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[Jubenhimer]

Back in the day, Sports games were one of biggest genres you could have on a gaming platform. Sports have universal appeal, so a simulation of Sports activities is a great way to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers alike. In the earlier generations, Sports games were ubiquitous, with many publishers releasing them on every console, from realistic re-creations, to simplified, arcade-like takes. Even the platform holders, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft had their own in-house line of first party sports titles. But around the mid-2000s, many companies, including the big 3, began dropping Sports franchises, as one company began exerting more and more control over the genre.



Electronic Arts was already the leader in Sports games at their height, but at the turn of the new gaming generation, they became downright monopolistic. Today EA holds the exclusive rights to all major Sports leagues in the US, with the exception of NBA and MLB, who's rights are held by Take-Two and Sony respectively. If you want Football games, Soccer, Hockey, or Mixed Martial Arts, well you better hope you like Madden and FIFA, because EA's your only option as far as licensed games go. So what happened? Why are Sports games reduced to such a limited choice compared to previous generations? I think it was a combination of factors. But for starters, in 2004, after a heated battle between EA's Madden, Mircosoft's NFL Fever and Sega's NFL 2k series, the NFL sold the exclusive license for games to EA, making them the sole developer of NFL titles. Which killed Microsoft's XSN franchise, and forced Sega to sell off Visual Concepts to Take-Two Interactive, who at least still keeps the NBA 2k series alive today.

Second, the costs to produce high-end sports titles has increased significantly, as did the cost to license all the popular Sports leagues, shutting out many smaller studios and publishers who want to make Sports titles. As such, only EA has the money to afford all these Sports leagues under their belt, with Sony and 2K handling Baseball and Basketball if you're into those. You can still make a sports game on a small budget, but you likely won't be getting bleeding edge graphics or popular names for your game. The best way for smaller teams and indies to make Sports games now, is with Arcade sports, which is what I think is the future of Sports games now. You can make your own rules there, and don't have to worry about licensing and accuracy for the Sports leagues. Rocket League pretty much took Soccer, and replaced the real life players, with Driving mechanics, and it was a massive success.

What baffles me though, is that in an era of Live serivice games, and on-gowing patches and updates. The few publishers releasing big-budget Sports games today refuse to use that business model on the one genre where it actually makes sense. Selling yearly versions of the same game with slightly altered stats is an archaic practice in the digital age, when all that stuff can just be handled though software updates. But how else would they be able to sell you graphics that look marginally better than last year's game for $60? /s.

 

[Bald-N-Furious]

I just want a boxing game.

 

[CJY]

Fuck EA: The thread.

 

[Ol'Scratch]

I want arcade sports games to come back. NFL Blitz, NBA Jams, Mutant League Football. Racing Games like Cruisin' The World. Not everything has to be so complicated. Make it pretty, load it with fun physics for bone crunching tackles or crashes or car flips, and give us cool fields/tracks and just have fun with it. Throw in two player local and online, $29.99 out the door and BOOM SHAKALAKA!!!!

 

[Petrae]

There are a few things going on here:

1. Licensing is expensive in a risk-averse environment. Where exclusive agreements aren’t a thing (MLB, NHL, NBA), no publisher wants to dump a heap of money on licensing only to probably get whipped by the incumbent franchise. MVP Baseball is *right there* for EA, and the company won’t go back to it. Take-Two gave up on baseball and hockey, electing to instead focus entirely on the NBA. SEGA and Take-Two dumped tennis. NASCAR no longer has big-publisher clout. The PGA is lucky that The Golf Club exists, because nobody else wanted that license, let alone wanting to build a game around it. When EA threw in the towel, golf was fucked.

2. Licensing is getting prohibitively expensive and restrictive. We’ve seen the gaudy amounts of money that Take-Two is paying the NBA or that EA is forking over to the NFL. What’s more, leagues are very specific about the content their games can provide. The NFL put the kibosh on arcade sports games like NFL Blitz and Tecmo Super Bowl long before signing that exclusivity deal with EA nearly a decade ago, while EA shied away from NFL Street and Madden Arcade.

3. Publishers gave up on arcade sports titles. Licensed sports games are little more than stick-in-the-mud sims now. Yeah, these games may teach players the ins and outs of the sports they represent, but more casual fans get turned off by the difficult-to-grasp play controls and endless management menus and cycles.

