The official release of Nintendo Switch Sports is on the horizon. Billed as a return to the glorious days of Wii Sports, this game is designed for everyone - but children might need some adult supervision while they play.
nintendo switch sports logo
Ahead of launch day, Nintendo has issued a safety warning for Switch Sports warning parents to supervise their kids so they wouldn't end up accidentally hitting each other, writes Eurogamer. The warning was shared on Nintendo's customer support Twitter:
また、『Nintendo Switch Sports』を遊ぶときは、Joy-Conにストラップを取り付けてロックしたあと、ストラップが手首から抜けないようにストッパーを締めて、しっかりとにぎってください。
ストラップの取り付けかたは、こちらのサポートページをご覧ください。 https://t.co/GjRUIXXyhw pic.twitter.com/7dbr8rbQ9I— 任天堂サポート (@nintendo_cs) April 28, 2022
Since the tweet is in Japanese, here is the official translation courtesy of NintendoLife:
"[For parents] For your safety, please accompany your child when playing Nintendo Switch Sports. Please be careful not to hit the children playing with each other or hit the Joy-Con on the TV."
The warning goes on:
"Also, when playing Nintendo Switch Sports, attach the strap to Joy-Con and lock it, then tighten the stopper so that the strap does not come off your wrist, and queeze it firmly."
As you can read there, the warning is simple: just wear the wrist strap while playing. This is an excellent safety feature considering the specific sports you can play in the game, most of which require that you make long, sweeping, strong movements with your hands, arms, and legs.
These games are as follows: soccer/football, badminton, bowling, volleyball, tennis, and chambara (sword fighting). For the soccer game, you will have a dedicated leg strap to let you play with the Joy-Con strapped to your ankle, as you won't have anything else to secure it there.
Nintendo Switch Sports will release on Apr. 29 for the base Switch and Switch OLED models and not for the smaller Switch Lite for a simple reason: it doesn't have Joy-Cons.
Read also: Nintendo Switch Online Adds 3 More NES, SNES Games - Which Ones are They?
Nintendo Switch Sports Early Reviews Are In
A few days before the official worldwide launch of Switch Sports, there are already early reviews posted by several big gaming websites. Most of them are pretty positive but don't point to a spectacular game.
In its review, IGN gave the game a 7 out of 10. They were fans of the overall fun factor of the game if you manage to get your friends to play it with you. Chambara gets people to flail at each other as the audience looks on basically, badminton can become uber-competitive, and soccer can raise your blood pressure a bit as you try to race against the clock to get a goal.
Among the only issues they had was the overall feel of the controls. They said that only specific games worked well with the detached Joy-Con setup, with volleyball being the toughest to start with.
Another review from Polygon says that Nintendo Switch Sports is everything Wii Sports 2 should've been if that sequel was ever made. They praised it as a great successor to the now 15-year-old Wii Sports - a popular game that even today's biggest games (even Elden Ring) would never touch it in terms of lifetime sales.
