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Reggie on Wii Sports Success as Switch 2 Faces Heat

by Sadie Oct 21,2025

Reggie on Wii Sports Success as Switch 2 Faces Heat

Reggie Fils-Aimé advocated for Wii Sports as a Wii bundle inclusion - Photo by Susan Goldman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has subtly referenced the Wii Sports inclusion history through tweets, seemingly responding to criticism over Nintendo's decision to charge for Switch 2's tutorial software Welcome Tour.

While public attention focused on Switch 2's $449.99 MSRP and Mario Kart World's $79.99 pricing, additional controversy emerged regarding Welcome Tour's paid status as an interactive manual.

Nintendo unveiled Welcome Tour during last week's Direct presentation – a software title launching simultaneously with Switch 2 in June that provides a gamified hardware orientation experience.

A Digital Showroom Experience

Described as a "virtual exhibition," Welcome Tour utilizes tech demos and minigames to demonstrate system capabilities. Nintendo emphasizes it reveals functionality "players may never have discovered otherwise."

The Direct footage showed an avatar navigating an oversized Switch 2 model while interacting with system components, supplemented by minigames including Speed Golf and a Maracas Physics Demo.

IGN verification confirms the digital-only Welcome Tour carries a $9.99 price point – significantly below other Switch 2 titles, yet sparking debate among fans who expected parity with PlayStation 5's free Astro's Playroom tech demo.

Echoes of Wii Packaging Debates

Fils-Aimé shared three interview clips highlighting his historical negotiations with Shigeru Miyamoto regarding Wii Sports' inclusion. The first reveals Miyamoto's initial resistance to bundling Wii Sports, which ultimately shipped globally except Japan.

The second clip details similar friction surrounding Wii Play's controller bundle inclusion, recalling how this stance "pissed off" Miyamoto. The final segment demonstrates the measurable success of these bundling decisions in Western markets.

While not directly addressing current Switch 2 strategy, these tweets clearly reference the demonstrated value of included software. Fans immediately recognized the parallels, with one response stating "We know you would've included Welcome Tour."

Nintendo's Value Proposition

Nintendo of America VP Bill Trinen recently defended Welcome Tour's pricing during a Switch 2 preview event, emphasizing its depth beyond initial demonstrations. He noted upcoming Treehouse Live segments would better showcase the software's comprehensive nature.

"For tech-savvy users wanting detailed system insights, this represents strong value," Trinen stated, explaining the development team's substantial investment justified the $9.99 price as reasonable compensation for the delivered experience.

This pricing discussion forms part of broader conversations surrounding Nintendo's next-generation pricing strategy, including higher software and hardware costs compared to previous platform launches.

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