‘Wii Sports’ returns with HD and online play

By Adam Rosenberg September 18, 2013

wii sports returns with hd and online play in club — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Wii Sports, the pack-in game that sealed Nintendo’s Wii success in 2006, is set to be revived in HD as Wii Sports Club for Wii U, the latest Nintendo Direct livestream confirms. Baseball, bowling, boxing, golf, and tennis are set for re-release in the Wii U eShop as individual downloads. In addition to the newly refreshed graphics, all games in the Wii Sports Club package also support online multiplayer.

The pricing is where things start to get a little odd, so pay attention. You’ll be able to download any of the five games for free on a 24-hour trial, and after that you’ll have the option of picking up either a $1.99 Day Pass or a $9.99 full purchase. There’s no bundle deal, but $50 for all five is right in line with standard pricing on Wii games.

The addition of online support covers more than just versus play. The “Club” in Wii Sports Club refers to a community focus in the games, in which “players will be registered to state or regional clubs,” the press release notes. You’ll be able to chat with fellow players using Miiverse during matches, and participate in either unranked matches versus fellow club members or ranking matches versus rival clubs.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

Download these rare Wii U games before they disappear

Nintendo's Wii U is notorious for how hard it flopped and for providing the Switch with some of its best ports, but that doesn't mean it didn't have worthwhile games that are still exclusive to it. While many Wii U games have escaped to other platforms and Game Boy Advance games are now coming to Nintendo Switch, some experiences are uniquely suited to the Wii U GamePad or aren't able to make the jump elsewhere due to other outside factors.

As such, when the Wii U and 3DS eShops shut down on March 27, there are some unique Wii U games that will become significantly more expensive and tougher, if not outright impossible, to play. If you're one of the 13.5 million people who actually have a Wii U and are wondering what to pick up before the eShop closes, we recommend these stranded games.
Affordable Space Adventures

Gaming

MLB The Show 23 returns to Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch this March

Jazz Chisholm's cover art for MLB The Show 23.

Sony San Diego Studios announced MLB The Show 23 today, and confirmed that it will launch across all major PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo systems on March 28.
No new platforms were added this year, so PC players aren't getting in on the fun. Still, this announcement makes it clear that MLB The Show is a multiplatform series across PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo platforms for the foreseeable future. Xbox's version of the trailer also confirms that MLB The Show 23 will be on Xbox Game Pass at launch, making this first-party Sony series a day-one Game Pass title three years in a row.
MLB The Show 23 - Cover Athlete Reveal
As is typically the case with sports games, MLB The Show 23's reveal was primarily focused on its cover athlete. We learned that Jazz Chisholm Jr., a second baseman for the Miami Marlins, will grace the cover of the game. Like last year, the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch versions of the game will cost $60, while players on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S without Xbox Game Pass will need to pay $70. So far, no new gameplay features have been teased, although a blog post confirms that cross-platform multiplayer, saves, and progression across all versions of the game will return this year.
So far, there's not a lot that actually seems new about MLB The Show 23, but this reveal concludes the genesis of a new era for the long-running baseball series. MLB The Show 23 will be released for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch on March 28.

Gaming

The forgotten games of 2022: 7 sleeper hits worth returning to

Three Hopes characters on a stylized purple background.

These days, it's simply impossible to keep up with every great game that releases in a year. With such a mass of experiences to choose from, players have no choice but to curate. That means that every year is bound to produce what I've started calling "forgotten games." It's a term I use to describe sleeper hits that would have garnered attention in a less crowded year, but were simply lost among a sea of great titles.

"Forgotten games" tend to break my heart. Generally, they didn't do anything wrong -- save for maybe skimping on their marketing budgets. They're strong games, just ones that didn't generate conversation. Sometimes it's just that they weren't groundbreaking enough to break into "game of the year" discussions. They're not polarizing or controversial enough to generate discourse. These games simply aren't conversation pieces and that's a difficult place to be in during our social age, which makes them hard to prioritize.