How To Turn Game Geeks Into Sport Dorks

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Posted October 21, 2010 - By Mike D'Alonzo

Starting with Pong, evolving through Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One On One and Madden, and arriving at the wide array of choices available to today's gamer, sports games have been a significant and historic part of the industry. Without them, we wouldn't likely have seen the boom in overall gaming that we see today. However, even with that type of pedigree, sports games often get short shrift among hardcore gamers, though sales numbers show that Average Joe and his friends are playing them with more frequent fervor than ever before.

If that's the case, then where is the disconnect between the two? It's easy to say that people who play games aren't necessarily those who are inclined to like sports, but there's more of a crossover than you might think. There's also a stigma attached to sports games and sports gamers, coloring them as somehow casual or inept. All you need to do is get schooled by someone who really knows these very complicated games to know that they're anything but casual.

So, what's left? Perhaps all that needs to happen is to create a paradigm shift for hardcore players to understand how sports games relate to the games they're used to playing. Well, as a public service, I'd like to introduce said hardcore gamers to the world of sports games through a prism of tropes they're used to. In other words, to show them that there are equivalent sports gaming experiences to the games they're already used to playing and loving. And so, without further adieu, here's a look at how to view sports games through their mechanics, and not necessarily through their subject matter.

First Person/Third Person Shooters: Timing and positioning are everything for the hardcore FPS fan, and these are elements that lend themselves to a great many sports games. The best example of which can be found in FIFA 11, where, with a little camera jiggling, you can receive a pass and navigate through a line of defenders who are attacking agressively as you weave your way toward the goal, all in a familiar 3PS style. You'll have a split second to line up and take the shot, and scoring a goal can be just as satisfying as any headshot you've ever taken, especially if it's a gamewinner or a Golden Goal.

FIFA 10 E3 First Hands-On Preview

Role Playing Games: Elements of RPGs are rife in the sports gaming world. If you're the type to enjoy the micromanagement of a game such as the first Mass Effect, then, by all means, try coaching your way through a Madden game or two. You'll load up and prepare for a number of different variables and situations that you need to react to on the fly. Certain "weapons" will only work in certain situations, and each defense you face is different than the one before.

Of course, if you're more drawn to the plot and character devices of an RPG, then you'll be better served by playing WWE SmackDown Vs. Raw 2011, which will allow you to make moral and character-based decisions backstage, complete with dialogue trees, before you get in the ring to face down your enemies. Also, you inhabit your character for the entire balance of your wrestling life, which means that what you say and do backstage informs your entire experience.

Hardcore Sports

Real Time Strategy Games: If you think about it, football is the ultimate RTS. You're constantly planning counters and defending against advances, and then going on the offensive to try and gain ground. It's even, philosophically, turn based. Once again, Madden is a perfect illustration of this concept. Set your defense against a specialized set of weapons, and then use your own weapons to try and gain ground and eventually score. Sure, there is an element of explosiveness in football, but, in the end, a methodical approach is the one that will serve you best, just as is the case with any good RTS game.

First Madden NFL 10 Screenshot

MMO Games: Grind, level up, grind, fight, grind again. For MMO fans, the long seasons of both the MLB and NBA should be a comfort. There's nothing like playing 162 games (in baseball) or 82 games (in basketball) to slowly tweak and level up your team. In addition, you can train and drill in certain aspects of the game to literally level up your characters as you trod through a long season.

In this respect, NBA 2K11 is your hucklebuck. It's super deep and super complicated, and you can play either online or in a single-player campaign that is truly epic. Mastery of this game will take a long time, and the replay value is off the charts. Also, the ability to put Michael Jordan on your roster and play him as if he were a rookie in 2010 is akin to using a high-level rare drop in a mid-level raid.

NBA 2K11 Preview

Platformers: Jump or die. You're familiar. Well, nowhere does this ethic better apply to sports gaming than in NBA Jam where, if you're not constantly dodging obstacles and jumping at the rignt time, you're going to get wasted by the Golden State Warriors, which is not something you ever want to have happen. If you're good at timing, however, the game opens up to you and you're slamming and jamming all over the place.