4. Expensive agreements equal ridiculous microtransactions. Make no mistake about this: sports leagues *love* shit like Ultimate Team and MyTeam. It’s not only basically free money for the publisher, but it IS free cash for the leagues and their players’ associations. That’s why developers have deprioritized non-MTX modes like Season and Franchise play, while also cutting corners on presentation (as EA has done with Madden and now NHL this year).

It’s been painful and disappointing to see the genre that I’ve enjoyed the most over the last 25+ years shit the bed like it has. It’s a genre only for the established power players now, with few risk takers and even fewer licensed games. One NFL game. One NHL game. Essentially one NBA game (Live has been shit since its reintroduction and has sold even worse than that). One decent MLB game and a weak-to-middling arcade wannabe. One tennis game.

We had no less than three football, hockey, basketball, and baseball games during much of Gen6. There were arcade sports games, and there were simulations. Something for everyone. And, hell, dating back farther than that, we used to have tons of sports games in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras... with licenses and without.

This topic obviously hits home with me, and I apologize for being excessively long with my response.

I want arcade sports games to come back. NFL Blitz, NBA Jams, Mutant League Football. Racing Games like Cruisin' The World. Not everything has to be so complicated. Make it pretty, load it with fun physics for bone crunching tackles or crashes or car flips, and give us cool fields/tracks and just have fun with it. Throw in two player local and online, $29.99 out the door and BOOM SHAKALAKA!!!!

I wish I could “Love” this multiple times. 100% agreed. The death of Midway had a lot to do with the death of arcade sports games... and, unfortunately, Mark Turmell and Sal DiVita aren’t coming back to lead a resurgence anytime soon.

 

[Fuz]

Lootboxed happened.

 

[Jubenhimer]

Fuck EA: The thread.

I hate EA with a passion, but to be fair, they aren't entirely to blame for their Monopoly. A lot of it also has to do with favoritism by the leagues as well.

 

[Petrae]

I hate EA with a passion, but to be fair, they aren't entirely to blame for their Monopoly. A lot of it also has to do with favoritism by the leagues as well.

There’s plenty of blame to go around here, and leagues certainly bear a measure of that blame. The NFL is notoriously shitty to deal with, and had a lot to do with the exclusivity that exists today. EA was just the highest bidder and took advantage of said exclusivity. Take-Two decided to stick with basketball instead, which has been beneficial after shitting the bed with its NHL and MLB games after the ESPN deal ended.

 

[MadYarpen]

Funny thing with sports games is that once you try a sport by yourself games become... stupid? Pointless? I mean, you cannot simulate skiing, even if you used all buttons on a keyboard. The same with motorbike racing. There is no way to simualte body position, which makes such games quite shallow. Even with tennis there are so many nuances in the way you play, I wouldn't be able to play such games...

 

[Soltype]

They became real big, and like real sports, all the fun was sucked out of it and replaced with monetization.

 

[DESTROYA]

They became boring as fuck that’s what happened. It’s basically the same old same old every year.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

I just want a boxing game.

This. Don't think there's been any since the Fight Night series.

 

[TLZ]

This licensing bullshit killed it all.

 

[Hudo]

It's in the game.

 

[ROMhack]

I think it's because a lot of people who buy sports games only care about competitive multiplayer and unless a game can offer it then developers won't bother.

It's why I think Golf and Tennis has been totally neglected in the past five years - sad really as good golf games are brilliant.

 

[Ten_Fold]

Last sports game I brought was like 2k9 and I just got bored, I love blitz, nba jam, and nba streets those games was really fun.

 

[EightBit Man]

I also think they lost their appeal to non-sports fans (like myself) I guess. Always liked the more arcadey, but very much respected titles like NBA Jam, Track & Field, Punch-Out!!, Virtua Tennis, etc.

Yeah, where is Virtua Tennis, SEGA?

 

[Dr.Morris79]

They became real big, and like real sports, all the fun was sucked out of it and replaced with monetization.

Which is true of gaming in general.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Licensing happened.

Also, Nintendo Wii offered a genuine glimmer of hope that casual/party sports games could make a comeback but it was snubbed by the "hardcore" (as if they played sports games anyway).

 

[Nymphae]

And, hell, dating back farther than that, we used to have tons of sports games in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras... with licenses and without.

I was going through Emuparadise's catalogue of...everything a while back, and I was really taken aback by just how many different sports games were released in previous eras. There are so many different baseball games alone it's crazy.

Great post btw.

