RaychelSnr's Blog
That was then.
When you fast foward to 2009, you see that every game franchise did not sell nearly as well as it did in the previous generation. And sure, while you could make the argument there are less people on next-gen consoles than on the previous generation, but that is becoming a very weak argument as time continues to march on and sales continue to stay lower.
It's not like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 didn't outsell similar hits on the previous generation by a decent margin. In fact, software sales as a whole are up for software from 2005, even despite the sharp downturn this past year from recessed consumer spending. But while many games are finding big sales success, sports games have seemingly lost their mojo.
Sports games are especially lacking on the Wii, where there is a huge established userbase but few willing buyers of sports games. However the looming fact remains, sports gaming sales are sharply lower compared to the previous generation of sports games while other genres are still breaking sales records on multiple consoles. So what's up?
I think it's simple: minus a few very minor enhancements, sports games are stuck in the mud. Some games took major backwards steps in their leap to next gen and some simply didn't take a forward step at all. This has resulted in sports games which don't do much more than the previous generation did. And as I have said numerous times on this blog, developing good games for the 360 and PS3 is much more difficult and costly than developing good games for the XBox and PS2.
So tomorrow, we'll begin to explore possible solutions to maximize game quality, profitability, and possibly open the door to a bit more innovation in our genre. In the meantime, what do you think could be done to games in our genre to bring back the magic?
# 2
bigsmallwood @ Jan 20
The problem is the fact that most of the Sports games on Next-gen have underachieved! Most people finally have caught on that minus the words on the back of the box, we have been playing the same games year after year. If this year 2010/11 games turn out to be more of the same, the sales will probably hit rock bottom!
On the other hand, I used to own a Wii....and I remember the feeling I had when I played Madden 08 on it....I thought it was the best Madden I'd ever played and could not wait for more sports games to come onto the Wii. BUT somehow, someway, Developers are making the sports games not only more cheesy, but they are making them look like Genesis games. The Wii is a very CAPABLE console, but for some reason it keeps receiving shovelware...especially in the sports department where it could very well revolutionize sports gaming....and I am talking about more than GOLF! And the lack of College games hurts as well!
I believe devs need to work a little bit smarter in how they present their product, so that they are able to capitalize on the market....right now they are stuck in the mud and it is mostly because of bad products. That goes for Wii/360/and PS3.
On the other hand, I used to own a Wii....and I remember the feeling I had when I played Madden 08 on it....I thought it was the best Madden I'd ever played and could not wait for more sports games to come onto the Wii. BUT somehow, someway, Developers are making the sports games not only more cheesy, but they are making them look like Genesis games. The Wii is a very CAPABLE console, but for some reason it keeps receiving shovelware...especially in the sports department where it could very well revolutionize sports gaming....and I am talking about more than GOLF! And the lack of College games hurts as well!
I believe devs need to work a little bit smarter in how they present their product, so that they are able to capitalize on the market....right now they are stuck in the mud and it is mostly because of bad products. That goes for Wii/360/and PS3.
# 3
ps3veron @ Jan 20
True on all fronts but one: I need you folks to look at FIFA 10. Better yet play the game using the Be a Pro camera, guaranteed to your mojo back!
# 4
RaychelSnr @ Jan 20
Jake, while your hypothesis sounds good on the surface, how do you explain the lower sales in the sports which do have competition such as the NBA and MLB? Perhaps competition has nothing to do with total software sales in this case?
# 5
RaychelSnr @ Jan 20
ps3veron,
FIFA is indeed a very good game and I think it, along with MLB '10: The Show are the only two sports games which could be lumped into a category which basically involves actually being 'next-gen'. But at the same time, how different is FIFA 10 from FIFA 09? And for that matter, how different is FIFA 07 from FIFA 10 in terms of basic gameplay mechanics?
Admittedly the difference in FIFA 07 to FIFA 10 is far greater than Madden 07 to Madden NFL 10, but on a basic scale, sports games don't evolve very fast. You could make the same arguments for Call of Duty in a lot of ways, where the game is still 'basically' the same as the original. But what Call of Duty does that FIFA doesn't (and perhaps can't) is provide gamers with a brand new experience with a similar set of gameplay mechanics every couple of years. That's something I'm going to try to break down in the coming days, why COD can do it and FIFA hasn't been able to.
FIFA is indeed a very good game and I think it, along with MLB '10: The Show are the only two sports games which could be lumped into a category which basically involves actually being 'next-gen'. But at the same time, how different is FIFA 10 from FIFA 09? And for that matter, how different is FIFA 07 from FIFA 10 in terms of basic gameplay mechanics?
Admittedly the difference in FIFA 07 to FIFA 10 is far greater than Madden 07 to Madden NFL 10, but on a basic scale, sports games don't evolve very fast. You could make the same arguments for Call of Duty in a lot of ways, where the game is still 'basically' the same as the original. But what Call of Duty does that FIFA doesn't (and perhaps can't) is provide gamers with a brand new experience with a similar set of gameplay mechanics every couple of years. That's something I'm going to try to break down in the coming days, why COD can do it and FIFA hasn't been able to.
# 6
RaychelSnr @ Jan 20
For sure Jake. I just don't think competition really has much to do with the lack of sales and it has more to do with a lack of innovation in just about every product. I don't want to write my blog for tomorrow today, but I really feel sports gaming suffers from a built in lack of an ability to redefine the experience of the user. Call of Duty, when it started feeling stale in WWII switched to Modern Warfare and the game felt like a completely new experience...you see that through every other genre. But you can do a sport right in a much more limited number of ways. I think we're getting to the point where perhaps, the consumer wants more than developers can deliver for their sports games in a one year period and thus, consumers aren't buying games on a yearly basis anymore.