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Rhythm Games: Complex button sequences and timing rituals are the hallmark of the rhythm game, and, if you have a real enjoyment of that kind of gameplay, nothing will sate your hunger quite like Fight Night. In this boxing game, you'll need to be able to use your superior timing to dodge punches and put together combinations to defeat your opponent. Also a comer in this respect is EA's new MMA game, which depends on much of the same timing and combos to win each bout.

The best part of this, rhthym gamer, is that when you put together the right combinations, you have the visceral joy that comes with beating your opponent to a pulp, which is, in the world of sports, just about as rock n' roll as it gets.

Fight Night Round 4

Fighting Games: Of course, Fight Night and MMA work particularly well for this type of hardcore gamer, as well. A less obvious choice here, however, would be NHL 11, which mounts the tension of a hockey game as you stickcheck and poke your opponent until you goad him into a fight. Once the gloves drop, you'll be right at home using button combinations to knock them about until one or both of you end up in the penalty box.

NHL 11

Puzzle Games: Believe it or not, puzzlers, there's an internal logic involved in a lot of sporting games that lends itself to your analytical mind. Whether you're trying to out-anticipate a batter in MLB 2K10 by throwing him a combination of pitches that cause him to become completely confused and miss the ball, or trying to crack the codes in some complex defenses in NBA 2K11, FIFA 11, or NHL 11, you'll be solving for constantly-changing patterns to try and advance. Also, it's rare that yoiu get to celebrate solving a puzzle by throwing off your shirt and sliding on the grass while being tackled by 10 of your exhuberant teammates.

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Action/Adventure Games: In almost every sports game, or at least the ones that are coming out these days, there exists an option for you to create and customize a player that will eventually be a hero. What could fit the action/adventure mold more snugly than bringing up a football or basketball player through the combine and the draft and having them join a band of gallant warriors to eventually deliver the glittering prize to your home city?

If you're a loner, the same ethic applies to a game like SmackDown vs. Raw or Fight Night, where you custom create a singular warrior to battle through ever-difficult classes of others to get to the top of the mountain. What could be more adventurous than that?

'NCAA Football 10' Create-a-School Impressions

Survival Horror: In EA Sports MMA, you will often find yourself pinned beneath the thighs of a truly terrifying looking meathead while he's either trying to break your neck, arm, legs, or choke you out. I don't know about you, but I can't think of something that's more palpably horrific than that. Surviving such an assault will make you feel just as good about yourself as taking out a horde of zombies, this I can tell you for sure.

EA Sports MMA

In the end, what I'm hoping that you will have learned from this piece is that those who play sports games are just as hardcore as those who spend endless hours playing Halo: Reach. If you're not inclined to play them, at least admit to yourself that it's a matter of taste, and not a class war. In the end, if you're having fun playing the game, is there really any difference between playing as Marcus Fenix or Brett Favre? Other than the fact that Marcus Fenix isn't likely to send you pictures of his junk. Well, maybe his chainsaw.

Furthermore, if you're the kind of person to decry sports games as somehow inferior, you should remember that a game is a game because it's fun, and you shouldn't get down on other people because their version of fun is different than your version of fun. After all, we're all gamers, aren't we?

Tags: Features, G4 Web Exclusive, PlayStation 3, Sports, Videogames, Wii, Xbox 360

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Andarach

I find this whole conversation rather interesting. I was a gamer first and got into sports because of sports videogames, namely ESPN NFL 2k5. I hated football and gave it a try for the $20 so I could have something to play with my friends that liked sports and it got be addicted. I loved how cheap the 2k games were that year and it got me into NBA. Eventually FIFA 09 got me into soccer. I love being able to build teams, figuring out how pieces fit together to create a good attack or defense. I think it's entertaining. Yet, I'm still a rpg and shooter fanatic at heart and love pumping hours into Fallout, Mass Effect, etc... I think you can be a core gamer and a sports gamer at the same time.

Posted: October 26, 2010 9:40 AM
ShdwFox

@Bretthoff - This has nothing to do with football's complexity. Or any other sports game's complexity for that matter. Maybe my earlier example was terrible, so I'll clarify my statement. The thing is, this article is comparing football games to RPGs as a whole. Or MMA games to fighting games as a whole. Or soccer games to FPS games as a whole. And that's ridiculous when you consider that games of other genres, such as RPGs, fighting, and FPS games, can greatly differ from one game to the next.

