Looking at the game’s box, fencing is in the prime spot: upper left. Already this game ranks in the top 20 of video game sales even though it won’t be shipping until July 26th.
The Destructoid blog put up this review of the gameplay: “As for now, I can say without a doubt that Wii Sports Resort’s fencing minigame was the most pleasing use of the MotionPlus I saw throughout all of E3. The delay between moving my arm and seeing my sword move onscreen felt almost nonexistent after a few minutes. Even though Davis and I initially just wailed madly on one another, the blocking and striking mechanics were much tighter than I expected”
Though Nintendo calls it a “fencing” game, it’s more of a swordfighting game, like using wacky wackers or Mashoonga padded swords. If you check out the demo video on YouTube, the training section even has a cutting demo – more katana than sabre.
Here’s the embedded video. You’ll need to queue it up to the 3:10 mark for the “fencing” demonstration:
There are several sword fighting type games already out for the Wii. Calling this “Wii Fencing” lifted up hopes that this would be a more true simulation, but it’s more of a “boxing with swords” from the looks of it. Still – the fact that Nintendo is calling out fencing as a sport and featuring it on the cover of their new product speaks well to the overall marketability of swordplay.