News Post

68-Game Field Announced for the Greatest Sports Game Ever Tournament

02:31 AM - February 29, 2012 by RaychelSnr

The field for the Greatest Sports Game Ever Tournament has been announced, with 68 games making the cut into the tournament of tournaments to crown the Greatest Sports Game of All Time!

This is the second ever Greatest Sports Game Ever tournament, with the first tournament being held in 2008. In that tournament, NFL 2K5 was the winner.

(Click to compare this year's field with 2008's)

The first round matchups and regions will be announced on March 1, with voting set to begin on March 11. In the meantime, we will be hosting a bracket challenge where you will be able to break down the bracket just like in March Madness for the chance at prizes!

So without further adieu, here is the field of 68 as selected by the OS Editorial staff based upon your nominations:

#1
NFL 2K5
NBA 2K11
Tecmo Bowl
Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball

#2
College Hoops 2K8
MVP Baseball 2005
Tecmo Super Bowl
Forza Motorsport 3

#3
Baseball Stars
Mike Tyson's Punchout
Tony Hawks Pro Skater
WWF No Mercy (N64)

#4
NHL 94
NBA Jam
NCAA Football 2006
MLB '10: The Show

#5
RBI Baseball
Madden 2001 (PS2)
Out of the Park Baseball 12
Coach K College Basketball

#6
FIFA Soccer 10
NHL 10
Winning Eleven 9
Forza Motorsport 4

#7
Madden '95
Madden 2005
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
NBA Live '96

#8
All Pro Football 2K8
Trials HD
Virtua Tennis (Dreamcast)
SSX: Tricky

#9
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
NBA 2K12
Mario Tennis
Mutant League Football

#10
Joe Montana's Sports Talk Football
Bases Loaded 2
Triple Play 96
Skate 3

#11
Blades of Steel / Double Dribble
High Heat Baseball 2001
Front Page Sports Football Pro
NFL Head Coach 09

#12
NFL Blitz
Top Spin 4 / NCAA Football 99
NFL Gameday 98
NBA Live 10

#13
Bill Walsh College Football
NFL 2K1
MLB '08: The Show
Lakers vs. Celtics

#14
Tiger Woods 2003 (PC)
Madden NFL 10
Fight Night Round 3
Football Manager 11

#15
Hot Shots Golf
Pro Evolution Soccer 12
NASCAR Racing (PC)
NBA Street Volume 2

#16
Excitebike / Ten Yard Fight
Need For Speed 2
Pong / NFL Fever
Backbreaker

So what do you all think without seeing any of the regions? Who got snubbed? Who's too high? Too low? Any early favorites?

Member Comments

# 1 Juggernaut55 @ 02/29/12 02:36 AM

MVP 2005 is by far the greatest game of all time...not just sports game...greatest game of all time

# 2 Bellsprout @ 02/29/12 02:40 AM

Boo. THPS2 is better in every single way than the original Pro Skater.

That is my only objection. Because it's pretty much the only thing I looked at on the list.

# 3 eye guy @ 02/29/12 03:36 AM

I'm disappointed to be honest... People from all over the world come here to talk about all sports titles and yet there are titles still missing. Why limit this to the USA? Seriously, if Mutant League Football can make the cut, titles like Kelly Slater Surfing, 4D boxing and Rugby League on Megadrive should at least get a mention...

What about a wildcard round where titles from around the world - and even those that weren't nominated - get a sneaky chance to spoil the party?

# 4 Iceman87GT @ 02/29/12 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eye guy


	I'm disappointed to be honest... People from all over the world come here to talk about all sports titles and yet there are titles still missing. Why limit this to the USA? Seriously, if Mutant League Football can make the cut, titles like Kelly Slater Surfing, 4D boxing and Rugby League on Megadrive should at least get a mention... What about a wildcard round where titles from around the world - and even those that weren't nominated - get a sneaky chance to spoil the party?

Wouldn't Kelly Slater Surfing have to be considered a good game to make the list? Its not like the video game world was missing a surfing game, or that somehow the only attempt at such a game should be on the list of the greatest sports games ever.

This is a competition for the title of the best sports game ever, we could make it 69 teams and just pretend that Kelly Slater Surfing had a chance and eliminate them in some sort of play-in round, but then you'd be considering Kelly Slater Surfing one of the 69 greatest sports games of all time, and that's just wrong.

