Part VII - What makes sports games so great?

Realism. Every new generation of sports games has an updated roster, better graphics, and a more realistic feel. Football coaches run simulated plays on Madden to see if they would work. Real hockey players can play as themselves on a TV on their tour bus. Even people who aren't professionals can now create themselves as a player in the games (of course, the most overpowered player in the league... why not?). Always wanted to be the star running back of the Minnesota Vikings? Now you can.

The realism boat took off with the first Madden game on the Sega Genesis. Madden (the man, not the game) insisted that both teams have to correct amount of players on the field. This changed the entire game. This changed the entire genre. There is now a demographic of gamers that buy no games other than sports games. They buy the latest version of Madden and NCAA and NBA Live, and little else. They may play the occasional Halo deathmatch, but they know what they like and they will not be swayed. They know all the stats of their favorite team and, for many gamers, this is as close as they will ever get to experiencing a Super Bowl as a key member of their fave team.

Now, if there are only a few members on a team (a la NBA Jam or NFL Blitz), the game is considered an arcade game. If there are the right number of people on each team, the game is a sports simulation. Like Gran Turismo, Madden is trying to be the Real Football Simulator. There have been many times when a person across the room would see a current-gen sports game on TV and confuse it with an actual, live broadcast. That's realism.

Unfortunately, with EA buying the exclusive rights to produce games for the NFL, other game developers have had to use creative methods of making money with football games. Going the arcade route is one way, or you can go the All-Pro Football route and use retired legends of the game who happen to not fall under the NFL's copyright, apparently. These games are all considered inferior to the "official" products, however, much like buying a third-party controller from Mad Catz instead of the real deal. Non-official games have had to use differing tactics than going head-to-head with Madden, such as excessive violence (Blitz: The League) or a roster of old-school fan favorites (All-Pro Football 2K8). Maybe someday there will be another contender for the throne like NFL 2K5, but, so far, it's not looking like it.

Gamers want the official, real deal. "Pure" sports games are all about the realism. That's why people play them. That's why people will continue to play them long into the future.