
The Wii Sports Club range on the Wii U eShop has offered some decent fun so far, bringing HD, Miiverse and MotionPlus upgrades to three events from the iconic Wii Sports. We're still awaiting Baseball and Boxing, of course, in order to complete the set; if a Japanese retail blog is to be believed, they're not far away.
The blog in question — Sinobi — has posted a tweet (translated by Siliconera) suggesting that the previously rumoured retail bundle of all Wii Sports Club games is due to arrive in Japanese stores on 17th July. Logic dictates, therefore, that the Boxing and and Baseball downloads should be available around that time; the potential for a boxed compilation in the West shouldn't be disregarded, either, and could provide perfect Summer filler for the Wii U's release line-up. The Wii Sports brand is familiar to millions of gamers from the Wii era, so a reasonably-priced boxed product of the upgraded versions could make commercial sense for all territories.
Of course, the existing Wii Sports Club downloads are available through the 'Pass' system, so you can buy them outright or have limited time access by paying less. While unclear how successful this has been in terms of sales, it looks like we could have the full set available on the eShop soon, and maybe in stores.
Are you still looking forward to a bit of Baseball and Boxing on the Wii U, and would you be tempted by a boxed compilation?
[source siliconera.com, via twitter.com]
Comments 53
I have a friend who is really looking forward to Baseball. He was looking forward to golf and this was next. Good for him!
I never understood why this was not massively advertised. Like Wii Fit U wasn't either. All those people with Wii's that played nothing but Wii Fit and Sports could have seen the massive improvements in these versions and be tempted.
Motion plus boxing PLZ!!!!!!
What a coincidence. I was just on the forums wondering about that.
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/wii-u/why_is_no_one_buying_the_wii_u?start=200#reply-217
I hope they fix boxing, as it felt borderline broken to me.
And on baseball Rusty has me covered.
I hope boxing and baseball would be free for golf, tennis, and bowling owners.
Physical box compilation would still cost around 60 but would be bundled with a wiimote (and possibly nunchuk for boxing). Or there would be no physical at all.
Maybe a Wii Sports Clu & Wii Fit u bundle, but they are the kind of small titles I want digitally for ease (yes, I know the irony of not wanting to change discs to play exercise games...)
Wii Sports Club has been a pathetic joke so far. Hoping that Boxing and Baseball will turn out to be actual improvements over the originals, but they could also turn out to be terrible.
Box set makes sense after all 5 are out, been expecting that from the beginning, but price will be an issue. Wii Sports was a cultural phenomenon in the US due to it being included in the $250 Wii box. Then later it sold for $20 after Mario kicked it out of the box. I dont see a lot people buying what in their eyes will simply be an HD remake for $50. Maybe as a Chistmas gift if it releases around Black Friday.
And speaking of long ago E3 showings we are still waiting on, where's Bayonetta 2? That was 2 years ago, wasnt it? Or am I wrong and it was only last year?
@ROBLOGNICK You mean massive downgrades, right?
They should have updated the visuals a bit so it looked like a new game and made more of a big deal about the new accurate controls. Motionplus already won the motion control war but I think 99% of the anti-Nintendo brigade have never seen how good the 1:1 tracking is in the motion plus titles.
Wii U Tennis might be the best 1vs1 sports game ever created. It's just a shame not many other people play it. It's more addictive than online Mario Kart. There's some matching issues but the lag problem was gone fairly soon after release, I read a lot of BS from people about it being broken and terrible but they either lack the skill to play it properly or have a terrible internet connection.
I hope Nintendo offer some kind of deal to early adopters because £9 per game feels excessive when the online features aren't very good and we all know the retail game will cost £30-40 from most good online stores. .
Anybody think they spent this time changing baseball into a full game like Sluggers where we can pick our own team of Mii players and choose number of innings? I was waiting 5 or 6 years for Wii Sports 2 where baseball actually felt like Super Sluggers with Miis.
@Mahe how were any of the games a massive downgrade? They're either the same or better and they added (dodgy) online.
