Do I watch sports? Yes. I'm a big football fan (Skål Vikings!), I'm also mildly interested in soccer (I watch the World and Euro cups). Used to be a huge hockeyfan, but I lost interest and watch it very rarely. Can still be fun to watch though. I also enjoy watching the occasional UFC fight.
Do I play sports? Again, yes. Play football for Södertälje Truckers as a lineman (O and D). I dabbled in various sports when I was younger, like soccer, tennis and floorball, but floorball and football are the only ones that I really got into.
Do I play sports games? Yes, but not as much as I used to. Between 1996 to 2002 I was more or less obsessed with hockey and could easily play 5-10 games in one sitting, sometimes playing 20 games in one day. Nowadays I only play NHL 12 with a friend, we're the GM's of Winnipeg Jets and are about 20 games into our fourth season. We also play FIFA World Cup 2010 from time to time and I play Madden 13 sometimes.
While those features still don't sound like they justify a whole new game, I can't say for sure since I haven't played those games, so I'll take your word for it.
The examples I was asking for, though, are for non-sport games that don't change much between installments. You mentioned that other genres do it but don't get criticized about it the same way sports games do.
Not trying to pick a fight either. I just want to have a discussion. I appreciate keeping it civil, unlike some other posters.
...well don't I feel dumb now. I spent like, fifteen minutes answering a question you didn't ask
(but yes, to a fan of the genre, those are game-changing differences).
Anyway, to answer your question, I made a list of games I feel does that and I will just go off of that. This is in a spoiler tag because it'll be long and I'm sure the point will be made far before anyone finishes the list...
Uncharted: Nathan Drake goes treasure hunting for something. A lady gets involved somehow and an over-the-top bad guy is trying to do something dastardly that Drake needs to stop. Fake-Dad Drake is old.
God of War: Kratos is angry and hits thing with his big sharp pointy stick. Sometimes these are bad guys and sometimes these are ladies (zing!)
Final Fantasy (Note: got bored at 12 and stopped playing this series): A group of teenagers who's gel budget must be through the damn roof need to save the world.
Infamous: Cole has lightning powers and uses said powers to zap bad guys
Far Cry: A man out in the jungle is going after a bad guy for some reason. Everything is pretty and open ended.
Halo: A big guy in armor needs to kill a bunch of aliens because everyone hates humans
Grand Theft Auto: A man who starts with nothing rises to the top of a criminal empire
Call of Duty: Shooting everything that moves until it stops moving. Something controversial happens. We continue shooting things until they stop moving
Battlefield: See Duty, Call of above minus the controversial thing.
Mass Effect: Aliens are here and we need to shoot/explode/physic power/melt them. Also, a lady/guy needs some loving.
Dead Space (Note: stopped playing after 1, got bored): Clark is lonely on a ship looking for his lady friend (or going insane) and the thing Necromorphs keep trying to kill him.
Fallout: Someone wakes up in a vault trying to find whatever they are looking for. Slow motion brain explosions will follow.
Assassins Creed: Someone sneaks around, stabs something, runs away, and repeat. Throw in some weird sci-fi/God stuff and you've got six games
These are just the games sitting on my shelf. I could do this all day if I wanted to just based on what I've played. Now again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. I've obviously played most of these games but the vast majority of sequels is nothing but minor tweaks that make the game feel much better. Game play between Uncharted 1 and Uncharted 3 are very similar but they FEEL very different thanks to these little tweaks.
The only thing I can think of for why non-gamers look upon the sports genre with such scorn is either ignorance (you don't see these little changes, therefore they must not exist) or because of the yearly release schedule (so they assume nothing of worth can get changed in one year). You know, sometimes gamers ARE right on that; sometimes very little change is done and those are the years that I skip. However, I'm not going to thumb my nose at a group of people just for playing something that they like like so many other gamers like to do.
The games you listed all have different plots between installments in addition to gameplay changes. Some of your examples don't have similar installments at all. Final Fantasy for example, introduces a new world, characters and system at each numbered (Except X-2 and XIII-2) installment.
From all the games you mentioned, the only one where I can sort of see your point is call of duty, since I played the multiplayer of MW1 and MW3 and saw no difference what so ever, and get yearly installments.
Different plot and characters is enough to consider a game different by most gamers' standards, and a change of engine and gameplay elements in addition to that, I'm pretty sure is enough for everyone. That's the reason sports games look very similar - it's the same leagues all over again, in the same places, and mostly the same people. While the graphics gradually get better between installments, it doesn't seem like it needs a yearly release, but roster updates via DLC.
While, for example, Fallout 1&2, have the same engine and gameplay elements, they take place in different areas (South and North California, respectively) in a new time period (80 years apart) and except for maybe 3 characters in the entire game world, all the characters are new.
While the games you mentioned have superficial similarities between installments, sports games seem, to a non-sports fan, to have superficial differences between installments.
The games you listed all have different plots between installments in addition to gameplay changes. Some of your examples don't have similar installments at all. Final Fantasy for example, introduces a new world, characters and system at each numbered (Except X-2 and XIII-2) installment.
From all the games you mentioned, the only one where I can sort of see your point is call of duty, since I played the multiplayer of MW1 and MW3 and saw no difference what so ever, and get yearly installments.
Different plot and characters is enough to consider a game different by most gamers' standards, and a change of engine and gameplay elements in addition to that, I'm pretty sure is enough for everyone. That's the reason sports games look very similar - it's the same leagues all over again, in the same places, and mostly the same people. While the graphics gradually get better between installments, it doesn't seem like it needs a yearly release, but roster updates via DLC.
