Why Do Gamers Look Down On Sport Sims?

Sports game enthusiast Jamie Presland believes football, golf and even snooker simulators offer “escapism at its best” – but feels they are overlooked and under-valued by many in the gaming community. Here, he asks why.

[spandle]

No idea, Tiger woods golf is one of the most played games in my house for the past 12 years. Can't wait for the next one.

I dont like real golf. Love football but hate footy games.

Go figure.

[ATi_Elite]

Football Manager 2012 is HUGE and has SOLD a TON of units so i have NO CLue what this idiot editor is talking about and neither does he.

[AtomicGerbil]

I think most people will have a FIFA, Madden or a Tiger Woods sat on their shelf at home, which is where the problem lies. Why pay full price every year when you already have one? Although they do drop in price dramatically quite quick.

I can perfectly understand that the super fans are going to want new rosters, but most people aren't going to be swayed by minor updates. I'm talking sports games here, so don't start shouting CoD at me.

[shodan74]

You make an excellent point about the annual releasing of new entries in big sporting series.

But the truth is that sports games often get a bad press in general. I know many gamers who simply turn their noses up at the likes of FIFA or Pro Evo, dismissing them as "for the casuals", or saying something along the lines of "why play sport on your Xbox when you can just go out and play it in real-life?"

You should have seen the reaction when I told people I'd spent five days straight playing International Cricket 2010. Bloody great it was too.

[AtomicGerbil]

I'll agree with you there, although I would like to add that sports games in general are more often that not likely to appeal to people interested in those sports.

For example, I'm a fan of golf, motor racing, snooker and to a lesser extent football (soccer to some) so that's likely the type of games I'll consider. Fishing, basketball, ice hockey and horse racing I don't like so I'll be less interested and more likely to ignore.

On top of that I'm only going to buy a game in a particular annual series once every three to four years because I'm likely to see a huge improvement between iterations that'll warrant spending the money.

Think about this happening with millions of fans out there and they're unlikely to see great sales because they're spread too thinly.

To continue your point about the "for the casuals" reputation, I can't help thinking that this stems from past sports games have always been watered down versions of their real life counterparts and it's up to the publishers to market them otherwise.

[ginsunuva]

They're pretty much what call of duty is.

And they sell 17431661344614364 copies for each minor stats update.

[GanjaMan]

i dont know about your golf or nfl games but fifa drastically changes every year with major updates to gameplay and new features!

[gigreen]

Sports games are valued, people just aren't stupid enough to buy the same game every year.

If they actually bring some major changes to FIFA I might give it another try, until then I'll just hold on on my copy of FIFA 10.

[Horny]

I have to say FIFA 12 is worth the leap. Graphics are better and new physics engine changes the way the game is played. Might as well wait til 13 now though and get FIFA street.

[GanjaMan]

if people arnt stupid to buy it every year then why did fifa 11 sell over 16mill copies? why has fifa 12 already sold over 10mill copies already and is the fastest selling sports game to date!

+ mate you obviously havnt played fifa 12 it completely changes the gameplay with the new engine, the new tactical defending, new manager mode, new online modes, rpg level up system, UT on the disc and many more features, I highly recommend picking up fifa 12.

oh and new fifa street comes out next month, cant wait!

[Horny]

I love the FIFA games and lately they have been getting better every year and also play differently.
When it comes to basketball and football I always preferred the 2k games. Hockey is back and forth between ea and 2k.
Madden is the one I won't purchase every year because the changes are minimal because they have no competition.
I can't wait for the new FIFA street.

I have to say I enjoy these games way more when playing with buddies and setting up a few tournaments and have a few beers ;)

[Scribe81]

Had to comment:

Yearly releases that do nothing to add to the game.

I used to be a hardcore football gamer: Madden and back when I used to play then the NFL 2K series on Dreamcast and Xbox. But every single year, a new one, with nothing really different. Got sick of it, then just stopped playing them all together.

[iceman06]

Everybody has made perfectly honest and truthful statements about the Sports genre. However, it still doesn't explain why gamers in general seem to look down upon it. They will stomach the endless barrage of annual COD games, yet complain about the "roster" update of a sports game. In all honesty, it's pretty hypocritical. Sports games, just like any other, fulfill the role of the fantasy of taking your favorite team (no matter how bad they might be) to a championship. Creating yourself and letting virtual you lead the way to that ring, cup, legendary franchise is the dream of any sports gamer. I, for one, like gaming....period. I play sports in spurts (usually coinciding with the season of said sport) and the others in sessions until they are complete (or I can't stomach anymore).