# 7
jyoung @ Jan 20
Your last paragraph hits the nail on the head:
Outside of EA's NHL team and Sony's MLB: The Show team, sports developers just haven't handled the transition to the new consoles very well.
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# 8
RaychelSnr @ Jan 20
I totally forgot about NHL, but I agree wholeheartedly. It belongs in a 'next-gen' category with The Show and FIFA. Madden made big steps in that direction this year too...but it's not quite there. The basketball games, well I'm wanting to write a blog about them sooner or later. I'm not too impressed with next-gen basketball from any company.
# 9
TreyIM2 @ Jan 20
"I think it's simple: minus a few very minor enhancements, sports games are stuck in the mud. Some games took major backwards steps in their leap to next gen and some simply didn't take a forward step at all. This has resulted in sports games which don't do much more than the previous generation did. And as I have said numerous times on this blog, developing good games for the 360 and PS3 is much more difficult and costly than developing good games for the XBox and PS2" - BAM, there it is.
Plus the fact that sports is sports. It doesn't change and taking liberties with it just gets little silly novelty games like NBA Jam that don't "stick to the ribs". Other games outside the sports genre can take you on a ride, mentally, more so, with different ways of presenting it, telling the story and the yada.
Now, the Sony basketball iterations tried something new but who really needs a story line in a sports game ESPECIALLY when they can't even seem to emulate the actual game of basketball correctly, hence, NO NBA 10: The Life. Again, another novelty act of a sports game UNLESS they can come up with a great basketball engine then have a good, branching story mode on top of it. That could be an answer but I think the story mode takes up far too much disc space to make a great basketball engine however, if any system can possibly achieve it, it's the PS3.
Plus the fact that sports is sports. It doesn't change and taking liberties with it just gets little silly novelty games like NBA Jam that don't "stick to the ribs". Other games outside the sports genre can take you on a ride, mentally, more so, with different ways of presenting it, telling the story and the yada.
Now, the Sony basketball iterations tried something new but who really needs a story line in a sports game ESPECIALLY when they can't even seem to emulate the actual game of basketball correctly, hence, NO NBA 10: The Life. Again, another novelty act of a sports game UNLESS they can come up with a great basketball engine then have a good, branching story mode on top of it. That could be an answer but I think the story mode takes up far too much disc space to make a great basketball engine however, if any system can possibly achieve it, it's the PS3.
# 10
Steelersfan85 @ Jan 20
They need to release a new game every other year. They could release a roster update for $15-$20 for the new season and could still make money during the year they aren't releasing a new game.
# 11
boomhauertjs @ Jan 20
Bi-annual releases would help as it would give more development (and testing) time. Charge for roster updates in between.
# 12
Valdarez @ Jan 20
I think the problem is multi-faceted:
o Sports Games Have Failed to Innovate (Madden 'just' added ProTak 5 years after 2K5's release for example. Half a decade to innovate? Ridiculous)
o Sports Games focus too much on 'extra' features (modes that add nothing to the sport they are supposed to emulate)
o Sports Games fail to properly emulate the gameplay (Madden anyone?)
o Sports Games fail to emulate the entire sport (A big part of sports is the drama that goes along with it and sports games have failed to deliver the drama - this is particularly applicable to franchise play. Drama primarily has to do with commentary, news stories, and continuing coverage as a season unfolds. Think 'story' driven gaming here. No game has it, though NCAA's Campus Legend looks like it might be headed in the right direction)
o As Sports Games look more realistic fans expectations of accuracy increase. I constantly find myself looking at Madden 10 and finding problems with it that I know I wouldn't care about if the game didn't look so realistic when paused (only when paused sadly, as it's choppy as hell when in motion, even on Very Slow speed).
o Sports Games Have Failed to Innovate (Madden 'just' added ProTak 5 years after 2K5's release for example. Half a decade to innovate? Ridiculous)
o Sports Games focus too much on 'extra' features (modes that add nothing to the sport they are supposed to emulate)
o Sports Games fail to properly emulate the gameplay (Madden anyone?)
o Sports Games fail to emulate the entire sport (A big part of sports is the drama that goes along with it and sports games have failed to deliver the drama - this is particularly applicable to franchise play. Drama primarily has to do with commentary, news stories, and continuing coverage as a season unfolds. Think 'story' driven gaming here. No game has it, though NCAA's Campus Legend looks like it might be headed in the right direction)
o As Sports Games look more realistic fans expectations of accuracy increase. I constantly find myself looking at Madden 10 and finding problems with it that I know I wouldn't care about if the game didn't look so realistic when paused (only when paused sadly, as it's choppy as hell when in motion, even on Very Slow speed).
# 13
superstarshad @ Jan 20
The xbx 360 and PS3 are extremely difficult systems to program for. As difficult as they are to program for, they were even more challenging 2-3 years ago. This is the primary reason annual releases has failed to show improvements. I guarantee you'll see improvements across the board this year-with the climax being 2012.
# 14
ps3veron @ Jan 21
MMChris:
You're right on the progress from FIFA09 to FIFA10. Bare minimums actually!
You're right on the progress from FIFA09 to FIFA10. Bare minimums actually!
# 15
tril @ Jan 21
as AI, improves so will game play.-
bells and whistles alone do not make a game stale. game-play does.
A game will always be fresh if it continues to present challenges on the court, on the field, etc
a game has run its cycle, when it becomes predictable.
bells and whistles alone do not make a game stale. game-play does.
A game will always be fresh if it continues to present challenges on the court, on the field, etc
a game has run its cycle, when it becomes predictable.
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I'm almost to the point where I will buy a game every other year now. Some people want the developers to go to a bi-annual cycle but it will never happen due to money. But we the consumer can go to a bi-annual cycle. If the new game isn't a big improvement, keep playing the old one and find an updated roster set to make it happen.