2022 is a huge year for Nintendo games. Fans of the Switch have already gotten Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and there's still major releases like Splatoon 3, Bayonetta 3, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on the way. Before that, Nintendo will release Nintendo Switch Sports, a game in the style of Wii Sports that brings plenty of new ideas. Nintendo Switch Sports reinvents old sports, improving Swordplay through Chambara's different sword types, and it also brings a variety of new sports into the fold. Perhaps most importantly, though, Nintendo Switch Sports will feature online multiplayer, meaning fans can finally test their skills against strangers.
Online multiplayer is a perfectly logical feature for Nintendo Switch Sports. Thanks to Nintendo Switch Online, lots of previous Switch games have had good reason to include online play features, and future Switch games will undoubtedly do the same. The details of Switch Sports online multiplayer are important, however. Nintendo says that the game will feature an online ranking system that tracks the player's progress as they compete online. The introduction of an online ranked system is extremely important, since it gives Switch owners good reason to keep playing Nintendo Switch Sports for years to come.
The Significance of Ranked Nintendo Switch Sports
According to a recent overview trailer for Nintendo Switch Sports, online play features a simple but effective ranked ladder. Online players will all start at E rank, and as they win games against online opponents, they'll slowly climb through 12 ranks until they reach A rank, the pinnacle of Nintendo Switch Sports' multiplayer system. It's not clear yet if there are any material rewards for reaching A rank, but it wouldn't be surprising if Nintendo Switch Sports rewarded players with special cosmetics that commemorated their achievements. Clothes for Sportsmates could come from ranked play, but Nintendo might offer skillful players special in-game titles too.
Online multiplayer is inherently a good idea, since it gives Switch Sports players an alternate way to seek out a PvP experience, but the ranked system specifically is very valuable for Nintendo Switch Sports. Wii Sports enthusiasts will want to play Nintendo Switch Sports online multiplayer regularly, since their rank will presumably decay if they go without playing for a while, much like ranked systems in other games. That sense of active competition for a top rank, as well as the consistent challenge of playing against real people, could give Nintendo Switch Sports players far more reason to play the game long-term than Wii Sports ever had.
Nintendo Switch Sports Needs Longevity
Nintendo seems to want Nintendo Switch Sports to become a core Switch title, based on its excitement about the game and its plans to update the game over the course of 2022. While that's great, Nintendo Switch Sports' future updates look like they'll arrive very slowly, meaning interest could wane significantly in the time between updates. Nintendo Switch Sports could end up feeling like a temporary novelty in early 2022, rather than a robust Nintendo title, if it gives players little reason to play consistently. The ranked system is at least one sign that Nintendo is interested in keeping fans playing.
Hopefully Nintendo will support the ranked system in meaningful ways after Nintendo Switch Sports launches. Offering players limited time rewards for meeting certain ranks in a certain amount of time will give completionists and competitive fans good reason to play Nintendo Switch Sports throughout 2022 and beyond, meaning they'll still be active whenever a major update for the game releases. Its relationship with Wii Sports already gives Nintendo Switch Sports a good advantage in the short term, but in the long term, it needs its own features of value if it wants to help carry the Switch through its late years.
Nintendo Switch Sports releases April 29, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
