Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

[mdiggitydawg]

Question for you guys who write the articles and reviews we love andwho play the games like we do....I've been looking through the forums and seeing all the horribly flawed games being put out for us sports fanatics. Major flaws...Bugs that should not be there. Time and time again it's us, the consumer, who keep getting ripped by these companies.

I am as guilty as the next guy, until this year when I finally decided enough's enough. I can't afford to shell out 60 a pop to get these untested, unsupported pieces of....well, you know.

So my question to you guys is this, what can be done anymore? The companies don't listen to the forums, don't listen to your reviews and don't respond to any inquiries regarding their horrible products.

Is sports gaming dying? The quality, in many cases, has already died.

It's a shame for I can only take so many shooters and wish to get a sports product that not only works correctly but can help me escape life for an hour at a time.

[PVarck31]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Very valid points.

You have to remember its not all sports games that have "died." The MLB The Show franchise seems to be alive and well. They listen to their fan base probably more than any other company making sports games. They continue to make their game better every year imo.

A lot of people also like what EA has done with FIFA and NHL.

As far as football, well that's really the main issue for most people I think. I'm hoping with the next gen systems upcoming, they can learn from their mistakes with the last system transfer.

I'm not sure if you are aware, but the Madden team has undergone a lot of changes in the last few months. Their development team has been doubled, they hired a "football czar" to oversee the quality of the game, they brought in the former head of MLB the Show to be their Creative Director. So maybe this is a turning point.

I guess we will find out in the next year or so. It really is make or break time for football imo.

[Graphik]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Sports gaming died to me after EA killed the 2K footall franchise and 2K did the same with baseball. Its been all downhill ever since.


The year before 2K and EA decided to war, I remember the plethora of sports games that came out that year. We still had High Heat baseball, MVP, Inside Drive Basketball, Sony was still making basketball, football and hockey. 3rd party devs were making sports games like NFL Fever. Then 1 by 1, each companies respective game folded and things haven't been the same since.

Now that we have a lack of competition, there are no alternatives to turn to when your favorite sucked. Its completely destroying the entire game experience. For instance, I haven't enjoyed a proffessional NFL game since 2K died. That was like 8 years ago. SMH. Same with MLB Baseball.

Its a shame what these 2 companies did to change the scope of sports video games. And dont get me started on the lack of support for PC sports games. Its almost like these companies are single handedly trying to kill my favorite hobby.

[snepp]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Exclusivity is certainly the devil, but you have to give the NFL their fair share of the blame. They stopped caring about their fans a long time ago, every decision they make is about bleeding every last drop possible out of that rock.

[Graphik]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Exclusivity is certainly the devil, but you have to give the NFL their fair share of the blame. They stopped caring about their fans a long time ago, every decision they make is about bleeding every last drop possible out of that rock.

I blame the NFL, MLB, PGA and Nascar as well since they inked exclusive deals but these developers need to step it up since these sports are exclusive. Cause instead of taking the much needed time to make sure you get a worthwhile experience, they are rushing out products and making the consumers test them for a 60 buck price tag. 5 months after release, fter 2 patches, a complete roster overhaul, infinite slider tweaks and house rules can a game be deemed fun. Damn shame.

[NYJets]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

In the past games had issues but people would just deal with it and hope they were fixed next year. Now people declare games unplayable and demand that every single issue is fixed in a patch.

There are less choices now, especially with football. That sucks. But you can still get an incredible baseball (with PS3), basketball, hockey, and soccer game pretty much year after year now. In those sports I don't know when it's been better.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

I blame online.......It is ruining all genres, but sports games the most. Companies are way too dependent on patches.

Use to be a time where they aimed for the best game ever. Now they aim for at least it works, we can just patch it later after the game release.

Something is wrong when every year your game gets 4 patches and it STILL isn't completely fixed.

[Mo]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Are sports games really getting worse or are we just expecting perfection?

[mburke2]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Are sports games really getting worse or are just expecting perfection?

