Excelling at a given sport requires practice, skill, and a love for competition. Those very same attributes that can drive people to do well in their favorite sport can also be applied when playing their favorite video game. Combine the two passions and you have a formula for something that has eaten away countless hours from armchair athletes across the globe: sports video games. But video games based on sports also invite a level of role playing, where players can become their favorite athlete, or participate in their favorite sport, and perhaps this is why they are so cherished, and among the top selling games each and every year.