Why don't sports games get much attention in retro world?

Post by **Scooter** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:44 pm

Some of my fondest memories of my Genesis back in the day when it was the hottest thing going was playing multiple unbeaten seasons in Sports Talk Football '93 Starring Joe Montana. Later my favorite was College Football's National Championship and College Football's National Championship II. I never played much video baseball, hockey or basketball because even in "real life" those sports don't appeal to me that much but I sure played a LOT of football and maybe a little golf here and there. I now probably have 15-20 sports games for my Genesis and Sega CD alone. I know I can't be alone in this.

Yet, I rarely see a thread or even a comment concerning great retro sports games. Is this because sports games are all about the latest iteration and thus retro sports games are simply obsolete chunks of plastic and circuits destined to waste space in the bargain bins or storage boxes? Maybe sports games are relegated to multiplayer environments? I enjoyed them all by myself but maybe I'm weird.

I can still fondly remember the play I found in College Football's National Championship II that while playing as my once mighty Huskers no one, AI or human, could stop more than one out of every four attempts unless you simply ran it too often. Call the Hail Mary by starting in the shotgun with four wide receivers, put the right side tightend in motion to the left, hike the ball when the motion man has split the DBs, wait until he is 30 yards downfield and throw to him on the run with no defenders in sight! Instant 6 points! Running that play to perfection was still a challenge and setting it up right always ran right up against the play clock but when it worked, it worked! Almost as fun as the real thing!

I've personally never really considered racing games as sports games, since so many of them are more arcade-y than sports-y, but I also really enjoy racing games. That said, I'd also say that racing games seem to suffer the same "yeah, so what?" lack of attention suffered by sports games. I got seriously hooked on video game racing with Virtua Racing Deluxe and the whole Gran Turismo series consumed a good portion of my life. In fact, the first Gran Turismo for the PS2 is what drove me to buy a PS2 in the first place, just like Tomb Raider is what drove me to by my PS1 and Sonic was what drove me to want a Genesis in the first place and Shenmue was what drove me to get a Dreamcast. Once the hardware was in my hands many other avenues of enjoyment came to my attention but sports and driving were a big influence.

Post by **Mozgus** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:51 pm

I still love Golf on the NES. I also think that NFL games have barely changed since NFL2K on Dreamcast, so sometimes I'll play that one. There were also times when I was a big fan of the exaggerated sports games like NFL Blitz and NBA Jam.

Post by **Scooter** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:55 pm

I always wanted to try one of those "Mutant League" games but never did.

With sports games more than others, if they are based on real teams and real players I guess wanting to have the latest rosters and power settings would constantly drive you to the newer versions, but a good game is a good game in my opinion.

I recently got Tennis 2K2 for my Dreamcast though I haven't really tried it out yet. Sega Bass Fishing and Sega Marine Fishing for DC cover a sport I couldn't care less about but they are fun games especially with the fishing reel controller. I've read that it can also be used in Tennis 2K2 but I haven't tried that yet either. Is it possible to play a DC game Wii style? I'll have to try that out soon.

Post by **N64-Forever** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 4:32 pm

yeah i know what you mean but i still play today with my friends.Nhl 94,madden 94-97,nba 2k.We play them to remember the once good players and throw down with them.But like mozgus said nfl blitz that game is fun today.On a side note last three after rediscovering blitz undefeated man or machine

Post by **Scooter** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 4:42 pm

Ah, a Madden guy.

I always much preferred the Sega Sports versions of things over the Madden versions. Maybe that's only because I played a Sega version first, but my dedication to Sega Sports over Madden-legacy games was similar to being a Sega fanboy and how that makes you feel about Nintendo. I guess you could call me a Sega Sports fanboy!

Post by **nick944** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:09 pm

I like the Sega Sports games over Madden too.

Post by **Scooter** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:18 pm

nick944 wrote:I like the Sega Sports games over Madden too.

Call me easy to please, but I was jazzed by Sports Talk. Or how about the Helmet Cam in the earlier Joe Montana football games? I actually liked the helmet cam more than the regular field view for throwing passes found in later games.

I also have a weakness for FMV games so my recent acquisition of Quarterback Attack for my Saturn should be a hoot. I got a new sealed copy for $3.00 so you KNOW it has to be good.

Post by **mrgoodbytes** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:03 pm

scooter, I think the one notable exception to your statement in Tecmo bowl. I still see video game tourneys featuring it... mostly played by people that werent born yet when it was released.... myself, cant say I have ever once played the game [but do own it].

if you want a discussion, I played Hit The Ice on the SNES with a buddy over the weekend. It was sweet. I like sports games that encourage violence at the expense of game play.

Also I pulled out one of the madden football games on the 3DO at a party a few months ago. I have to say it was a huge hit, I just wanted to see what it looked like but I couldnt get them to put the game down... that and I must say the graphics have held up VERY well.

Post by **Scooter** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:13 pm

I've heard that Tecmo Bowl still enjoys a following but I've never owned or played the game. What about it makes it a great play and have a continuing fan following?

Post by **Funk, E** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:18 pm

I LOVE Mutant League Football on the Genny. Oh, yes.