We as sports gamers demand perfection. After all, we’ve stuck it out with our favorite sports all these years and purchased the related video games when they've hit store shelves year-after-year like clockwork. We’re paying the money but somehow the perfection we expect is never completely met. The problem is when do our expectations go too far?  How much can we expect from a company who consistently has to release a new product each year and at the same time still has to provide full support to its current release?

Take NHL 08 for instance. We as gamers have been adamant about the desire for real-life AHL rosters so we could have a real farm team and mold talent from within using real players. This is all well and good but what happens when we’re over a month into the season and have no new roster update to give us access to the rookies that hadn’t made it into the default rosters?

There’s a certain expectation we have and the real problem is whether or not it’s a realistic idea of how these companies should operate. Companies like EA Sports and 2K Sports have to get players to sign waivers, especially in the case of minor league teams such as for baseball and hockey titles. Remember, the AHL isn’t covered under the NHLPA so players must sign individual waivers that have to be submitted before a set of rosters can be released.

That’s not to say the gaming companies are completely innocent. They aren’t. After all they can sometimes bite off more than they can chew and then dig themselves into a hole they can’t get out of. That being said, can't it also be said that they do this to try and meet our lofty expectations?

Even with games like Madden, All-Pro Football, and NCAA Football, we expect gaming companies to input whole new tackling animations and other in-game features that their rival has. The problem here is, it’s not like they can call up the other company and ask them how to do it. This isn’t high school where teachers let you go to others for help researching a paper.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not out here trying to tell you to lower your expectations. After all, these expectations are what keep gaming companies innovative. What we need to do, though, is not let our expectations cloud what is or is not realistic.

Every time a new sports game comes out, inevitably any message board on the subject sees people infuriated because their feature isn’t in the game or isn’t exactly how they want it. Feel free to make it known you want better games, even give ideas how to go about it, but before getting infuriated at the guys making the game think for a second whether it’s an effort issue, or something a little less…infuriating.