Do video games always lead to a sedentary lifestyle and idleness? Not necessarily, tempers Étienne Boulay. As proof, the new Nintendo Switch Sports will force young and old to get up and burn calories on the tennis court, badminton court or on the bowling alleys.
This is a myth that critics of the video game industry like to convey, those who see a direct link between the use of electronic games among young people and poor physical fitness. But this statement must be qualified, argues Étienne Boulay.
The retired footballer – and former star player of the Montreal Alouettes – knows something regarding it. He also demonstrates it for the form, rushing into his living room, Nintendo Switch controllers in hand, to accumulate the offal on the virtual bowling alley scrolling on his television.
“I can move with this game, I’m not just sitting on my steak flexing my thumbs. And I feel like I have more control than just being able to choose a game and a strategy; I can push the technique a little further”, he explains, in videoconference with The newspaper.
Bowling – a discipline particularly appreciated by Étienne Boulay and his children – is only one of the six activities offered by the new Nintendo Switch Sports, launched a few days ago. You can also sweat it out playing badminton, tennis, chambara, volleyball and soccer, all in the comfort of our living room. Golf will be added to this offer next September, while other sports might follow in the following months, all via download.
Fifteen years following the Wii
It’s a new foray into the genre for the Japanese entertainment giant, more than 15 years following the success of the Wii Sports. As the years have passed, the technological advances are striking, showing up quickly when it comes time to push the cartridge into the console.
The most striking: the use of Joy-Cons and their infinitely more precise motion sensors than at the time of the Wiimotes.
“It was much less easy at the time to recreate movements; you had to be very precise, within the right perimeter. Today it is so much simpler. My 8 year old daughter doesn’t have to come to me for help navigating the menus either. Everything is very well explained, very instinctive”, emphasizes Étienne Boulay.
As spokesperson for this new game, Étienne Boulay obviously tested it on his own, but also with his family. Because, like any parent, the sportsman admits to worrying regarding the time his children spend in front of electronic screens, as well as the content to which they may be exposed. And on this point, the Nintendo Switch Sports turns out to be a very good compromise.
“Without wanting to put any platform on trial, the news feed can go fast on apps like TikTok and you don’t always know what you might stumble upon. With a game like Nintendo Switch Sport, we know exactly the kind of content that is presented there, and we know that our children move. It’s a fit perfect,” he says.
♦ The game Nintendo Switch Sports is currently available.
Nintendo takes it to the next level
More colorful, more inviting, but above all more fun, Nintendo Switch Sports comes to raise the standards, becoming the new benchmark in sports simulation for the whole family.
More than 15 years following its Wii Sports, the giant Nintendo is back today with a new foray into the genre that will bring fans back to familiar territory. Did you pass your turn at the time? Carefree. We quickly acclimatize to this crazy, colorful and magnificently comical world, much like the Japanese giant.
Joy-Con in hand, six disciplines are available to us here: bowling, tennis, badminton, volleyball, soccer and chambara (a Japanese combat sport). The remote controls thus allow players to control the movements of their avatar, whether to throw a bowling ball, wield the sword, kick a ball or parry an attack.
Exceptional
In short, we may not be reinventing anything, but we are perfecting the concept, both in its content and its form to make Nintendo Switch Sports exceptional entertainment for the whole family.
Because the controls are of a fluidity hitherto unequaled in this field, the gyroscope of the Joy-Cons allowing an impressive precision and an almost absolute freedom of movement. Another novelty worth mentioning? The possibility of adjusting the level of difficulty of each player to place young and old on an equal footing during family games. The tutorials are also short, succinct and effective.
We would also be remiss if we did not mention the universe that unfolds here with exemplary dynamism and attention to detail.
Animated environments
Bowling matches are played in a crowded and lively bowling alley. While the player – or rather his avatar – rushes ball in hand, the scene awakens with characters who climb an electric staircase, chat with each other or even run on nearby alleys.
The same goes for tennis or badminton games, for example, which are held in a crowded sports center. This raises the experience several notches, making it more immersive and complete.
