You know how I know we have a very narrow type of gamer here?

[pceslayer]

I have a HUGE sports game fan. I just love the competitive nature of them but it also helps that I'm a sports fan and follow many teams.

The EA NHL and NBA2K series are both amazing. That being said, they hold no value as a collector and really lose their appeal a year after release.

Matt has 100+ copies of Madden confirmed! :p

[theflea]

I collect games of all types, yes even the sport titles, but I only buy them out of bargain bins or a dollar or two at Garage sales. As a gamer i really don't play much Sport games and other then to test out a cart or disc when they are used to make sure they work, they just go on the shelf to fill the space to complete a collection. The only time i really start to hunt Sport titles is if they are known rare games or if my collection is down to a low amount of games left to find and most are sport titles and I want to complete the collection. Common Sport games are the last games I really hunt for. And I feel most people are the same way. While games like Zelda, Mario and Metroid are classics and always want to be played, sport titles just get outdated and the only people who buy them are collectors wanting a complete set of a gaming platform. (but there are a few exceptions like Mutant League and Super Tecmo Bowl.)

[artikskarab]

Well, if you're a fan of sport games, you'll buy the game every year. It's called "Being Activision/EA Sports"; rush to make a game every year with only minor updates each time...

Though I have to say that I like wrestling games also...

[anton]

Well i must say sports game, it's probably the only kind of game i almost never buy.
Except for Gran Turismo.

[scott]

I have a few Sports games that I actually play. But I also have a lot of Sports games in my collection, mostly thanks to my Saturn collection. I do like playing a sports game once in a great while, but I rarely ever buy new ones. Hell, I was thinking of playing a Madden game the other day and realized that I traded off the one I had played the most of on PS2. Worst part is, I only want to play that version and I can't remember what year it was, only that some Vikings dude was on the cover...

[jcalder8]

... They still aren't selling though

Ha!  Garbage is still garbage, no matter how cheap it is!

True Dat!

I would buy them for that price.

[sin2beta]

I like a small dose of sports games. They are just modern pong. And to be honest, I really like pong. Tennis games are pong completely. Hockey is just slightly more complicated pong. And football is just slightly more complicated pong. Baseball feels like a strategy game of sorts to me. I like pong and I like strategy. I just don't need 15 versions of it every year.

I really like virtua tennis. I like most of the 2k series from the early to mid 2000s. And I currently own ncaa football 11 and nhl 12. To be honest, I was shocked by how much I actually enjoyed them. NBA Jam was a favorite to rent when I was a kid.

[karyann]

I don't have any modern sports games, PS3 NBA Jam and Wii Sports aside. However, I do have a soft spot for old NES sports titles... Blades of Steel and Tennis are two that come to mind. I was also a pretty big fan of dedicated LCD sports games as a kid. (And oh how I wanted that Konami TMNT Basketball game...!)

It's true about the million copies of Madden '9x or whatever collecting dust in resale shops. They're always priced so high! Just clear those guys out -- 99 cents a pop -- and be done with it, right?

Totally agree on that, I don't really like the modern sports games, but I love a lot of older ones! On the NES, I played Golf, Baseball, Soccer and such a LOT when I was younger. I even liked M.U.S.C.L.E, though I know I'm part of the minority there  Sports games are to me pretty much the same as "movie" or "cartoon" games. Back in the days, they were often great, but nowadays whenever I see a movie game my first thought it that it's probably awful. Though I worked as a game tester for Activision the last 2 summers, and I was proven right once and wrong once, so I guess I have to be more open-minded on those 

I like a small dose of sports games. They are just modern pong. And to be honest, I really like pong. Tennis games are pong completely. Hockey is just slightly more complicated pong. And football is just slightly more complicated pong. Baseball feels like a strategy game of sorts to me. I like pong and I like strategy. I just don't need 15 versions of it every year.

I really like virtua tennis. I like most of the 2k series from the early to mid 2000s. And I currently own ncaa football 11 and nhl 12. To be honest, I was shocked by how much I actually enjoyed them. NBA Jam was a favorite to rent when I was a kid.

Wow, the comparison you just did amazes me. I never saw those games that way, but now that you mention it, I wonder how I never saw it. There seems to be enough of a difference to be annoying though, because I love pong and dislike a lot of modern sports games, so I'll have to investigate further!

[sin2beta]

I like a small dose of sports games. They are just modern pong. And to be honest, I really like pong. Tennis games are pong completely. Hockey is just slightly more complicated pong. And football is just slightly more complicated pong. Baseball feels like a strategy game of sorts to me. I like pong and I like strategy. I just don't need 15 versions of it every year.

I really like virtua tennis. I like most of the 2k series from the early to mid 2000s. And I currently own ncaa football 11 and nhl 12. To be honest, I was shocked by how much I actually enjoyed them. NBA Jam was a favorite to rent when I was a kid.

Wow, the comparison you just did amazes me. I never saw those games that way, but now that you mention it, I wonder how I never saw it. There seems to be enough of a difference to be annoying though, because I love pong and dislike a lot of modern sports games, so I'll have to investigate further!

Thanks! To be honest, I've spent a little too much time looking at the relations and comparisons between video games and sports. If you just play a modern sports game it does not seem like pong at all. But if you start with a game like hockey on the telstar (which was pong but with more paddles) and then gradually move to Intellivison, NES, SNES, etc, it is an interesting and pleasant evolution.

One of the best things I've noticed in my journey of geekdom is that most sporting events chant a commodore 64 chiptune. (even used to be the Toronto Maple Leafs goal horn) There is a C64 game called Lazy Jones with a song called "star dust". This was used by the German band Zombie Nation in their song Kernkraft 400, which is used in almost every sporting event.

Personally, I can't help but smile when I see a stadium of sports fans singing Commodore 64 songs as loud as they can.

Florida Gators stadium chanting C64 music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDZLULd4Qcg

Original C64 Stardust BGM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKnNFVkbIbA

Intermediate step of zombie nation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSJQLCImV18

[disgaeniac]

@Sin2beta:

Thanks for the links & lessons (never knew that's where that music originated from)

Nothing like some pumping music & scantily-clad girls to start off the new year right

(Btw, though...you have *entirely* too much time on your hands) 

[sin2beta]

@Sin2beta:

Thanks for the links & lessons (never knew that's where that music originated from)

Nothing like some pumping music & scantily-clad girls to start off the new year right

(Btw, though...you have *entirely* too much time on your hands) 

 

[jcalder8]

@sin2beta, Thanks for sharing, I had no idea that the song had such rich history

[ko1ru]

I <3 Zombie Nation's Kernkraft 400 (there have been a lot of remixes and covers too), but I had no idea it was used at sporting events!

Shows how much I know about sports. 

[karyann]

Wow, thanks for the info on those songs! Now I can laugh too when I see them chanting that song I gotta share this!

[desocietas]

Oh, and while it's not a game I played growing up, Tecmo Super Bowl is one of the most impressive NES games from a programming perspective. The intro to that game is completely AMAZING when you consider the technical graphic limitations of the NES. Honestly, I just like to watch it in nametable and PPU viewers.

Oh man, that video brings back memories!  Growing up with 2 older brothers, we had a few sports games, and Techmo Super Bowl was one of the games I'd play with them even though I knew nothing about football or how to actually play a video game :P  But I definitely remember that intro sequence and the graphics/gameplay since we lived near San Francisco, and the 49er was an easy player for me to recognize.