Why do more videogame fans care about NBA basketball videogames rather than college basketball videogames, even though real-life college hoops is arguably more popular than the NBA? 

It's a query I started to kick around after hearing the guys on 1UP's Sports Anomaly Podcast (#36) examine a similar question dealing with the NBA vs. college basketball games. They (Bryan Intihar and Greg Ford of EGM and Todd Zuniga of 1UP) had some solid answers but the question was never fully fleshed out and resolved. Now there probably isn't one Q.E.D. because the question itself is opinionated; nonetheless, I still wanted to get some responses from the staff and forums. This was definitely one of the stronger responses to a QOTW so what that tells me is it's a subject lots of people have an opinion about -- a good thing for this story. After the jump are some of the responses, and really I would have included them all if it weren't for wanting to keep this story somewhat short.

Editor-in-Chief Chris Sanner:

This is a really interesting question because I personally favor College basketball moreso than the NBA, and I have leaned that way with the games in the past. However, I think the answer lies in my personal experiences with basketball games. Historically, the NBA games have been just so much better overall than the college games. This year is a good prime example of just exactly how this is unfolding. We have one NBA game which is simply amazing (NBA 2K8) and we have college basketball games which are mediocore to average overall.

I think the fact that we haven't seen a truly great college basketball game in ages coupled with the fact that the pro games seem to have at least one game that is a sports game of the year type title is exactly the reason we haven't seen any huge following develop for the college basketball games. The other major NCAA sport (Football) has had a game that has been consistently good to great for 7-8 years now and that is why it has built such a strong base. If either of the college basketball titles really begin to shine and start pulling in strong praise from critics and consumers we will probably see them get a stronger foothold in the market.

Editor-in-Chief Dave Branda

I think the NBA games have two advantages: First, it comes out first. Straight up basketball fans are going to pickup the NBA titles because they come out first, and this is enough for them.

I think how a good amount of people watch college basketball hurts the college titles. To me the average sports fan really doesn't start paying attention to the sport until the conference tournaments begin. I'm not really sure it's college basketball as a whole that's more popular than the NBA, but instead March Madness.

In November and December, the average sports gamer is light years from thinking about March Madness. We're distracted by the NFL winding down, baseball trade talks and free agency, the January transfer period for our footie friends, and the NFL players/Super Bowl on the horizon. Once we bowl through these, then we're ready to start thinking college basketball.

Personally, any time I've purchased a college basketball game its been at around that time of year. Not when the game came out - but months later when March Madness was getting started.

Similar to Dave's answer was forum member, Just Nasty's response:

We all know that March Madness is ridiculously popular - due in large part to the intrigue of office pools. But, do we really know for sure that the college regular season draws more attention than the NBA season? On average I'm not so sure that it does.

As far as the videogames are concerned I think the NBA titles continue to sell a lot better because the developers are able to provide a more authentic experience. Plus, the NBA game is usually first out. But, again with only 30 teams of players to replicate compared 100s in college it's much easier to deliver a true to life experience. Not to mention that they cannot use real player names, and the models are hardly ever accurate to what someone looks like in real life on the college games.

Personally when it comes to real life I'm a big fan of the NBA, College basketball takes a backseat until things heat up. I appreciate the game of college ball, but I think a lot of people want to see/play with the best of the best.

A sub-question I asked after Just Nasty's response was: "But with hundreds of teams rather than just 30 doesn't that make it an even stronger case for why college hoops should be more popular than NBA? In other words there are lots more teams to choose from and follow when compared to the NBA."

Forum member MMGodspeed didn't agree with my thought process:

It's the exact opposite.

Too many teams make it way to hard for casual fans to follow.

There are actually more DI conferences then actual NBA teams.

Too much action, too many conferences, etc etc.

March Madness gives a sense of closure in the fact you only have 65 teams to sift through.

And every year they add more DI schools.

Internettgg returned the discussion to the original question with this well said response:

College basketball is great b/c of the affinity most people have with the school. The college atmosphere is awesome b/c of the bands and the students. If you took the Cameron Crazies and replaced them with old people, Duke games would never be the same. The basketball played in college basketball really isn't that great. The NBA has the best players in the world and college has the best high school players in the country. The best college players then go on to the NBA. I thought it was great for the NBA to implement an age restriction b/c it allows players to get more exposure before they reach the NBA. The skill set of players on a college team pale in comparison to a NBA team. The best player on certain college teams may not even make an NBA roster. The NBA has a public perception problem, but really all sports do. College players get suspended, take money, get in fights at parties, and get caught doing drugs.

The experience with an NBA game is more personalized than a college game. Each year a different college player is in the spotlight. LeBron is with the Cavs for at least another 3 years. I love playing NBA 2K8 b/c the game is awesome and I know the players. You see the face and the name on the back of the jersey. The amount of detail in a NBA game today is just insane. The mannerism of the players are in the game. SG#5 doesn't have the same feel as LeBron James #23. You're able to have a better experience b/c you know the skill set of the player IMO.

Forum member BigHerm throws out the last of the responses I'll be posting here:

I'm a diehard Kentucky basketball fan and really dont have a favorite NBA team. I follow former Kentucky players in the NBA. I've only really played one NCAA basketball game for any extended period of time and that was March Madness 05 or 06 I believe, it was the one with Okafor on the cover. The only reason i played it so much was because a couple of my friends had it and liked to play online. I really cant get into college games due to lack of opponents to play online, not knowing many of the smaller school's players, and the style of gameplay.

When I buy NBA 2K i know i will have a good community of sim ballers to play. The college game you can just live on fullcourt press and 3s without much skill. NBA games provide me with known players on all teams. I can have as much fun and compete with anyone with the worst team on an NBA game, the same cant be said about trying to play with Tennessee State on a NCAA game.

I watch a fair share of NBA games, but I watch probably 2 to 3x the amount of NCAA basketball. I can watch small schools play and you just see the passion. A televised NBA game in February can be quite a snoozer sometimes though.

So that's some of the "best" responses from our forum and staff. If you think you have a better reason then sound-off in the comments.