally (though, we don’t doubt a boxed release will come at some point in the years to come) it can only be found on the eShop, which is only found on the Wii U. Like the new Streetpass games that the company released for the 3DS recently, the bite-sized experiences should at least improve the social atmosphere on the console. This is the new way to play Wii Sports, so retire the old one. At $9.99 each (or $1.99 for a 24-hour day pass for the bunch) and launching at the beginning of November the games are decently priced, though the company could have gone the route of offering up the first two for free to get the userbase engaged. This should, at least for this holiday season, keep a Nintendo console in use again for family get-togethers after turkey is eaten or presents are opened.
The company is trying something similar with Wii Fit U, its followup to the smash hit fitness games on the older box. Again, social will be key with rankings, message boards, fitness groups and more. An addition to the mix this time is the portable Fit Meter device. Like a Fitbit or a pedometer, the device will retail for $19.99 and provide pedometer features, smart activity knowledge (to collect more than just steps), an LCD screen to display information, and more. With the “quantified self” becoming ever more popular among those concerned with fitness, it should complement the game well. The game itself brings over many of the activities of past Wii Fit games along with 19 new ones.
The the physical game with the Fit Meter packed in arrives in December, but on November 1st the company will release it on the eShop for download — for free. Anyone who downloads it will be able to use the full product for one month, free of charge. At any point should the owner buy a Fit Meter and link it to the game, the game becomes unlocked for full. The $20 investment in the Fit Meter seems a far better deal than the $50 disc-based version coming in December, or the $90 Balance Board bundle that launches then as well.
With the tactic behind these two games, Nintendo is hoping to entice the original owners into upgrading to the Wii U and ditching their OG Wii, especially during the start of the critical holiday shopping season. And they’re also hoping to do it digitally, as once owners get sucked into the economy they’ll be more apt to make more purchases later on. The glaring hiccups are that these are already 7 year old games with slight improvements, not new concepts. Though these are two of the most popular Wii games, there’s no way of knowing if the love for them translates the same this many years down the line. And the company isn’t doing much to bring in potential new buyers. A phone app showing up-to-date standings, sharing notes across social media, or ways to interact with each other would be ideal.
November’s not more than 5 weeks away though, so we’ll find out soon enough.
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