''We Ski'' is a 2008 skiing video game 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 ...

developed and published by

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

. It is the first third-party game (and second game behind '' Wii Fit'') released that makes use of the Wii Balance Board. A sequel, ''

We Ski & Snowboard ''We Ski & Snowboard'', known as ''Family Ski: World Ski and Snowboard'' in Japan and ''Family Ski & Snowboard'' in Europe and Korea, is a video game for the Wii. It is a sequel to the 2008 title ''We Ski'' and utilizes the Wii Balance Board. G ...

'', which adds

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

to the game, was released in 2008. A third game, '' Go Vacation'' was also released for the Wii in 2011, and was later re-released on the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

in 2018.

Gameplay

''We Ski'' can either be played with or without the Wii Balance Board. If using the board, the player can distribute their weight and use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as virtual

ski pole Ski poles, also referred to as poles (in North America), sticks (UK), or stocks (Australia), are used by skiers for balance and propulsion. Modern ski poles are most commonly made from aluminum and carbon fiber, though materials such as bamboo are ...

s, simulating the sport of skiing. The game features 14 courses, which can be skied during both day and night. Besides racing, the game also features different modes such as a Ski School, Centipede Races, and Search and Rescue in addition to a Freestyle mode in which up to 4 players may ski freely. Players may use their own Miis or one of the customizable in-game avatars. They can earn rewards such as character apparel and upgraded ski equipment by completing various goals. The player can also perform "air tricks" on marked jumps. Additionally, the WiiConnect24 service allowed the sharing of photos taken by players in-game until it was discontinued by Nintendo in 2013.

Development

''We Ski'' was produced by

employee Yozo Sakagami, a veteran of the company's ''

Ridge Racer is a racing game, racing video game series developed and published for arcade systems and home game consoles by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. The first game, ''Ridge Racer (1993 video game), Ridge Racer'' (1993), was originally rel ...

'' series. The publisher suggested to Sakagami that he create a racing game for the

that took advantage of the system's hardware capabilities, namely its motion controls. Sakagami quickly began to question if a racing game was suitable for the platform, as the Wii's target demographic consisted of children and parents in their 30s and 40s. He began thinking of a theme that would appeal to any age group, before settling on skiing as he believed the Wii's intuitive controls would make such a game possible and fun to play. ''We Ski''s development team consisted largely of those that worked on the ''Ridge Racer'' games including ''

Ridge Racer 7 is a 2006 racing video game developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3. The seventh mainline installment in the ''Ridge Racer'' series, it was developed as a launch title for the console. The game has around 40 cars, many ...

'' director Kenya Kobayashi. It was designed as a successor to Namco's ''Family'' series for the Family Computer, which were themed around sports or games and possessed simplistic controls and cute character designs. The soundtrack features music from singer Yumi Matsutoya, in addition to remixes of tracks from older Namco games like '' Xevious'', '' Klonoa: Door to Phantomile'', and ''

The Idolmaster is a Japanese media franchise that began in 2005 with a raising simulation and rhythm video game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The series primarily centers on the career of a producer who works with a group of p ...

''. ''We Ski'' is the first third-party game on the Wii to use the Wii Balance Board peripheral. Bandai Namco released ''We Ski'' in Japan on January 31, 2008. It was released in North America on May 13, 2008, and in Europe on June 13, 2008, with

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

handling distribution. The Japanese and European versions were titled ''Family Ski'' to further tie in its relation with the ''Family'' series, and were published under the Namco label. In Japan, it was also released under the ''Sports WaiWai'' brand, which included remakes of ''Family Jockey'' and '' Pro Baseball: Family Stadium''.

Reception

''We Ski'' sold 1.2 million copies worldwide by December 2008, making it one of Namco Bandai's most successful releases of the year. The game holds a 67/100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Notes

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/wii/we-ski 2008 video games Bandai Namco games Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises Skiing video games Video games developed in Japan Wii-only games Wii games Wii Balance Board games Multiplayer and single-player video games