Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Launches Oct. 22 at $49.99 With 12 Sports. Which Joy-Cons Work

There's a certain kind of video game that works as a dare. Put a controller in someone's hand, tell them to swing it, and watch an entire living room stand up. Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, out Thursday, Oct. 22, exclusively on Switch 2, is Nintendo's next try at that trick, and this time the stage is Wuhu Island.

Here's how I'm handling it. I haven't played the game, and when I looked on Monday I couldn't find a single review score for it. So this isn't a review. It's a pre-launch field guide built from Nintendo's own product pages and hands-on previews: every sport on one board, what Nintendo has and hasn't said about controllers, what a night with the game costs, and my own ranking, which I flag as a guess whenever it is one.

The board: all 12 sports and who can play

Everything on this board comes from Nintendo's UK product page, which lists offline and online player counts for every sport. Both bars share one scale, so the lopsided online side jumps out. The blurbs are my short paraphrases of Nintendo's descriptions.

Nintendo's page puts an asterisk on the online counts for Skateboarding, Power Cruising and Prop Plane, and a footnote on the same page says those are available online only through Friend Lobby. Nintendo's U.S. store page says Casual Online Play covers nine sports. Those two lines fit together, since 12 sports minus the three leisure ones is nine, but that's my reading of two pages, not a sentence either one spells out. Nintendo also lists a ranked Pro League, where you start at E and face players at a similar level, and a casual mode where wins and losses aren't recorded.

Three numbers hiding in Nintendo's chart

I counted the chart a few times, because the totals say more than the trailer does.

My read: this is a couch game first, an online game second and, thanks to Bowling, a big-group-chat game third. Boxing and Thumb Wrestling are duels, so those are the two where a four-person night turns into a bracket with people waiting their turn. Nothing wrong with that. A bracket is its own kind of fun. It's just worth knowing before the pizza shows up.

Which controllers work, and which question is still open

Nintendo's page has one line that matters more than any trailer: multiplayer requires one compatible controller per player, and additional controllers, sold separately, may be required. Here's how I sorted what I found.

A new Switch 2 comes with a pair of Joy-Con 2, and for the sports that use one controller each, that covers two players out of the box. That's my inference from Nintendo's one-controller-per-player line, not a Nintendo statement about this specific game.

Three game nights, three shopping lists

Instead of one price, here's what it takes to get three kinds of evenings going. I left accessory prices out on purpose, because I didn't verify a current number and I'd rather leave a blank than guess.

If you don't own a Switch 2 yet, our console price guide mentions a Switch Sports Resort bundle at $529.99, per VideoCardz, which is the number I'd compare against buying the console and the game separately.

My pre-launch ranking of the 12 sports

Zero hours played, so treat this as a draft board, not a verdict. It leans on player counts, Nintendo's own descriptions and what the previews praised or shrugged at.

1. 1
   Bowling

   The only sport with a 16-player online lobby, and Nintendo adds special lanes with obstacles plus a 100-Pin Game. I'd bet on this one for a rainy Sunday and a busy group chat.

2. 2
   Table Tennis

   Preview writers keep singling it out. Comicbook said it was more enticing than expected and showed off some of the best HD Rumble it felt in the game.

3. 3
   Skateboarding

   The mouse-control sport. Games.gg called it the standout of the 12 events. The catch: you need a Joy-Con 2 and a flat surface.

4. 4
   Thumb Wrestling

   Comicbook called it likely the funniest new addition, and Quest Daily called it an absolute must-play. Two players max, so it's the bracket sport.

5. 5
   Archery

   Comicbook noted that very little has changed, and I mean that kindly. The shared-target rule is a nice way to play four at once.

6. 6
   Tennis

   Several shot types and a Laid-Back Match with a bigger, slower ball, which is the setting I'd pick for a mixed-age room.

7. 7
   Prop Plane

   Tilt to fly, shoot balloons, set off fireworks to call a friend, per GeekDad. Engadget's writer wished it came with real races.

8. 8
   Basketball

   Three-Point Contest and Five-Streak Battle sound like quick rounds, and quick rounds are how a game night keeps moving.

9. 9
   Boxing

   Punch, guard, counterpunch. Two players only, so it earns a spot but not a high one.

10. 10
    Volleyball

    Bump to the Beat is the rhythm mode that caught my eye. The standard match is the one I'm least sure about.

11. 11
    Golf

    Three, nine or 18 holes. Eighteen is a lot for a motion game, though the short option helps.

12. 12
    Power Cruising

    It lands last only because Prop Plane and Skateboarding already cover exploring the island, and I'd rather play a sport.

My take: the sports are known, the island is the bet

Here's what I keep circling. Most of the 12 sports are old friends or close cousins of them. Five come straight from Switch Sports. What Nintendo is building new is the place. Wuhu Island is open to explore, with Sightseeing Tours that send you hunting for Spocco Photos, Free Play in the plane, the boat and on the skateboard, and an Item Center that rotates its stock weekly and monthly. Spocco Points, which pay for clothes, gear and hairstyles, are earned online or offline, solo or with friends.

That's the layer that decides whether this is a game you play launch week or one you're still opening in spring. The sports are dinner. The island is whether anyone sticks around for the walk afterward. Engadget's hands-on made the same point from the other side: exploring the resort left its writer wishing for time trials and downhill courses that aren't there. I read that as a compliment with a wish list attached.

I'm optimistic for three reasons. The price is on the low side for a first-party Nintendo game, and Comicbook described it as cheaper than normal. The previews are warm, and Nintendojo said whatever felt off in the motion controls of Switch Sports seemed to click here. And there's structure to chase: Nintendo gives each competitive sport an Island Champion to beat, nine in all, from Aya in Boxing to Aaliyah in Bowling to Filippo in Golf.

What would sour me: loose-feeling motion in the first reviews, online play that struggles, or an island that's pretty and empty. Previews are written by people invited to play, and reviews are written after strangers pile in. Those are different tests.

Who should buy it Thursday

What I couldn't confirm

• Review scores. I couldn't find any as of Monday, Oct. 19. Everything above about quality comes from previews.
• The physical edition's format. I couldn't tell from Nintendo's pages whether it's a full cartridge or a game-key card.
• Download size. Nintendo's UK page lists 10.3 GB. Deku Deals lists 16 GB. Check the eShop page before clearing storage.
• Pro Controller support. Not stated on Nintendo's product pages.
• Original Joy-Con in every sport. Nintendo's own words cover Tennis and Power Cruising. The rest rests on Inven Global's report.

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