Wii Sports
2000's Era Game
Class of 2021 Inductee
Wii Sports is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console.
The game was released in North America along with the Wii on 19 November 2006, and in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month.
It was included as a pack-in game with the console in all territories except Japan, making it the first sports game included with the launch of a Nintendo system since Mario’s Tennis for the Virtual Boy in 1995.
The game was later released on its own as part of the Nintendo Selects collection of games.
Wii Sports was well-received by critics and audiences.
It was also a commercial success, selling 82 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Nintendo video game, as well as the third-best-selling videogame of all time and the best-selling game exclusive to one console.
The game has become a popular means for social gatherings and competitions among players of varying ages.
Wikipedia Link:
Awards:
Wii Sports’s debut at 2006 E3 garnered it several awards. At the event, it won the Game Critics Award for “Best Sports Game”.
1UP.com listed it as the “Best Wii Game” and “Most Original Game” in their “Best of E3 2006” feature.
IGN awarded it “Best Sports Game of 2006” and second best game of 2006.
Time magazine listed the game as the number one game of 2006 in their list of “Top 10 Video Games of 2006”
Wii Sports won Famitsu’s 2006 “Innovation Award”.
Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it “Best Multiplayer Experience” in their 2006 “1Up Network Awards”.
At the 10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Wii Sports won “Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering”, “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design”, and “Outstanding Innovation in Gaming”, while also receiving nominations for “Console Game of the Year” and “Overall Game of the Year”.
In 2007, the game won the “Innovation Award” and “Best Game Design” at the Game Developers Choice Awards, and won “Grand Prize” in the entertainment division of the Japan Media Arts Festival.
At the 2007 British Academy Video Games Awards, Wii Sports won six out of seven award nominations: Sports, Innovation, Gameplay, Multiplayer, Casual, and Strategy and Simulation.
The New York Times named Wii Sports as the Game of the Year, while Gamasutra proclaimed it as the most important game of 2006.
In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.
Nate Bihldorff, acceptance speech on behalf of Nintendo at IVGHOF 2021:
