Shigeru Miyamoto Fought Against Wii Sports Being a Pack-In Game on the Wii – Reggie Fils-Aime

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Among the criticisms levied at Nintendo over its pricing strategies for the upcoming Switch 2 and its launch games, one point of contention is that the game Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour will not be included with the console out-of-the-box. Instead, players will have to pay $9.99 to access the title. In contrast, during the successful run of the Wii, Nintendo opted to include Wii Sports as a free game for consumers.

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During an interview with IGN on their Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, Fils-Aime shared a tale about a disagreement he had with Shigeru Miyamoto over whether or not to include the game Wii Sports as a free bundle with the Wii console. In this account, Miyamoto strongly opposed the idea of giving the title away for free with the console.

According to Fils-Aime, it’s an underestimation to suggest that Mr. Miyamoto resisted; rather, during the creation of the Wii and its Wii Sports software, Mr. Miyamoto was determined to make the system appealing not only to experienced gamers but also to newcomers, aiming to draw them into the world of video gaming. He believed that Wii Sports, with its sports utilizing the Wiimote and being recognized globally, would be the perfect tool for this task. His suggestion was to include Wii Sports as a part of the hardware package itself.

Initially, when I proposed this idea, Mr. Miyamoto responded by saying, “Reggie, Nintendo doesn’t give away software for free. You don’t grasp how much effort our developers put into creating such engaging content.” However, I recalled that my SNES came with software included, indicating that the company had indeed given away software in the past. Yet, it was always part of a strategic plan. My response to Mr. Miyamoto was about Wii Sports – if we included it, the hardware would have immediate value for consumers upon opening and setting up. Moreover, this popular software would serve as a starting point for many consumers’ experiences with Nintendo.

The proposal resulted in Wii Sports being enjoyed not just at home, but also in places like bars, cruise ships, and retirement homes. It became a shared, widespread experience. However, he initially showed disapproval of my idea, to the extent that during a later visit to his office in Kyoto, the team demonstrated software that would eventually become Wii Play. While those games were entertaining too, they lacked the unifying factor present in Wii Sports, which connected all the experiences. My persistence in suggesting we bundle Wii Play with the Wii Remote only served to irritate Mr. Miyamoto further.

Ultimately, in both the Americas and Europe, the video game “Wii Sports” came bundled with the Wii console. Interestingly, this wasn’t the case in Japan, which served as something of a test market. It was clear that where “Wii Sports” was included, the Wii gained significant popularity. In fact, “Wii Sports” itself also became more popular. Additionally, we packaged the Wiimote with the game “Wii Play,” and it ended up becoming the fifth best-selling software title in the history of the Wii.

By coincidence, Nintendo didn’t include any free games with the Switch when it was launched in 2017. Instead, they chose to sell games like 1-2-Switch individually, following the philosophy that Miyamoto had shared with Fils-Aime as mentioned in the story.

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2025-04-10 17:12