Sports Missing From Nintendo Switch Sports Resort

Twelve sports is a large roster, and it still leaves people looking for events that are not there. Some absences are inherited from Nintendo Switch Sports (2022), some are new, and at least one hurts more than the others.

The absent events, in one table

The three that hurt

Badminton is the most requested return in the series and it is still not here. The 2022 game's version was fast, readable and one of the best two-player events in the package. Tennis covers the same ground, but it is a different rhythm: longer rallies, more court to cover, less reflex.

Chambara carried Swordplay Showdown, the single-player mode where you fought waves of Miis on a platform. Its absence means the game has no equivalent mode, and it is the one hole in this roster that nothing else fills. Boxing is the nearest thing mechanically, and it is not close in structure.

Football leaves the game without a team sport that uses a shared ball across a pitch. Volleyball and basketball are both team sports, but both are structured around scoring moments rather than open play.

Why the roster changed shape

The design logic is visible in what replaced them. Volleyball and basketball are two-versus-two formats with clear scoring. Thumb Wrestling is a comedy event that costs almost nothing to play. The three leisure sports are transport.

That is a roster chosen for an open island rather than a menu: two sports that work in a small arena, one that works in ten seconds, and three that double as movement. Badminton and football are both better in a dedicated court, and this game does not have dedicated courts for them.

What the replacements actually do

• Volleyball replaces badminton as the fast reflex event, but with a team structure and a serve-return-spike loop.
• Basketball replaces football as the ball sport, with a much tighter scoring loop.
• Power Cruising replaces the water events (canoeing, wakeboarding) by putting you on the water as a way of travelling.
• Prop Plane replaces air sports by making flight a traversal tool rather than a dogfight.
• Golf absorbs frisbee in the sense that both were precision throwing events, and golf is the one that survived.

Where to play the missing events today

If a specific absence is a dealbreaker, the older games are still the answer:

• Badminton, chambara, football: Nintendo Switch Sports (2022), on Switch 1 and Switch 2.
• Cycling, canoeing, wakeboarding, frisbee, Swordplay Showdown: Wii Sports Resort (2009), on Wii and Wii U.

Neither is a like-for-like replacement, but both run today and neither depends on the new hardware.

Will any of them come back

Nothing has been announced. The realistic candidates, in order, are badminton (persistent demand, small arena footprint) and chambara (a single-player mode shaped hole). Football would need a pitch and a squad system, which is a much larger commitment than a patch.

Nintendo has confirmed one addition since launch that fits the pattern: 100 Pin Bowling exists as a bowling side mode rather than a standalone event. Additions in that shape, variants bolted onto existing sports, are far more likely than whole new events.

FAQ

Is badminton in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort?

No. It was in Nintendo Switch Sports (2022) but not here.

Is there any sword fighting?

No. Chambara and Swordplay Showdown are both absent.

Is there football or soccer?

No.

Is frisbee in the game?

No. Golf and archery cover the precision-throwing ground.