What feature should be in every sports game?

Sports games progress like every other genre, and idea copying becomes a huge part of the development process. However, some ideas seem to get looked over by some development teams. Given the current state of the industry, what is the most important feature that has not yet made its way into most sports games?

Chris Sanner: The one thing all sports games need that none actually do involves dynamic player personalities. That is the one thing keeping the play on the field from being as authentic as possible. Players have to have rapports with one another; they have to have morale; they have to be more alive. For instance, in baseball alone there are many ups and downs throughout a season that mere talent does not equate to. A player might have a pregnant wife who's having trouble, and his performance might suffer because of that. You cannot simply give players physical ratings and expect to be sim when at least half of sports is mental. So if there's a feature missing in sports games, it's the mental side of sports.

"Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical." - Yogi Berra

Robert Kollars: There are a lot of features that should be absolutely standard in all sports games, but a complete editor tops the list for me. Whether it's a complete roster editor, conference/league editor or a track/ballpark/field editor. I know this is difficult to do on a console, but it's amazing the creativity that comes through from users when they have the ability to edit these games. If users had the ability to edit cars and tracks in NASCAR, or really create player likenesses in college games, or truly edit stadiums in NCAA Football -- and then had the abilty to share what they had created -- it would be amazing.

Most games give you some type of editor, but it always seems like it is just a generic one that does not allow nearly enough user input and creativity. For instance, if College Hoops 2K8 had an easy to use and very deep face editor, we would be amazed by what gamers would create. Look at what EA did with NASCAR 09. In that game, the developers allowed a template to be used on your PC, which then could be imported into the game. There were car skins that were created that blew away anything that you got from the game. It's hard not to look at a series like Forza then wonder what it would be like to have those types of customization capabilities in other sports games.

Jayson Young: NCAA Football and Madden NFL are currently the only sports series to feature an online franchise mode. Even then, Madden's version of online franchise is so barebones and limited that it's really more like a "multi-season" mode than a true online franchise. Most sports gamers would agree that franchise mode is the best part of playing sports games. So why hasn't online franchise become a mandatory feature in every sports game?

Madden and NCAA are dull, underwhelming sports games when played offline. But in online leagues where all 32 NFL owners are human, or the SEC is run entirely by human coaches, these mediocre football titles become a lot more exciting. Madden NFL 10 was my sports game of the year in 2009, and it wasn't because the game itself was that great, but because the online franchise experience brought an otherwise boring game to life.

The only thing missing from sports games is....well a lot of things apparently.

Caley Roark: For me, the missing thing that frustrates me most is TV-style presentation, at least for major sports games. I don't need official licensing from ESPN or NBC Sports. However, I do think that official "looking" replays, camera work and stat windows by now should be mandatory.

I suppose it bugs me more because ESPN NFL 2K5 has been the template for broadcast elements, and it's now almost 10 years old. Sure, games like the modern NBA 2K series and MLB The Show have taken strides to get there, but where are the dynamic halftime shows, the weekly SportsCenters or even creative stat overlays that track in-game performance? I know that this is a small element of the overall gaming package, but for me, the context of a full TV-style presentation can help make up for otherwise mediocre modes and gameplay.

Dustin Toms: After playing Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, I think all sports games need to expand more into the world of social media. With NFS: HP's Autolog feature, you could challenge your friends to beat your track records and challenge times in a heartbeat. Sadly not many picked up the racing title to experience the new feature, but I can see it doing really well in today's society.

Adding an Autolog type feature to games like Madden, NCAA Football and NBA 2K would give each game more replay value. Imagine a hall of fame-type system in Madden between you and your friends (or the entire world) where you could challenge time trials like the quickest two-minute drive or the longest running play -- or perhaps breaking 100 points in NBA 2K like Wilt Chamberlain did back in the old days. It may not be the next big thing that actually affects gameplay, but social-media interaction has become arguably the biggest resource in our nation today so it deserves to be introduced in our video games.

Christian McLeod: I'm with Jayson in thinking that every sports game from here on out needs a form of an online dynasty in it. Let's face it, we live in a world where social networking and MMOs have taken over. NCAA Football's Online Dynasty mode is simply amazing when you take a look at it in detail. Imagine every other sports game out there allowing you to hook up with at least one other person online (with other teams being CPU-controlled) and experiencing everything a franchise can offer together. Not only would this be groundbreaking in team-based games like NHL and NBA 2K, but imagine a WWE or NASCAR game where you play through PPV events or racing seasons with others.

Yes there are definitely some quirks that would need to be worked out in terms of scheduling, especially for sports with multiple games per week, but I am entirely confident that commissioner tools could be put in place to solve these issues. Sports gaming was founded on the couch with a group of friends, and the NCAA Football series has proven just how amazing playing from the next-generation couch can be. Mark it down developers everywhere, this feature needs to be required!