Probably a bit of both to be honest. We expect a realistic gaming experience because we see what non-sports games are capable of in terms of graphics, as well as in depth and in some cases truly adaptive and "never see the same thing twice" gameplay. We realize the power of the computers and consoles we play the games on so we expect to see a better product from our sports games. So our expectations certainly are high, and in my opinion they should be. The fact that many of our favorite sports games (obviously the football games come to mind first and foremost) are not achieving the level of sophistication that other games have accomplished is what is so frustrating.

[AUChase]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Are sports games really getting worse or are we just expecting perfection?

The video game industry is a victim of it's own success, imo.

When I was a kid, I thought GameDay 98 on the PS1 was the greatest thing ever. It seems that years of gaming has forced me to expect the best from everything I play. While it's my choice to view things that way, it's not always the developers fault for not being perfect.

It's also worth mentioning that everyone views games from a different point of view. What works for one person may not be so great for someone else. These guys are catering to a wide range of enthusiast and really can't please everyone, regardless of what they do.

Don't get me wrong, I still think there are some issues with some developer's methods and the way they think, in regards to what the consumers want, but at the same time, we do sometimes expect too much and don't even realize it.

[l3ulvl]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

I really think they need to just simplify.

[mdiggitydawg]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

And this is why I come back to this site time and time again. Intelligent flow of opinions from people who enjoy the same recreation that I enjoy.

I will say, I do miss having the multiple companies fight for to put the best, most complete, game out there. I miss High Heat baseball etc.

I do realize Fifa is in a class of its own...while I can't understand how a good nascar game hasn't been developed correctly since papyrus did it for pc.

I look forward to more replies to this thread. I only wish our developers would read a thread such as this to see it's not about bashing them, it's about hearing sound opinions from the people they should be listening to and working with...their consumers.

Thanks all for your input thus far.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Are sports games really getting worse or are we just expecting perfection?

I don't expect perfection, but I expect everything I see on tv of a sport be represented in the video game version of that sport.

So with baseball, I expect to see home runs, double plays, bunting and stolen bases.

With basketball I expect fouls, dunks, fast breaks, layups, alley oop passes.

With soccer I expect yellow cards, red cards, crosses, headers, sliding tackles, corner kicks.

With football I expect to see blocked punts, blocked FGs, pass interference, punts being returned for a TD, kick offs being returned for a TD, option plays to work, screen plays to work, spread offense to work.

I mean how would you feel playing a FPS game and nobody shot anybody ?

OR

Playing a RPG game and there was no mages or any type of magic spells in it ?

[Buckeyes_Doc]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

Football games have certainly been a disappointment, though I did really enjoy NCAA 11 but nowhere near as much as I enjoyed football games on the PS2.

Not all sports game are getting worse. MLB The Show is one of the best franchises in video games and continues to get better. Sadly, not all sports games have the authenticity as The Show does.

[Skyboxer]

Re: Sports Gaming Continues to Get Worse?

My .02
Like most here I am a sports gamer first and foremost so this topic usually brings out the passion.

1st while I do believe competition by all means helps the cause, its not a lone blame.
MLB The Show hasnt really had any competition and yet take pride enough in their game to work hard, listen to us and release a very nice product. Is it perfect? No. But they even admit that and keep making the game better and better.

I honestly cant say the same the thing for EA but I hope the recent trends there in staff starts making a difference.

The telling story?
I still play MLB The Show and will continue until the next release.
What am I playing football wise? I just loaded up new rosters for NFL2K5 and even throw in Fever once in a while.

As far as "do we expect to much?" - while thats a legit question I have to say we aren't by a long shot. Again I've been VERY happy with baseball yet have been very disappointed with FB.

Why?
Again I respect where EA seems to be headed but the past is the past.
No real innovation at all, flaws being ignored and fluff added instead. Also quite to the point past EA people were condescending and over sensitive when there was legit complaints. They claimed to want to get feedback but in the end they wanted butt kissing more. Sorry but thats the way I feel about certain ones. I could go on but thats not what this is totally about. It's just that over years of this type of performanc many gamers lost faith and patience.

Anyways I hope we see a drastic improvement over the next few years and wish the "New" EA the best of luck.
I also would like to see 2K baseball turn the corner as well as MVP to make a return. For me its not about the developer but about the game. Release 3 great games from the same sport and I'll buy 3 games.