Joystiq's own Kyle Orland sat down with the Wii and looked to test out the learning curve. In choosing Wii Sports: Bowling, he looked to see if Nintendo's motion-control scheme was as intuitive and easy to use as the company had marketed. So how does one accomplish this? By playing a lot of Wii. Going through natural motions and even trying to "trick" the game, Kyle's results were as follows:
- Game 1: Having trouble letting go of the "B" button in mid-swing. The result is a late throw that ends up dribbling down the lane for a few pins. Score: 110
- Game 2: Better with the timing, but the ball has a natural curve at the end that makes most shots miss the mark just barely. Score: 116
- Game 3: Consciously focusing on keeping the ball straight. Throwing it at less than full power seems to help. Score: 146
- Game 4: Confident in the straight game, I focus on adding some spin to the end of the shot. Most shots end up too turning too much or too little. Score: 145
- Game 5: Working off a surprise strike from game 5, I decide to try a standard first shot for all ten frames -- full power, straight on from the right edge with maximum leftward spin. I get two strikes but miss a few easy spares. Score: 147
- Game 6: I try shooting with an approach from the extreme left side, angled towards the center with a slight spin. No strikes, but I pick up the spare on all but one frame. Score: 166
- Game 7: No set strategy -- I pick shots based on flights of fancy. Pick up eight spares and two splits. Score: 159
- Game 8: Arm is getting a little tired from 140+ straight throws without a break, so I try to fool the system by sitting down and just flicking my wrist. The results are disastrous. Score: 111
