I Like Sports Games and I'm Wondering If Anyone Else Does To

[Brownie80]

Yes. I know what everyone (mostly) says.
"Oh, their for the dreaded casuals!"
"Their like Call of Duty but only with updated rosters!"
"Sports are for losers since their not gamers!"
Etc. Etc. and yes, I've heard all these criticisms. But call me crazy, but I like them.
A lot. I was just wondering if anyone else likes them.

 

[Clowndoe]

Isn't it because you enjoy playing as your favorite teams and imitating your sports heroes? That's me.

Anyway, you can't use the fact that the games are just yearly roster updates on me: I bought NBA Live 2004 back when it came out and I haven't bought one since, though I still play it every once in a while. 2004 was a good year for EA basketball.

So uh, +1!

 

[Treeberry]

I enjoy the myriad Super Dodgeball games. Actually, I enjoy sports games if they're on the unusual or zany side although I don't think they count...

 

[Racecarlock]

I like sports games too. The fact is you'll find elitist bullshit just about everywhere on the internet, especially if you like sports games or call of duty.

Best thing to do is ignore them or flip them off.

 

[tippy2k2]

You'd be surprised at the amount of people who enjoy sport games here. Here is my totally scientific medical super poll I did a while back:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.399942-Poll-Sport-games

While the "No" camp was the biggest, it's not the overwhelming majority that one would think considering all of the stupid "spurt gams r jist rooster up dates! BAAAH BAAH SHEEPLE!!!"[footnote]It's fine if you don't like sport games but that's a stupid comment that you shouldn't be saying[/footnote] that seem to crop up every time someone brings up sport games.

But to answer your question, yes, I play Madden (usually yearly buy unless the changes are minor), FIFA (usually every two years for me), and then baseball/hockey (rarely since I really don't care about either sport in real life).

Also:

Spoiler: Sports!

 

[StriderShinryu]

I like them quite a bit, but I don't buy them regularly. One NHL or FIFA game every few years is fine for me as I'm not someone who needs to have the newest version or most up to date rosters.

My next sports game purchase is looking like it may be the upcoming EA UFC game. It looks amazing, but with so little actual gameplay information about it yet I'm holding off on saying it's a definite buy.

 

[Brownie80]

You'd be surprised at the amount of people who enjoy sport games here. Here is my totally scientific medical super poll I did a while back:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.399942-Poll-Sport-games

While the "No" camp was the biggest, it's not the overwhelming majority that one would think considering all of the stupid "spurt gams r jist rooster up dates! BAAAH BAAH SHEEPLE!!!"[footnote]It's fine if you don't like sport games but that's a stupid comment that you shouldn't be saying[/footnote] that seem to crop up every time someone brings up sport games.

But to answer your question, yes, I play Madden (usually yearly buy unless the changes are minor), FIFA (usually every two years for me), and then baseball/hockey (rarely since I really don't care about either sport in real life).

Wait...you think I don't like sports games? I do! I was just quoting some of the stupid attacks they get. I even have MLB 14 The Show in my PS3 as I am typing this!

 

[tippy2k2]

Wait...you think I don't like sports games? I do! I was just quoting some of the stupid attacks they get. I even have MLB 14 The Show in my PS3 as I am typing this!

No. Sorry if there was a misunderstanding there. My rant against the "Herp Derp! Sport games are for stupid sheeple" people was a general one; not aimed at you (or anyone specific really).

I assumed you were pro-sport games since you made the thread.

 

[ihavetwo]

I despise sports games, the only enjoyable ones are the arcadey, "Fuck realism" ones like Tony Hawk and SSX.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I occasionally pick up a new FIFA game, and I'm constantly debating whether or not to finally get a new NHL game. The last one I played was the 2002 version, and I don't even know where it is anymore. I also like Madden for some reason despite hating American football. I just avoid picking up a new one every year. Generally a few years is enough time for enough changes to be made to justify a new purchase.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I love me some sports games, in particular FIFA, and Football Manager, especially the countless emergent narratives in the latter.

I follow some teams results in real life now (Swansea and York City are the most prominent) just because I have a good save with them in Football Manager.

I'm also really looked forward to the prospect of NHL on next-gen, especially on the Xbox One. Rumble triggers vibrating when you hit someone? Hell, you could even have players swing their fists for the Kinect to pick up if they are in a fight or something. Although, that one's perhaps a bit of a stretch, and even if it was I can imagine someone throwing down a controller like they'd throw off their gloves if that was the case XD

But yeah, love my sports games

 

[InfinityX]

I wonder...I think most of the hate towards sports games is the more from that they release them every year, with minor changes, for a full game price. It would be hypocritical to bash CoD for doing so, but give a pass to sports games. I don't think the actual gameplay (should) be criticized however.

I should mention that I don't normally play sport games.

EDIT: for clarifications, what does get updated in the sequels / future versions of the games? I'm just curious, does the graphics get overhauled? Is there smoother gameplay? more teams? more options?