While, for example, Fallout 1&2, have the same engine and gameplay elements, they take place in different areas (South and North California, respectively) in a new time period (80 years apart) and except for maybe 3 characters in the entire game world, all the characters are new.
While the games you mentioned have superficial similarities between installments, sports games seem, to a non-sports fan, to have superficial differences between installments.
I see all of those games I listed as basically having the same story (sure, the names of bad guys changed and maybe we're on a beach island instead of Africa but the story-structure and type of story in all of those games are basically the same) and very similar game-play with minor variations, which to me is no different than the continued updates to Madden/FIFA.
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree here since I think we'll just saying the same points over and over. Even if I disagree with you, I appreciate you keeping it civil unlike some others whom I've dueled over this very issue
Hopefully, at the very least, I've convinced someone somewhere that maybe, just maybe, a sports game isn't just a roster update every year and maybe they should give one a chance. Or at the very least, the next time someone yells in the forums that I'm a sheeple for playing Madden every year, I now have a pre-typed argument for why I think they're wrong!
As for myself, sure, there is one sports game that I do like. It's called Tennis, and the controllers are really weird looking snow-shoe things and the processor is an organic-quantum cpu that currently has no equal. I hear IBM is currently working with qbits so that gap might start closing very soon, though.
Do you play sport games? If so, is it because you play the sport, watch the sport, love the mechanics, or some other reason? If not, any particular reason?
I'm a huge hockey fan (born in Canada, it's a requirement for citizenship), so I have played COPIOUS amounts of hockey related games in my time. I've played near every installment of the NHL series since 94, and being able to play proper versions of it was the primary motivation behind getting my XBOX. I've also put countless hours into EHM. If they put a proper new version of EHM out today and charged hundreds of dollars for it, I'd be trying to find some way to buy it.
I also enjoyed Lakers vs Celtics WAY back in the day, and I've had fun with alternate-world "sports" titles like Blood Bowl and Speedball.
As the PA you quoted suggests, at the end of the day sports are games, and I love games. I'm surprised at the number of gamers who claim to despise sports, but I'm guessing there's some bone deep jock/nerd antipathy at play there.
As for myself, sure, there is one sports game that I do like. It's called Tennis, and the controllers are really weird looking snow-shoe things and the processor is an organic-quantum cpu that currently has no equal. I hear IBM is currently working with qbits so that gap might start closing very soon, though.
I enjoy sports games a great deal, but never buy them, I would never support their yearly almost identical business model. Yes, I know you've already taken the piss out of my opinion in the poll, but I am entitled to it, and I feel they never change enough to justify it.
If I want something to do with sports, I'll go outside to play it or watch it on TV. Unless it's arcadey because those are a ton of fun. NBA Jam Tournament Edition remains as one of my all time favourites.
I really enjoy the NHL games. I've played the shit out of NHL 2K11 on my iPod because I don't own a console and they no longer make the NHL games for PC. The FIFA games are alright too.
I like playing a lot of FIFA and NHL. I play a lot of them with my cousin and we usually have great matches. I used to be a PES fan but the games but stopped being one since they took out the Bundesliga (Plus the games felt too samey after 6). Not into Madden as... well I'm not even that big of a fan of American footy
I play some sports IRL, not as much as I used to but still, however watching or playing a videogame based on sports is out of the question. I don't really see the entertainment value in it. Watching it is watching people run/walk up and down a field and sometimes kick/throw/hit a ball. It can be fun and interesting to actually participate in the sports, but watching it... No.
Sports games suffer much the same IMO. I can play sports IRL. I have no need for sports games because of this. If its interesting enough, I'll play it IRL and get something out of it. If I have no interest in it IRL I'll have no interest in it in game, so...
In general, sports just aren't my thing. If I'm going to do something to do with sports though, its going to be actually playing the sports, preferably with friends so its more fun than the rather boring competitive scene.
I play a little bit of Fifa, and a fair amount of Nba 2k... despite Jay-Z doing his best to make it all about him, and how hot his wife is and how we're witnessing "history in the making" by listening to his records or some bollocks.
First off, there is always a "That" guy. Never mind the fact that it's just as stupid to say as me telling you that if you wanted to play Call of Duty you should join the army AND the fact that video game sports and real life sports are about as different as shooting a gun in real life and pulling a trigger but anyway, I digress...
I never really thought about the learning curve thing, which is kind of brilliant. Most sport games do have a tutorial that teaches you the buttons but actually knowing the game well enough to use said buttons effectively can be a giant pain in the ass.
For example, I love my baseball game but I really can't stand baseball in real life. I had to put my copy of MLB: The Show on the lowest difficulty because no matter what I did, I could not figure out how to actually bat/pitch effectively. I don't understand the nature of swinging and pitching because I don't watch the sport at all...
I'm not the greatest fan of sports games, but I've played and enjoyed a few. I've no real preference in favour of real or arcade style ones though. I mean, whenever my brothers drop round we can still dig out the PS2 and enjoy a game of Pro Evolution 4 for a realistic football game (excepting the player names of course, this being in the great days before licensed names) but I've also always had fun with the Tony Hawk's series, and their link to reality is tenuous at best.
I can't say I've played one for a long while now though. I think they're something I've grown out of as my tastes have changed.
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