During Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct, there were about five seconds in which Wii Sports Resort fans thought they’d receive a true return to form. At the start of the Nintendo Switch Sports Resort reveal trailer, a plane flies over the original setting of the series, Wuhu Island, before a pretty faithful logo is shown off, and…oh…the Sportsmates are back.
When Nintendo Switch Sports dropped back in 2022, the series’ Miis were mostly replaced by Sportsmates, which are pretty generic avatars with far fewer customization options. They’re kind of cute, sure, but people did not like these guys! The anti-Sportsmates backlash that ensued, paired with the successful release of the Mii-centric Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream earlier this year, rekindled a bit of hope that Miis might start making their way back into the heart of Nintendo games, including whatever entry inevitably came next in the Switch Sports series. Nope!
Instead, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort seems to have the same deal going on: it’s dominated by Sportsmates, but you can technically play as a Mii if you want to. Don’t expect Miis to show up as CPU opponents or anything, though.
Predictably, fans are not happy about the return of the Sportsmates, especially considering the fact that they’re now taking over Wuhu Island. A few of them are even calling the Sportsmates “colonizers”:
Those gremlins culling the original Miis and taking their land. Just sick.
— RunnerEye (@RunnerEyeYT) June 9, 2026
No. That is criminal. You do not bring back Wuhu Island and then treat the Miis like background extras. Wuhu Island belongs to the Miis. That island has Mii DNA in the pavement. The swordplay arena, the cycling roads, and the little resort vibes that is sacred Mii territory.
— Jane Elyse Margolis (@lightmoonlines) June 9, 2026
made this image because i got mad at the new sports resort pic.twitter.com/gBjrJTnF8p
— Cain/Saph (@CainsGayPanics) June 9, 2026
There’s also this, which admittedly made me feel a little bad for Sportsmates:
a less than warm welcome. pic.twitter.com/oBWbk5vSMb
— Don’t Tase Me Bro is coming to Broadway (@weareseparated) June 9, 2026
Nintendo also revamped Wuhu Island for this game, which has become another slightly sensitive subject for Wii enthusiasts. The island’s town has apparently been moved (although some fans are convinced it’s been removed entirely), and its iconic bridge leads to a new archipelago. The whole thing just looks a little empty and flat, though—I can’t seem to spot original landmarks like the hotel, ship, and castle, and not much has been added to take their place.
I’m stoked to see that my beloved Wuhu Island wasn’t just totally thrown away, but man, it seems a little soulless now! I’m holding my breath until I get to fly around it myself, though. I mean, if Nintendo’s including a new version of the Island Flyover sport, there have to be some neat things to discover, right? Right? All I know is that I certainly will not be playing as one of those Sportsmates, no matter how bad that drawing made me feel.
