Wii Sports Resort is a sports simulation video game created by Nintendo for the Wii console. It was released in 2009 and is the follow-up to Wii Sports (2006). This game was the first Wii title developed by Nintendo to use the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which was included with the game. The game was first introduced at E3 2008 and launched in Japan on June 25, 2009. It was released in most other regions the next month. Initially, Wii Sports Resort was sold separately, but later it was included with newer Wii consoles along with Wii Sports.

The game includes twelve different sports activities. It uses the Wii MotionPlus accessory, which connects to the Wii Remote controller and allows for precise movement tracking in all directions. This is an improvement over the original controller, which could only detect straight-arm motions.

Wii Sports Resort received praise from critics for its better controls, gameplay, and visuals. It was very successful, selling 33 million copies worldwide. This made it the third most popular game on the Wii, after Wii Sports and Mario Kart Wii. It is also one of the best-selling video games ever made. The game was later followed by Wii Sports Club (2014) and Nintendo Switch Sports (2022).

Gameplay

Wii Sports Resort is a sports video game that takes place on a tropical island called Wuhu Island, which is part of a group of islands. When a player starts the game for the first time, several instructional videos will play, followed by a screen showing how to use the strap and a test for the Wii MotionPlus. After this, the player will skydive to Wuhu Island. There are twelve different sports available. Like the original Wii Sports game, each sport is played by holding the Wii Remote (and sometimes the Nunchuk) in a way that mimics the real sport.

In archery, the player holds the Wii Remote vertically to represent holding a bow and uses the Nunchuk to pull back the bowstring. A new feature in Wii Sports Resort is the use of Wii MotionPlus technology, which allows for more accurate control by matching the player’s movements exactly. For example, in the new game Table Tennis, players can add spin to the ball by twisting the Wii Remote while swinging. In Golf, players can spin the ball by rotating the Wii Remote during their swing. Some sports that involve more than two players support a feature called "hot seat multiplayer," where players take turns using a single Wii Remote.

The only sports from the original Wii Sports that return are Bowling and Golf. Table Tennis was previously in a game called Wii Play, but it was played differently using a pointer instead of movement. The other nine sports are new and not found in any other game. Some sports have one-player versions, while others have two-player versions. Most sports support multiplayer, with a maximum of two or four players depending on the game. Three sports from the original game—tennis, baseball, and boxing—are no longer available in Wii Sports Resort.

Setting

Wuhu Island is a fictional tropical island that is the largest in a group of islands and rock formations. "Wedge Island" is the second largest island in the group, where the golf minigame takes place in Wii Sports Resort. At the center-right of the island, a large volcano is clearly visible. It is called "Maka Wuhu," or "Mt. Tenganamanga" in the European version of the game. To the south, a town and beach are located, named "Wuhu Town" and "Sugarsand Beach," respectively. To the west, a group of wind turbines and a lighthouse can be seen. At the center of the island, there is a large lake called "Duckling Lake," which has a waterfall.

Before it was named, a simpler version of the island appeared in a playable demo at E3 2006. The demo was titled Wii Sports: Airplane, a minigame similar to Pilotwings, where players flew a plane around an island, passing through rings within a time limit. This demo was shown with other sports-related minigames, which later became part of Wii Sports. The airplane minigame was not included in the final version of Wii Sports but was later used in a jogging minigame for Wii Fit. The island was called "Wii Fit Island" in the game's manual, though it did not have some features that were added later in games like Wii Sports Resort.

To celebrate the release of Wii Sports Resort, Nintendo turned part of Times Square in New York City into a beach-themed vacation spot based on Wuhu Island. The area included a beach, pool, lounge, and bar. Visitors could also play the full game before its official release on July 26, 2009. In the Air Sports minigame, players can fly around the island and see more details than in other minigames.

In an interview with Satoru Iwata about Wii Sports Resort, Shigeru Miyamoto explained that his goal was to make the island a well-known part of a game series. He said he had thought about creating an island concept for over 10 years. Miyamoto believed the island was so clearly defined with detailed visuals and important features that it felt like a character in its own right. He also said the island helped players feel familiar with the location, saying, "We thought it would be fun to have a place everyone knows and have many activities happen there." Miyamoto confirmed the island would appear in different types of video games, including adventure games, role-playing games, and simulation games.

