The Top 7… Things we hate about sports games

#6 hit right at home for me. I generally buy a new Fifa, Madden and MLB The Show ever 5 years or so, and I always hope the developers have included a more rewarding championship celebration sequence... And I'm always let down. Congratulations- now begin the next season. Eh

Why would i want to play something i could go outside and have actual fun with in real life?

The only sport games i ever liked was the mario ones super mario strikers waz my fave though online was so much fun

@popnfresh -what complaints in sports gaming should be fixed then instead of the ones presented here

I love football and basketball games, but I agree with this top 7, escpecially #7 (I want to play as John Elway, not 'Richard Rice' dammit!) @ nearly every commenting on this article -Why do you hate sports games so much, it's admitedlly not the best genre, but I love it all the same

I love GR, but this piece really should have been titled: The Top 7 things we hate about AMERICAN sports games. The exclusion of football makes the article a..not very compelling read for non-US readers.

I love GR, but this piece really should have been titled: The Top 7 things we hate about AMERICAN sports games. The exclusion of football mkes the article a..not very compelling read for non-US readers.

the only sports game i every really played was madden on the genisis. and nfl 2k4 once with a friend while we were waiting for the super bowel with the steelers and someone.

@popnfresh: You really think anyone is gonna read that behemoth of a comment you posted? Anyway i never noticed the crowd part of the games but ya. In postseason there is a definite difference, but in these games you couldnt tell the difference between a post season game and an empty stadium

wonder why ea wont make another mutant league game. I would be up for mutant league hockey or football and maybe some other sports

Sports. Games. I wish the two would never mix.

Wow Popnfresh is a real jerkoff

I agree with the contract comment as the most annoying thing in gaming. I for one stopped playing football games after the EA monopoly. I don't like madden. Compared to nfl 2k(anything) ITS TERRIBLE! finally a year or so back the running game got brought up to nfl 2k par. but lets face it, Madden is for fanboys. Guys who have perfected the madden method. QB's at 99 rating runign bootlegs for 12 yards a play. kick offs that make your guy roll out of bounds at the 1, every kick. If or one want 2k games back making NFL games and call for community to stand up to EA and not buy madden. NFL will loose money and have to open it back up.

The original NFL Blitz, BEST SPORTS GAME EVER! also NHL Hitz Pro

Disappointing article. The opportunity to try and shed light on some of these negatives through light research was completely missed in favor of just writing a whinefest. If you still think major sports games have money plays that aren't fixed in bug patches, then you either don't know how to play defense in those games, or don't know what the definition of a money play is (or are using some warped definition that simply means "anything where someone quickly gets points, even though that happens all the time in real life"). Two of the issues - Online Jerks and Historic players on historic teams - aren't even possible due to legal reasons. Sony and Microsoft won't let EA/2K/whoever ban people with regularity based on their personal standards. And there are huge legal ramifications down to the player involved with getting either historic players or teams; and you will never be allowed to have both. Just as the NHL will flat out not allow a detailed fighting engine in a game they license, major sporting organizations will not allow tons of the same team from different eras, each with easily identifiable players respective to those eras. Because that takes away from the potential exposure of their current product. It's just like how the NCAA will flat out not allow names or likenesses to be used; you can't blame the games or the developers for rules set by corporations that have nothing to do with gaming. I worked in sports game development for five years and there are pleeeeenty of valid complaints that could be levied. To see an article miss the opportunity to actually get some answers out there, in favor of "they should just make a console that plays PS3 *and* 360 games!"-esque pie in the sky whining is disheartening. I miss the days of publications having standards beyond glorified forum posting.

Weird... People still like sports games...

Controls suck too.

madden ten seriously disappointed, I can't believe I payed for it. They completely destroyed NFL superstar and franchise. I seriously couldn't believe it. And reviewers said nothing to warn me. The worst part is that pick up and play now means pick up, wait for load times, watch a cutscene, play, watch a cutscene and repeat. Also online sucks. Me and my dad couldn't even get through a 3 minute quarters match within 30 minutes. I guess it is because of what you mentioned about not buying games every so often. I hadn't bought madden since 07 and now they destroy the best parts. Don't even get me started on madden IQ

why did most of this have to revolve around american sports

Sports games are shite! That's all I have to say on the subject.