@rjejr They should be making a full game for each of these sports but it seems they think 3DS is better for golf and baseball games at the moment!
Sweet! Looking forward to it! I love the Golf, but as far as my Golf needs, Mario Golf World Tour has that taken care of. I do own the full version of Bowling. I will probably buy Golf soon... but Boxing I am very excited for!
@rjejr Yes you are wrong. The last major Nintendo Direct showcased gameplay footage for the game. And it was just announced that Japan is getting the game in the summer.
I was holding out for this.. I'm sure there is a even better value at getting the physical than the digital version.
I was holding out for this.. I'm sure there is a even better value at getting the physical than the digital version.
This might come off a bit bratty, but here it goes...
Wii Sports Club needs to be completely free for all current Wii U owners. The original 4 sports should also be unlocked, free, and included in all future Wii U consoles.
I think they'd be better off by shoving it into a Wii U bundle, perhaps with Wii Fit U too, rather than trying to sell it for full price. I might buy Baseball if it improves but there's no chance I'll get boxing.
I've found all the Wii Sports titles to be improvements. More nuanced, slightly less accessible improvements. To me the gameplay is unquestionably better and more difficult; however, in the process the games have lost a smidgen of what made them so widely contagious.
@Blue-Thunder Same here. Hoping we get a physical game for this as well as NES Remix 1 & 2. I consider my 32GB precious space, and something not gobbled up when I can avoid it.
boxing online.... GOING TO BE AMAZING!!!
In the case of the original Wii Sports boxing and baseball were the worst ones and I would prefer not to see them being priced equally comapred with the others as they offer so much less.
@outburst The sinobi tweet I saw put an exact number on the price which seemed more like the $35 range. But who knows hoe NOA will handle it.
I think this was confirmed http://playeressence.com/wii-sports-club-is-getting-a-physical-release-in-japan-on-july-17th/
I hope the retail version of Wii Sports Club knocks down the price of the eShop version.
I would buy just Baseball and Boxing. Bowling was fine originally, but those needed a control tweak. Boxing was fun but barely ever registered anything.
@PrincessEevee9 - Yes, I was wrong by a couple of months, game was first shown in Sept 13 2012, not June 2012 at E3. If it releases the end of summer - summer ends Sept 20 - it will be 2 years from announcement to release, and that is a bit long. I don't like games to arrive unannounced, but 1 year should do it.
Guess B2 gives Wii U owners something while 3DS gets SSB this summer. And then Wii U gets X and SSB together this winter.
http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/05/09/monolith-softwares-rpg-x-and-bayonetta-2-coming-out-worldwide-in-2014/
Baseball is the one I have been waiting for! The new pitching element looks really fun
@Nintenjoe64 - "they think 3DS is better for golf"
Yeah, I'm not a huge golf fan - just minigolf - but after Wii Sports golf I don't see the point of playing it any other way.
@rjejr You forgot about Hyrule Warriors. May just be a rumor but it's been stated to be releasing this Summer.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR BOXIN'!!!
@PrincessEevee9 - Do you think Hyrule Warriors will be out this summer, it doesnt even have a final name yet?
http://www.nintendo.com/games/releasecalendar
I was just talking about this w/ my kids in the car yesterday, they really like these types of games but only as muliplayer, which I can't imagine this would have, who would fight besides Link? My kids want toon Link or kid Link but I just don't see that happening.
I was unpleasantly surprised by how the courses in Wii Sports Club Golf look considerably less vibrant and lively than in Wii Sports Resort, and how the game has less holes and less practice modes.
The new features are nice, but add little to the feel.
The Tennis game also seems to have its colors and sense of joy completely drained.
Add to this that playing online is made as little fun as at all possible.
I got Wii Sports for free with my Wii, and played it an awfu lot. If Nintendo wants me to spend time on this less than enchanting entry, they better start experimenting more with Free 2 Play models, or simply give the game away for free in its entirety, to gather in their lost sheep.
As it stands, the value proposition for previous players is just not there.
Hopefully Boxing and Baseball will be all they can be.