 

[OmaeWaMouShindiggity]

give me a Big3 game ala NBA Street vol 2

 

[Nymphae]

Funny thing with sports games is that once you try a sport by yourself games become... stupid? Pointless? I mean, you cannot simulate skiing, even if you used all buttons on a keyboard. The same with motorbike racing. There is no way to simualte body position, which makes such games quite shallow. Even with tennis there are so many nuances in the way you play, I wouldn't be able to play such games...

I'll never understand this take. Games are fun for different reasons than sports are. Virtua Tennis isn't trying to simulate the physical experience of playing tennis - it wants you to experience some of the mindgames of a match without physically playing a match, while being a game about testing your reflexes, dexterity, and mental ability.

 

[MadYarpen]

I'll never understand this take. Games are fun for different reasons than sports are. Virtua Tennis isn't trying to simulate the physical experience of playing tennis - it wants you to experience some of the mindgames of a match without physically playing a match, while being a game about testing your reflexes, dexterity, and mental ability.

You can look at this that way, sure. With some sports more than with the others. I gave examples of skiing and motorbike racing, because in these cases if you take out all the nuances, it becomes a racing game no different to some car racing. IMO of course, I am not saying skiers or motorbike riders can't enjoy these games. But purely form my personal perspective I see no particualr incentive to play them....

 

[Patrick S.]

Greed and arrogance ruined them.

 

[Shifty]

Exactly right OP, EA is what happened to sports games.

I wish the licensing side of it held less sway, to be honest. We need more high-quality mechanically-sound stuff like Fire Pro Wrestling that doesn't give a shit about the celebs and backs it up with top-tier gameplay.

Also, RIP SSX.

 

[Nymphae]

I gave examples of skiing and motorbike racing, because in these cases if you take out all the nuances, it becomes a racing game no different to some car racing.

I guess I just don't understand being underwhelmed with a sports game because it doesn't translate the physical experiences of that specific sport to you in the comfort of your own home. It's like yeah, no shit lol, riding a real bike is going to have more to it and give you more of a thrill than playing Moto GP on your couch, but to say it's pointless to play a game because a real experience offers more seems to miss the point to me.

 

[Nero_PR]

Funny thing with sports games is that once you try a sport by yourself games become... stupid? Pointless? I mean, you cannot simulate skiing, even if you used all buttons on a keyboard. The same with motorbike racing. There is no way to simualte body position, which makes such games quite shallow. Even with tennis there are so many nuances in the way you play, I wouldn't be able to play such games...

I know that some might laugh of this statement of yours but I agree 100%. Sports games can't compare to the real thing when talking about the adrenaline and excitement it can give. I practiced a lot of football (soccer) during my teens. Went to one state championship representing my city in middle school (Got just two medals, one bronze - buttlerfly, and other silver - backstroke :/) but it was crazy and exhausting. I used to play tennis with my uncle until he passed away last year.

Nothing that I played in sports games come close to these experiences I had. But I casually like to do some other stuff like kayaking, mountain/wall climbing, All of these were a lot better than spending 60 bucks into something half-assed these companies milky every year.

 

[petran79]

Not only sport soccer games but also soccer became monopolistic around that time with all those Champions league team expansions and money. Basically it became a closed league with the same teams dominating all those years.

 

[bobone]

I want arcade sports games to come back. NFL Blitz, NBA Jams, Mutant League Football. Racing Games like Cruisin' The World. Not everything has to be so complicated.

I'm finding a new respect for arcade style games like those.
20 years ago I loved that stuff because it was quick and fun for an hour with a friend. Then we would go back outside and skate or bike or whatever.
Do to my current life situation I am definitely in need of 1 hour experiences like those again. I am beyond the point where I can dig into a 60 hour open world, rpg, action, blah blah blah.

Arcade style games should really make a comeback to counter the bloated openworld genre that has invaded gaming this generation.
Or mabye I'll just finish that MAME PC I was building a few years ago.

 

[Ron Mexico]

Goes all the way back to High Heat Baseball for me where things started to turn. IMO, there's still a number of quality sports games out there now, but it's in a much different format than the golden years.

Faults and all, I still enjoy the hell out of Football Manager. Front Office Football isn't the prettiest thing in the world (and I'm being very kind here) but the sim engine in rock solid. OOTP has matured quite a bit (even if Perfect Team isn't my thing whatsoever).

Agree that there's a huge gap in the arcade-style games as well. Those were always good as a palate cleanser.

That said, for reasons like selling packs and all, we're never going to see the dynasty/franchise modes get the attention they used to. I totally understand the business reality, but I also understand those titles just aren't for me anymore.

