The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360’s final ‘big’ year in sports gaming might have actually been 2012. This year, it seemed most developers were content with relatively modest improvements to the existing lineup of games on current generation consoles.

At the end of the day, there were three games which really captured our attention and received serious consideration for the current-generation Sports Game of the Year: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, NCAA Football 14 and MLB 13 The Show.

Thanks to its brutally realistic simulation mode, improved game modes all around, and instant plug-and-play — Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 was an early favorite amongst the staff. It is truly remarkable how Tiger went from an arcade golf title a few years ago to something which can be considered a very well done simulation of golf. We definitely are impressed with where the series has gone the past couple of years.

NCAA Football 14 got a lot of consideration likely because it is the last version of the NCAA series and it actually was a pretty good game this year. It was far from perfect, with several nagging legacy issues still in the game. However, the real-time physics seemed more appropriate and the Dynasty Mode remained the best in the business even after the recruiting system received a major overhaul and simplification.

While NCAA was good, it wasn’t truly great.

MLB 13 The Show, was truly great this past season.

While The Show has always been a staple in our genre as one of the best games, and this year was no exception. Several titles rested on minimal improvements and a next-gen approach, but MLB 13 The Show went about its business as usual in the year of its last major current generation launch.

The Show has always been a series which put slow and steady progress over big and flashy additions to the series. This year was no exception, with a wider timing window for hitting, new fielding and running animations, and a tweaked physics engine all combining to deliver the best on-field baseball experience yet in video games.

Perhaps our favorite aspect of The Show is in how flexible it is as a game. If you want a game with home runs all over the place, you can get that game if you want. If you want a game that’s as brutally realistic as possible, that’s also possible.

What’s not to love about a game that basically looks at you and says, “Let’s play however you want today?”

On top of that, the improvements to the modes, specifically Road to the Show, gave The Show a lot of replayability this year.

It’s not typical to have a game released in March carry enough momentum into the end of the year, but MLB 13 The Show did just that for both our readers and staff.

Our consensus pick between both the staff and readers for the Current-Gen Sports Game of the Year is MLB 13 The Show.

Honorable Mentions: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, NCAA Football 14

Readers' Vote Results: MLB 13 The Show (41%), NCAA Football 14 (22%), NBA 2K14 (18%)