@rjejr Zelda, Ganon, and Impa. Those 3 have been "leaked"/show in the inital trailers. You can spot them all at different times(barring Ganondorf). Also they could throw in the Toon versions along with one-time partners/NPCs/Villains.
I hope that whenever Boxing comes, they'll have a control scheme that involves using two Wii Motion Plus/Wii Remote Plus controllers per player, one for each hand.
Not sure what they could do for baseball beyond what they showed in the E3 unveiling trailer.
It'll be interesting to see how sales go if this bundle really is coming out
I will try baseball, but I don't know if I'll buy it or not. I probably won't even try the boxing. I should probably go and play some golf now. Have a good one!
And this is why I waited I much prefer having physical copies when ever possible.
@rjejr
Thanks for that Technobuffalo link. It seems your "nada calendar" gets less nada each passing day. And we still have E3 ahead of us.
The only sports game I want to see is another Mario Strikers game. ^_^
I'm not buying any unless there's a bundle in the States, that's all I know.
The best selling game phenomenon of the last generation and last 10 years deserves much better than a suscription chooped remake. I know gamers like to pretend it never happened and balem it to some other dumb stuff but seeing that after almost 5 years there hasn't been a proper sequel is absurd.
I really like these remasters but feel the price points have been a little high. So far I do own 3 of 3 but would appreciate a discount or something when you've purchased other sports. Maybe 9.99 for your first, 8.99 for your second and so on. Something to reward the folks who are buying them all.
I hope that they offer the download equivalent in NA. I plan to get all of them anyways. Although I wouldn't object if they offer discounts for the last 2 events.
@minotaurgamer Absolutely agreed! Nintendo has done a huge disservice to the series and its fans with Wii Sports Club so far. Farming a poorly realized rehash to Namco and then trying to gouge customers for this tripe with a ridiculous pricing model shows no respect towards Wii Sports players at all.
For boxing, I like the idea of using the gamepad instead of 2 wiimotes,if that is indeed an option. The screen can represent the eyes of your boxer and the motion sensor used for dodging and ducking. The sticks for punching, triggers used for types of punches. Thats how I see it anyways.
i have enjoyed wii sports club on the wii u. as mentioned above, i also don'treally care for golf except miniature, but i have a blast with the wii u on Sundays with beer.
These were my 2 favorites of the collection, but i hope they keep releasing more sports along these lines, maybe head into restorts
I don't have a clue why anybody would buy any of this on WiiU. It epitomizes everything that is wrong with how Nintendo is treating the WiiU: "Look, the game that sold so well half a decade ago! Again!!"
Hey look! It's that Gamepad prototype picture! LoL
@Nintenjoe64 Finally, someone with a bit of sense! Wii Sports Club: Tennis is a knock-out online. The matches are swift, the control works beautifully if you know what you're doing, and things can get really intense. Even the Miiverse cartoon bubble posts can be brilliant if you draw your own and time them well during the replays. This game flies WAY under the radar. Can't wait for Wii Sports Club to be a full retail game. Hope it catches a few more eyeballs that way, 'cause it deserves more.
If this is accurate I hope turns out to be a digital download. There is part of me that is still hoping they would expand this to include the Wii Sports Resort events. HD visuals and online modes (or leaderboards) for those events would have been nice.
@PrincessEevee9 - Somehow I missed all my emails from last Friday. Playing as Ganon(dorf) would be good for my youngest, he always goes for the warrior/barbarian/tank types. I'm hopeing to play as Goron and just roll all over people.
@sinalefa - The nada calendar held true in it's time, it was a tough winter for the Wii U. Things always look better in the spring. And the one potential downside to E3 is that PS4 and X1 will be getting new games as well, some of which won't be coming to Wii U, so whatever Wii U gets it may not be enough for some. So far neither of those other systems have anything I'm really interested in enough to even consider shelling out another $400. There's still a ton of PS3 games I need/want to play - Tomb Raider, Dragon's Dogma, Ni No Kuni - I may keep PS+ for anther year or 2 to supplement Wii U.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...