 

[bellome]

EA + 2K = RIP sport games

At least we still have PES rocking around

 

[GoodIdeaBadIdea]

I liked the NBA Street games and the NFL Street. But I never really liked any of the other sports games.

 

[NickFire]

As much shit as EA deserves, the only real issue seems to be with US football. Maybe some sort of exclusive deal with specific clubs / teams / leagues affect soccer from having two major competitors? Really have no clue there, and note there is a second soccer game that we almost got on PS+. Anyway, Madden is not a bad game at all. It's actually really good IMO. But the Ultimate Team racket is a shitty exploitation of gamers. There is very little to justify the cost of building a good team, and they soak us because its the only option and everyone loves having a good team they can build and play with.

As for baseball, does Sony even have an exclusive deal? I remember a different game that I played on 360, and assumed the only reason they didn't survive (or did they?) was the game sucked compared to the show.

 

[Xenon]

While I agree that the lack of competition is a huge reason the genre has stagnated, I think fantasy leagues have become the more popular way sports fans game.

 

[Skyr]

EA you little dumb dumbs, give me skate 4 and a new fight night.

 

[DanielsM]

EA happened.

 

[Petrae]

As for baseball, does Sony even have an exclusive deal? I remember a different game that I played on 360, and assumed the only reason they didn't survive (or did they?) was the game sucked compared to the show.

The exclusive MLB agreement that Take-Two brokered for its MLB 2KX series ended a few years ago. The agreement stipulated that TTWO was the only third-party publisher who had MLB/MLBPA rights. First-party publishers (Sony, MS, Nintendo), however, could publish their own games for their respective platforms. This agreement was shitty; it killed MVP Baseball (which EA tried to keep relevant through an NCAA license, but nobody cared about college baseball) and any future MLB Slugfest titles from Midway. We were lucky to get two years of MLB Power Pros, after TTWO agreed to publish them for Konami.

Sony is just the only publisher left (outside of MLB itself, which is the publisher for RBI) that’s making a baseball game. EA doesn’t want the risk, Nintendo (who used to publish some pretty good baseball titles) isn’t interested, Microsoft hasn’t cared about MLB since the original Xbox, Konami dropped Power Pros localizations, and 3DO and Acclaim (who were respectively behind the vastly overlooked High Heat and the decent All-Star Baseball series) have been dead for years.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Lawsuits and Licenses.

 

[NickFire]

The exclusive MLB agreement that Take-Two brokered for its MLB 2KX series ended a few years ago. The agreement stipulated that TTWO was the only third-party publisher who had MLB/MLBPA rights. First-party publishers (Sony, MS, Nintendo), however, could publish their own games for their respective platforms. This agreement was shitty; it killed MVP Baseball (which EA tried to keep relevant through an NCAA license, but nobody cared about college baseball) and any future MLB Slugfest titles from Midway. We were lucky to get two years of MLB Power Pros, after TTWO agreed to publish them for Konami.

Sony is just the only publisher left (outside of MLB itself, which is the publisher for RBI) that’s making a baseball game. EA doesn’t want the risk, Nintendo (who used to publish some pretty good baseball titles) isn’t interested, Microsoft hasn’t cared about MLB since the original Xbox, Konami dropped Power Pros localizations, and 3DO and Acclaim (who were respectively behind the vastly overlooked High Heat and the decent All-Star Baseball series) have been dead for years.

Nice rundown. Honestly, I am not even surprised pubs could release games and don't bother. After playing the show I can't really imagine someone competing on PS, which is a big problem for 3rd party. The game really is quite good, and the market just isn't the same as the other big sports IMO. Baseball is a great sport, but also a very long sport and far less action.

 

[Petrae]

Lawsuits and Licenses.

Oof. That NCAA situation remains ugly. Such a mess. It’s too bad, because sports video game fans never realized how much they missed college sports games until they were gone. The athletes should’ve been the stars of those games (and properly licensed/paid), but NCAA rules are dumb that way.

Licenses and their exorbitant costs are a problem, for sure. We talk about the rising costs of game development, but the asking prices for legit sports licenses is nuts. I get why publishers don’t bother. It means an even higher minimum sales number just to break even, after paying leagues and their players.

Nice rundown. Honestly, I am not even surprised pubs could release games and don't bother. After playing the show I can't really imagine someone competing on PS, which is a big problem for 3rd party. The game really is quite good, and the market just isn't the same as the other big sports IMO. Baseball is a great sport, but also a very long sport and far less action.