Sports games must remain sand boxed to the rules of whatever sport they are trying to exemplify. Games of other genres don't have those restrictions. If you've played and mastered Madden, then you've basically mastered NCAA football. But if you've mastered Final Fantasy, that certainly doesn't mean you've mastered Mass Effect or World of Warcraft. And if you've mastered Halo, that doesn't mean you've mastered Farcry or Medal of Honor. And if you've mastered Street Fighter, that doesn't mean you've mastered BlazBlue/Guilty Gear.

The point is, all of the games I've compared above greatly differ from one another. But a soccer game for instance will never greatly differ from another soccer game because they must follow the traditional rules of soccer. That isn't the same when it comes to games of other genres. While a game like Mass Effect is an RPG; it has also incorporated a slew FPS elements. Which offers different tactics, and new methods of thinking.

"If you really think about it, in the end almost every game has us doing the same thing over and over again. What we do just differs from game to game." - This is where I disagree with you the most. While games of other genres hold a general formula for success, every once in a while these games evolve and take on new gameplay elements that make us think differently. Take Resident Evil 4 for example. Every Resident Evil game from up until RE4 followed a generic survival horror formula. Then RE4 came out and did away with many of those elements to take on more FPS or Action game elements. Again, this is another game from a genre other than sports games; that makes us think and play video games differently.

The only time in sports-gaming history I can think of an example of when they did something outside the general scope of sports-gaming is when they began to let us create players, teams, and coaching scenarios. But when considered to all the innovations brought to us by games of other genres; it sounds laughable in comparison.

I would say at this point if you simply disagree with all the examples I've used above, then we must simply just disagree with each other. If that's the case; then just forget about it because we obviously don't understand one another.

Posted: October 23, 2010 10:01 PM
DPsx72

And I see what you did there with references to Gears and Halo. Sorry, those games suck just as bad. Please find some real examples next time you want to prove a point. A gamer is a gamer, but they aren't real gamers if they chose to resort to the cheap 360 and its poor variety.

Posted: October 22, 2010 10:53 AM
DPsx72

Sports games DO suck. The infinite combinations of actions just cannot be programmed into a console game, making them little more than timed button presses and 'rock paper scissor' gameplay. I enjoy a variety of games of course but this is one genre that's better off played for real. Not to mention the shabby job EA does with their games. Every year nothing changes but the dates yet they sell it for $60.

Posted: October 22, 2010 10:50 AM
lowkevmic

There will always be a disconnect simply for one reason. You have to at least be interested in a certain subject in order to even enjoy playing a game based on the subject matter. If you're into fantasy and things of that genre, then expect that person to have a few rpg's throughout their collection of games, maybe even a few action platformers as well like God of War, Infamous, or any Marvel game. If you're into sci-fi and horror, then I'm sure Halo or Mass Effect, or Gears of War will be in you library. So in order for a gamer to enjoy a sports game, he has to first like sports. Most early gamers found refuge in gaming, because growing up they were never the sport playing type. Today it's so highly accepted by everyone to be a gamer, but there was a time believe it or not, where gamers were considered nerds and really had no place playing sports amongst the Alpha Male personality types.

So when it comes to sports gamers, chances are the gamer is someone who is a die hard sports fan, and probably only bought their PS3 or 360 just to play Madden or the newest 2K basketball game. Most of whom, even carry a certain stereotype. At least the ones I know. You call them out for not being a real gamer, and they are quick to inform you that they do in fact play other games, You check out their library and the only other games you see is Call of Duty or some other military based shooting game. They are extremely competitive with anything they play, and will only play games that are competitive and cooperative based.

I think the problem isn't people who play all games needing to give sports games a chance. I think it is the other way around, in that sports gamers need to put down the coach's whistle and the playbook, and try their hand at games that doesn't require you to actually be involved with that world to enjoy the game. Because you can enjoy any other game and not know anything about its history or how to play it in real life. But it's not the same with sports games, because if you never played, experienced, or have any interest in that particular sport. Chances are your not going to like the game.