A few months after Wii Sports Resort was released, Wii Fit Plus, the sequel to Wii Fit, used the island as the setting for several of its minigames.

Wuhu Island is the main location in the third game of the Pilotwings series, titled Pilotwings Resort. The game has gameplay similar to the piloting minigame in Wii Sports Resort.

Mario Kart 7 includes three tracks set on Wuhu Island: "Wuhu Loop," "Maka Wuhu," and "Wuhu Town." A problem was later found where players could skip parts of the "Wuhu Loop" and "Maka Wuhu" maps, which Nintendo fixed after a few months. The "Wuhu Town" map was also included in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Wuhu Island appears as two playable stages in the Super Smash Bros. series. One stage is based on the island itself, and the other is the Pilotwings stage, which first appeared in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. On the Wuhu Island stage, players fight on floating platforms that move around the island, stopping at different locations. On the Pilotwings stage, players fight on two planes that take them from the original Pilotwings island to Wuhu Island from Pilotwings Resort and Wii Sports Resort. These stages returned in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Development

The idea for a sequel to Wii Sports was thought about long before the Wii MotionPlus controller accessory was created. Development started only after the team saw the new abilities the controller could offer. The game was first shown at Nintendo’s E3 2008 press event. Two mini-games, fishing and water slide riding, were first planned for the game but were later removed during development. A prototype mini-game based on kendama was also made, but it was not included in the final version because the developers thought it did not match the resort theme.

The game aimed to avoid repeating sports already in Wii Sports, but bowling and golf returned with changes. Bowling included a new 100-pin mode. Golf was added after Miyamoto, a key designer, mentioned in an interview how a player’s backswing affects the game.

The main setting of Wii Sports Resort, Wuhu Island, first appeared in 2006 as part of a scrapped "Airplane" mini-game for Wii Sports. It was later changed to look like Wii Fit Island, which was part of the Wii Fit series. The island was then redesigned as a resort, earning its name, Wuhu Island. Features like hotels, a castle, rock formations, ruins from an older civilization, and sports areas (such as tennis courts from Wii Sports, a bowling alley, and a swordplay arena) were added. Wuhu Island later appeared in games like Wii Fit Plus, Wii Fit U, Pilotwings Resort, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Reception

Wii Sports Resort received mostly good reviews. On Metacritic, it had an average score of 80%. IGN gave it a 7.7 out of 10, saying the controls were very good and the graphics were much better than most other Wii games. GameTrailers scored it 8.6 out of 10. GameSpot gave it 8.0 out of 10. Edge magazine scored it 6 out of 10. On 1UP.com, the average score from editors and users was an "A-." GamesRelay gave it an 8.2, saying it was a fun game for families and friends. SPOnG.com's Tim Smith gave it a 90%, calling Wii Sports Resort and the MotionPlus peripheral simple but helpful additions to the Wii's collection.

In May 2010, the American Heart Association (AHA) supported the Wii to help inactive people start becoming more active. The AHA heart symbol appears on the console and on more active games like Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort. Nintendo Power listed Wii Sports Resort and its earlier version, Wii Sports, as two of the best multiplayer experiences in Nintendo history. They said the games are fun for people of all ages, from children to grandparents, and noted the variety of sports included. Like its earlier version, Wii Sports Resort was popular among older adults.

Alex Spencer from Kotaku praised the island setting for its design, saying, "Wuhu Island is relaxing in a way that games rarely are." He compared it to other game maps, like Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV. He noted that the island had simple shapes and empty spaces but admired its design when viewed from above. A paper model of Wuhu Island was made and shown by Engadget.

At the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Wii Sports Resort for "Family Game of the Year." The game also got two nominations from the British Academy Games Awards for "Best Family and Social Game" and "Best Sports Game," winning the first category.

In Japan, Wii Sports Resort sold 152,000 copies on its first day and over 514,000 copies in two weeks. In North America, it sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week. By mid-July 2009, the game had sold over 2 million copies worldwide, with 600,000 sold in Europe and 828,000 sold in Japan. Nintendo reported selling over 1 million copies in the United States, Japan, and Europe combined, totaling over 3 million copies by August 2009.

In 2009, Wii Sports Resort sold 7.57 million copies, making it the second-best-selling game worldwide that year. As of March 31, 2021, the game had sold 33.14 million copies worldwide.