The Show absolutely destroyed MLB 2KX, which was a major factor in Take-Two deciding to not renew its MLB license agreement after it expired. This failure also had a lot to do with average at best software efforts from TTWO’s dev teams. MLB 2K9 was notorious for its awful quality and later versions improved only slightly before falling into IDGAF mode late.

Baseball is a long sport. It’s why arcade-style games did well by speeding it up. If we look back on the NES era, series like RBI Baseball and Bases Loaded were quicker experiences. The Show is so authentic that options to play only situationally (important parts of an otherwise simulated game) had to be implemented. The new RBI Baseball series does okay with this, but it’s the unlicensed Super Mega Baseball series that plays the snappiest.

 

[Daniel Thomas MacInnes]

A sampling of most of the major sports titles on Sega Saturn. I'm sure you can easily find just as many good sports videogames for your classic system of choice. I say all of these hold up remarkably well and are just as fun to play today (although I'd rather play NFL 2K1/2K2 on Dreamcast than Madden 98).

It was never chiseled into stone that you have to buy the newest console, especially if the software you want isn't there. Sports gamers have been getting screwed over for years. Not only are there hardly any sports videogames made anymore, the existing franchises are simply repackaging the exact same product year in, year out. Heck, there are 4-5 FIFAs on Nintendo Wii that are, quite literally, the same game with a new date slapped on the label. And I'll bet Madden has program code that goes back a decade or more.

"Newer is Better" is a con game, and that goes double when talking about sports videogames. Spend your time and money elsewhere until the situation changes.

P.S. As for the problems with official sports licenses, why not just go back to unlicensed sports games? Any kid who grew up in the 1980s would know about that, as officially licensed sports titles were extremely rare (and usually not very good). Visual Concepts/2K did try this over a decade ago with All-Pro Football 2K8, but they completely screwed up by creating entirely fictional teams instead of, ya know, just going with "Chicago" or "Minnesota." I could imagine the play-by-play commentators making endless digs about that.

On the other hand, critics will point out that unlicensed sports titles won't sell, certainly not enough to cover the monstrous production costs modern videogames are straddled with, and they may have a point. But who decided that one has to spend $50-$100 million to create a stupid videogame? Most consumers don't care about graphics, demonstrated by the success of smartphones, Nintendo Wii, DS, and, well, nearly every console generation where the "weaker" hardware prevails. Oh, well.

 

[Hypereides]

I honestly miss over the top sports games with fantasy elements. NBA Jam with burning slam dunks, or soccer games with fictious players. Would be great if some indie developers would pick up the slack and do something like that.

 

[NickFire]

I honestly miss overexaggerated sports games with fantasy elements. NBA Jam with burning slam dunks, or soccer games with fictious players. Would be great if some indie developers would pick up the slack and do something like that.

Do you remember the old Madden and NHL games? Loved making heads bleed or seeing ambulance come onto field. Good old days.

 

[Petrae]

A sampling of most of the major sports titles on Sega Saturn. I'm sure you can easily find just as many good sports videogames for your classic system of choice. I say all of these hold up remarkably well and are just as fun to play today (although I'd rather play NFL 2K1/2K2 on Dreamcast than Madden 98).

It was never chiseled into stone that you have to buy the newest console, especially if the software you want isn't there. Sports gamers have been getting screwed over for years. Not only are there hardly any sports videogames made anymore, the existing franchises are simply repackaging the exact same product year in, year out. Heck, there are 4-5 FIFAs on Nintendo Wii that are, quite literally, the same game with a new date slapped on the label. And I'll bet Madden has program code that goes back a decade or more.

"Newer is Better" is a con game, and that goes double when talking about sports videogames. Spend your time and money elsewhere until the situation changes.

P.S. As for the problems with official sports licenses, why not just go back to unlicensed sports games? Any kid who grew up in the 1980s would know about that, as officially licensed sports titles were extremely rare (and usually not very good). Visual Concepts/2K did try this over a decade ago with All-Pro Football 2K8, but they completely screwed up by creating entirely fictional teams instead of, ya know, just going with "Chicago" or "Minnesota." I could imagine the play-by-play commentators making endless digs about that.

On the other hand, critics will point out that unlicensed sports titles won't sell, certainly not enough to cover the monstrous production costs modern videogames are straddled with, and they may have a point. But who decided that one has to spend $50-$100 million to create a stupid videogame? Most consumers don't care about graphics, demonstrated by the success of smartphones, Nintendo Wii, DS, and, well, nearly every console generation where the "weaker" hardware prevails. Oh, well.