Posted: October 22, 2010 10:46 AM
Talverion

I think it was a good post and a good idea, but a lot of people, mostly FPS addicts, will stick to their grounds of "sports games suck" because they suck at them and don't realize you actually need talent to choose a strategy and win in a sports game.

Posted: October 22, 2010 10:12 AM
Moye

I want a picture of Marcus Fenix's chainsaw.

Posted: October 22, 2010 9:45 AM
Rayzorshark

While the disconnect between "hardcore" gamers and sports game fans is interesting, it can simply be explained by a lack of interest in the subject matter.

The odder phenomenon happens when one encounters someone who is not a sports fan playing these games. This usually demonstrates itself, most annoyingly, by their ignorance of "sportsmanship".

Posted: October 22, 2010 8:26 AM
BigPoppaChunk

what about exceptions to the rule, i play sports , i played sports in school and was decent.
i play sport games and i'm really good at madden and nba 2k, but i'm a gamer through and through gears, battelfield i excel at rpg's are my favorite genere , survival horror and tower defense games.
but every week on saturday is college football day and i watch the eagles game every sunday and catch a game or two a week in nba season.
as well as help coach my sons soccer team.
so why can't people like what we like and not be labeled

Posted: October 22, 2010 8:22 AM
sodared

No spam thanks

Posted: October 22, 2010 8:03 AM
sodared

yuck the sports

Posted: October 22, 2010 7:49 AM
Galloway

why dont they roll them all in to one package under one game like the wii sports packeage ?!

Posted: October 22, 2010 12:13 AM
Kidmafia

It is becoming more and more apparent now a days that in america a lot of people have this illusion that all of our lives are somehow intertwined with sports...just bluntly I DONT LIKE SPORTS, WHAT MAKES ONE THINK THAT IF I DONT ENJOY A REAL SPORT THAT I WOULD ENJOY ITS GAME??? I mean seriously sports are for a certain crowd of people and games are for our crowd. Thats why tons of people made fun of those two dickholes at the Microsoft E3 conference because they were acting like total tool bags. These are 2 worlds that should not combine, and I refuse to allow myself to be just another generic tool in this society. (If you like sports I don't mean to offend)

Posted: October 21, 2010 11:12 PM
ShdwFox

Sorry, but I remain absolutely unconvinced. The problem is your comparing sports games to other genres. No matter how you slice or dice it, a sports game at it's core is still going to play like any other sports game of the same sport.

The main issue is that games of other genres are dynamic. While in a football game, your goal will always be: "make it to the end of the field to score a point". In a strategic game, your goal might change from "defeat all enemies" in one battle to "protect this character for five turns" in the next. Can sports game say the same? Will the objective ever change to "pass the ball seven times before being tackled"? Of course not, because It wouldn't still be a football game. As games of other genres continue to evolve and offer new methods of thinking and tactics; sports games will remain unchanged.

Posted: October 21, 2010 10:48 PM
littledragon092

lmao, NBA Jam was awesome back in the day. He's on fire!!!!!!

Posted: October 21, 2010 9:58 PM
Marlon's_Ketchup_Sandwiches

Have to say that some of those comparisons are really heavily stretched, i'd suggest using any of the numerous quality management sims out there, say Eastside Hockey Manager or the legend that is the Football Manager series in Europe, if your after a more puzzle like gaming experience. Constructing a side over several decades to bring success, from non-league obscurity, is a much greater timesink than many of the shorter career modes from the EA catalogue.

If your after an MMO style game, the best atm are probably free games like GoalLineBlitz, where you can create and develop a player over endless seasons. They're far from perfect at this time, but they seem to be the future of sports MMO's.

Posted: October 21, 2010 9:40 PM
salv12

A lot of gamers like and participate in sports ;p
Im one of them -_-

Posted: October 21, 2010 9:10 PM
Angelicsin87

Dear God!!! Is it even possible!!?? I think getting gamers to like, play, or even participate in sports will cause a hole to rip in time and space! This is not possible!!! Don't kill us G4!!!! NOOOOO!!!!

Posted: October 21, 2010 8:46 PM
Unbalanced

I hate sports, and sports games both boring as hell. But then again, I'm disabled, so I can't understand how people enjoy (watching, being involved in the real thing i can see) them anyway.

Posted: October 21, 2010 8:02 PM