Reggie Fils-Aimé Highlights Wii Sports Success Amid Switch 2 Tour Backlash

Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has subtly weighed in on the controversy surrounding Nintendo's decision to charge for the Switch 2 tutorial game, Welcome Tour. Amidst the uproar over the $449.99 price of the Switch 2 and the $79.99 price tag for Mario Kart World, the decision to charge for an interactive instruction manual has caught many by surprise.

Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour during its Nintendo Direct last week. Set to launch alongside the Switch 2 in June, this game offers a guided tour of the console through an interactive video game format. Described as a "virtual exhibition" of the new hardware, Nintendo explained that "through tech demos, minigames, and other interactions, players will get to know the new system inside and out in ways they may never have known about otherwise."

The Nintendo Direct showcased footage of a small player avatar navigating a larger-than-life Switch 2, exploring its features and facts. The game includes mini-games like Speed Golf, Dodge the Spiked Balls, and a Maracas Physics Demo. IGN has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour will cost $9.99 and is available only digitally. While this price is lower than other Switch 2 games, IGN has reported complaints from Nintendo fans who believe Welcome Tour should have been included for free, similar to how Astro's Playroom was bundled with the PlayStation 5.

Reggie Fils-Aimé has taken to Twitter to share clips from an IGN interview where he discussed his past battles with Shigeru Miyamoto over including Wii Sports as a free pack-in with the Wii. In one clip, Fils-Aimé mentioned that "it is an understatement to say that Mr. Miyamoto pushed back" on making Wii Sports a Wii pack-in. Despite this resistance, Fils-Aimé succeeded in having Wii Sports bundled with the Wii in all regions except Japan.

The story of Wii Sports pack in ...https://t.co/LhflSFWaL3

— Reggie Fils-Aimé (@Reggie) April 9, 2025

Another clip Fils-Aimé shared discussed his push to bundle Wii Play with the Wii Remote, which also met with Miyamoto's disapproval. Fils-Aimé concluded with a clip highlighting the success of these decisions: "In the Americas and in Europe, Wii Sports was packed in with the Wii proposition. It was not in Japan, which created a bit of a test market. It was obvious that in the markets where Wii Sports was packed in that we became much more of a phenomenon. Wii Sports itself became much more of a phenomenon. We did pack the Remote with Wii Play, and it became the fifth best-selling piece of software in the history of the Wii."

And the results.https://t.co/xrFTDeJMQf

— Reggie Fils-Aimé (@Reggie) April 9, 2025

Although Fils-Aimé did not directly address Nintendo's Switch 2 strategy, his tweets suggest that free pack-ins have historically been beneficial for Nintendo consoles, hinting that a similar approach might have been advantageous for the Switch 2. Fans on social media have picked up on his message, with comments like "Hahaha, guys I think Reggie is watching our comments about the Switch 2," and "We know you would have packed in Welcome Tour."

In an interview with IGN, Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience, Bill Trinen, defended the pricing of Welcome Tour. Conducted before the announcement of delayed pre-orders due to Trump's tariffs, Trinen emphasized that Welcome Tour offers more than what was shown during the Nintendo Direct and recent hands-on sessions. He stated, "It's an interesting product... There's a lot of great detail in there. For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it's going to be a great product. It's really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does. And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, 'Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you're getting out of the product.'"

Welcome Tour is just one aspect of Nintendo's next-gen strategy that has sparked controversy. IGN also covered Trinen's response to questions about the decision to price Switch 2 games at $80 and the console itself at $450.