I have a ridiculous amount of older sports video games in my library, numbering in the hundreds. The rosters may be dated (and definitely bring back memories... lots of these players are coaches now), but the gameplay is what counts. Seeing how these games have (or, in some cases, haven’t) evolved is a trip. For a time, I had a vision of being the “Retro Referee”, where I would write and shoot videos about just these old games... but life kinda got in the way.

Modern sports games have become more realistic, but that’s not necessarily better. The Golf Club is almost like being on the course, but more casual fans quickly get frustrated with it and long for a return to Tiger Woods or Golden Tee. NBA 2K is perhaps the best basketball simulation out there, but it’s not simple to play and enjoy like NBA Live 2005 or NBA JAM still are. Hell, we had arcade fishing games in SEGA Bass Fishing and Konami’s Fisherman’s Bait that made waves.

As to your argument about unlicensed games, we’re lucky that modern indie developers care enough to try with stuff like Super Mega Baseball and Mutant Football League. I think they have a legit place on the market and fill a need... but the safer bets are on the established and fully-licensed series. Speaking to your All-Pro Football 2K8 example, it was the better game yet got destroyed in sales by Madden that year... and that was when publishers were still taking chances. That won’t happen now, and that sucks.

 

[Jigsaah]

I wish there was a AAA olympic game. I always loved the ones on the NES with the running pad. But if a company would do a really high quality Olympic game i think it would sell internationally very well as well as solidify the heroes of the games in the minds of their fans. Like right now, I can name only a few Olympic competitors from the US. How many can you name from your own country? I think they deserve more credit then they have gotten in recent years.

Games I would definitely want in a game like this:
Martial Arts
Fencing
Swimming/ Diving
Gymnastics (rings, horse, floor exercise, etc.)
Javelin and Shot-put
Track (Sprints, Distance, Long Jump, Pole Vault, etc.)
Basketball
Soccer

...i can't think of anymore, though im sure someone can remind me.

For winter games:
half tube Snowboarding
Ski Slope (race and jumping)
Luge
whatever that sweeping game is called...tip of my tongue
ice skating

 

[Nymphae]

I wish there was a AAA olympic game. I always loved the ones on the NES with the running pad. But if a company would do a really high quality Olympic game i think it would sell internationally very well as well as solidify the heroes of the games in the minds of their fans. Like right now, I can name only a few Olympic competitors from the US. How many can you name from your own country? I think they deserve more credit then they have gotten in recent years.

Games I would definitely want in a game like this:
Martial Arts
Fencing
Swimming/ Diving
Gymnastics (rings, horse, floor exercise, etc.)
Javelin and Shot-put
Track (Sprints, Distance, Long Jump, Pole Vault, etc.)
Basketball
Soccer

...i can't think of anymore, though im sure someone can remind me.

For winter games:
half tube Snowboarding
Ski Slope (race and jumping)
Luge
whatever that sweeping game is called...tip of my tongue
ice skating

I used to love those as couch co-op games, you'd think the formula could still work.

 

[anthraticus]

The big problem with modern sports games is they want everything to be almost photo realistic in animations and presentation. So it makes the games feel somewhat automated and not very responsive. They aren’t twitch fun like sports actually are or like the older versions of the games were more like.

They're going for looks over everything else. I know, shocking when it comes to AAA gaming.

 

[-MD-]

I always wondered when they would stop, it seemed crazy how many they pumped out on a yearly basis for so long, bargain bins with hundreds of outdated sports games for a dollar.

 

[Nero_PR]

As someone said, I miss the EA SPORTS BIG games. Fifa Street was cool to learn and humilate your adversary with insane tricks. And give me back SSX.

 

[StormCell]

I've noticed a few sports titles emerging lately that aren't licensed pro league simulations. Super Mega Baseball is a really good one. Of course, some of my main gripes about this one (I only played the first one, fyi) was a very limited selection of teams, even fewer stadiums to play in, and an insistence of having both men and women play in the league together (basically, all-inclusive). I don't mind the options, but I found that it prevented me from setting up an MLB-style league and playing out a season. I actually want something close to MLB but don't require the licensing. I chalk these shortcomings up to small development, small budget, and the need to actually sell some games. I haven't looked at the sequel but I imagine they haven't done much of what I would like to see.

I've also been looking at Mutant Football League, which looks really good. I've just needed some friends who would actually want to play it in order to push me to buy it.