''Family Table Tennis'' (''Okiraku Ping Pong Wii'' in Japan) is a

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by

Arc System Works , commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including ''Guilty Gear'' and ''BlazBlue'', a ...

for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

and

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

. It was released as a

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii S ...

launch title This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...

in Japan on March 25, 2008, and on May 26, 2008 in North America at a cost of 500

Wii Points The Wii Shop Channel is a former digital distribution service for the Wii video game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (branded WiiWare), and game ...

. In the PAL regions, it was released on March 13, 2009 at a cost of 800 Wii Points.

Gameplay

''Family Table Tennis'' is a simplified table tennis simulation with the player controlling a member of a family, consisting of a mother, father, pre-teen son (Billy) and daughter (Sarah), against another in a game of table tennis. Similar to ''

Wii Sports ''Wii Sports'' is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The 1.0 (pre-release) version of the game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and the 1. ...

'' tennis, the movement of the character on screen is controlled by the computer, with the player swinging the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with ...

like a paddle to serve and return the ball. The player can choose from four courts to play on, including a beach, a forest area, an amusement park, and a more traditional tournament hall. Three minigames are also available outside the main game, including a rally mode where points are scored according to the number of returns in the current rally, a target mode where the player must aim the ball at certain points on the table, and a game where you must hit specific types of fruit.

Reception

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

was not impressed with the game, giving it a 2.5 out of 10 and citing ugly graphics with "heinous" character designs, a constrained presentation and "boring and shallow" gameplay. It fared slightly better with Nintendo Life, which thought the game's simplicity makes it suitable for younger children, but is otherwise lacking substance for the average gamer.Family Table Tennis (WiiWare) Review
/ref> However, ''Wired'''s

Chris Kohler Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian (given name), Christian, Christina (given name), Christina, Christine (name), Christine, and Christos (given name), Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, ...

thought it offered the best value of the Japanese WiiWare launch titles, calling it a "standout" while also taking into consideration the low price. The only person to verifiably beat the game on its hardest level to date is Brian Lovejoy Phillips.

References

{{Arc System Works 2008 video games Arc System Works games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo 3DS eShop games Paddle-and-ball video games Video games developed in Japan WiiWare games