Why not throw the cricket game on the list? Sure its not the best game by any stretch of imagination but its played elsewhere so it deserves a shot. Lets give some high school a spot in the NCAA tourney this March, or at least mention the school, they play basketball too though not nearly on the level of the NCAA.

# 5 Randiesel75 @ 02/29/12 06:17 AM

My pick goes to NHL 94.

# 6 celticsfan1530 @ 02/29/12 07:10 AM

MVP Baseball 2005 is better than any of 2k's baseball games. Hopefully EA can win the rights to a baseball game so this great series can come back.

# 7 truintellectplaya @ 02/29/12 07:11 AM

List is wack without WWE Day of Reckoning. Some of this garbage on this list is just road kill. Day or Reckoning is the reason why it is hard to sell and stay without a gamecube, same as the original XBox still lives because of MVP 05. It is what it is though, which is wack in this case.

# 8 C the Lyte @ 02/29/12 07:29 AM

Excitebike... I smell upset.

# 9 loaf31 @ 02/29/12 08:03 AM

NHL 94 greatest game of all time

# 10 poulka @ 02/29/12 08:15 AM

Is that the Excitebike for NES, if so that brings a bit of nostalgia back to me, what a great game during its time put in many hours on that title.

# 11 garyjr33 @ 02/29/12 08:59 AM

Figures mutant league football made it but not mutant league hockey (used NHL 93 gameplay engine)...I am going to go ahead and BOOOOOOOOOOOOO that! Haha.

# 12 Dice @ 02/29/12 09:43 AM

MLB The Show 10 with a #4 seed and Ken Griffy Baseball with a #1 seed? Sorry, but who ever drew these brackets really hates simulation baseball. And BTW, MVP Baseball 2005 was the most overrated sports game in my opinion.

# 13 BlackRome @ 02/29/12 10:02 AM

The list of basketball games is a joke. No 2k8. The best basketball game they ever released. The best dribbling system ever in a basketball game. The last time online actually worked and you could get a game instantly. The last time the game actually moved in real time. The last year they had a message board for the lobby that madden copied. Yet 2k12 and 2k11 which both have animation issues is listed.

Have at it.

# 14 BlackRome @ 02/29/12 10:06 AM

MLB The Show 10: Half the game was broken. Online. It say's it had online on the box. It's lucky to be on the list. If it wasn't for all the people who are scared to play a real person and still think this is the era of the Sega Genesis then it wouldn't even be on the list.

# 15 Juggernaut55 @ 02/29/12 10:15 AM

Dice is clearly on heroin saying MVP 2005 is overrated....go back to your hole

# 16 Dice @ 02/29/12 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juggernaut55


	Dice is clearly on heroin saying MVP 2005 is overrated....go back to your hole

Would you like a hit before I go back to my hole?

# 17 Elgin2311 @ 02/29/12 10:27 AM

International superstar soccer! And how about wave race for n64. Quarterback club had some really good games.

# 18 Dice @ 02/29/12 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackRome


	MLB The Show 10: Half the game was broken. Online. It say's it had online on the box. It's lucky to be on the list. If it wasn't for all the people who are scared to play a real person and still think this is the era of the Sega Genesis then it wouldn't even be on the list.

Well, maybe that's why I didn't have a problem with it because I'm not an online player. I'm single player offline franchise. And from that perspective, it's probably the best experience a baseball fan could have. And as far as the gameplay, no other baseball game has come close to simulating the on-field aspect of baseball.

# 19 Gramps91 @ 02/29/12 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by truintellectplaya


	List is wack without WWE Day of Reckoning. Some of this garbage on this list is just road kill. Day or Reckoning is the reason why it is hard to sell and stay without a gamecube, same as the original XBox still lives because of MVP 05. It is what it is though, which is wack in this case.

completely agree, Day of Reckonging is beast.

Overall, the list ok, but needs Day of Reckoning and Tony Hawk Underground 1, how in the world did these not make it.

Also, where is the love for NBA Jam 2000, possibly the most underappreciated sports game of all time.

# 20 m1ke_nyc @ 02/29/12 12:33 PM

NBA 2K11 greatest sports game ever.

« Previous12 3 Next »

More Links

68-Game Field Announced for the Greatest Sports Game Ever Tournament