 

[tippy2k2]

EDIT: for clarifications, what does get updated in the sequels / future versions of the games? I'm just curious, does the graphics get overhauled? Is there smoother gameplay? more teams? more options?

I had a big'ol post about that in my previous thread (the one I linked to). For your convenience, here is the post in question (that was made last year so it does not include Madden 25 and Fifa 14):

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.399942-Poll-Sport-games?page=2#16427342

Not every year has big changes and personally, those are years I skip (like Madden 12). However, though it seems like a tiny change, even little tweaks can drastically change the game. The examples I gave are for Fifa and Madden for the other sport games are not ones I care enough about to buy every year.

For a general answer, each year sport games make tweaks to their physics engine (which can make all the difference in the world sometimes; see my Fifa 12 to 13 and how it affected passing in the linked post), to the franchise modes and user friendliness, animations are added, and so forth. Lastly, for a bit more shallow of an answer, the rosters are updated and the user base usually will move with the new game so if you're big into multi-player, it is strongly recommended that you migrate too.

Basically, the changes that are made are not one that a casual player is going to notice (or a non-player will see). For a seasoned player (like me ), the changes made can completely change how you play the game.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

I like playing sport games with a few mates, they are great for local multiplayer. I've also had some good times playing Madden with my brother.

I don't play em in singleplayer though, I'm just not interested in sports enough to bother.

 

[Brian Tams]

I like sports games. I hate playing them with other because I suck. I suck hard.

I do enjoy the various General Manager modes, though.

 

[InfinityX]

snip

ok, so mostly realistic physics and game-play enhancements.

I can see that being a big deal, do they normally do large things that that every year though?

I feel like if this information was marketed more, and made clearer, I bet more people would be more understanding of the genera (or at least the yearly releases).

 

[tippy2k2]

snip

ok, so mostly realistic physics and game-play enhancements.

I can see that being a big deal, do they normally do large things that that every year though?

I feel like if this information was marketed more, and made clearer, I bet more people would be more understanding of the genera (or at least the yearly releases).

Some years they do (Madden 12 to 13 with the new engine was HUGE) and some years they don't (13 to 25 added "Gang Tackling" and some new animations but overall did very little to affect the game).

Basically, it can vary greatly year to year to year. I generally do not like playing demos for games but sport games are ones where I have to hit the demo first. I'll be the first to admit that EA's enhancements have not always been that extreme (to go back to Madden 12, I felt it was basically 11 with a new coat of paint and nothing else) but in general, new animations and tweaks the the engine are always made.

Also, the games do advertise this on the back of the box but that information really means nothing if you don't know what it does. To use Madden 25 as an example (since I have the box right here in my grubby little hands), it's primary update game-play wise is:

"Run Free: Unlock the power, precision, and creativity of the NFL ball-carrier"

...what the hell does that mean?

There's really no good way to put into words the changes they made to the running system; it's the kind of change (like most of the changes in the game) that you have to play to know. WARNING: Football Jargon incoming! I don't know your knowledge of football so if any of this is too basic, I swear I'm not patronizing you; I just don't know what you do and don't know.

Running in 13 was basically running up and down the field; nothing fancy; north and south style running and maybe you ran east and west every so often but it wasn't designed well for it. Basically, the fast running backs were good and everyone else wasn't; no difference between a guy like Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson.

Running in 25 however makes a guy like AP head and shoulders over CJ. The system introduced a new juking and moving system, drastically changing the running game. In real life, AP and CJ are both pretty even in speed so in 13, they were pretty even. However, their styles are very different and that's why AP is the top runner in the league while CJ just got cut. AP can juke a player or he can run them over or he can dance around and slip by defenders; Madden 25 introduced a system of control that allows you to do that and frankly, there's no good way to describe it without you playing 13 versus 25. Hell, I've just spend an entire paragraph trying and it still probably doesn't make much sense; it's not fitting on the box

Sorry for talking...uh....texting? your ear off. I just wanted to do my best to explain the difference.

TLDR? You have to play it to feel the difference; writing doesn't really do it justice. I hope that helps

 

[balladbird]

sure, sports games are okay. I'm only familiar with the "fight night" games, personally, aside from some old PS1 football/baseball games, but they're some of my favorites.

Heck, Fight Night: Champion even had a story mode in addition to career and arcade modes. Granted, it was a story that ticked off every cliche in the book, but I prefer to bless what's there rather than curse what's not.

Why let criticisms from elitists bother you? People who judge others for their taste in games are weird.

 

[Catfood220]

I like Fifa games, I like taking my beloved Aston Villa from relegation fodder to champions of everything, its extremely satisfying. But I don't buy it every year, it doesn't change enough from year to year to justify it.

I used to like wrestling games but the last good one was Day of Reckoning 2 on the Gamecube. WWE Allstars was a good beat em up, but it wasn't really a wrestling game.