What All Sports Games Could Focus on Improving in 2017

[RaychelSnr]

Focus On Improving Gameplay

It seems every year sports games are so determined to impress their loyal fan bases with all sorts of new card-collecting modes or grinding missions, but when it comes time to actually play the games, it all feels a little too familiar. Many people simply compare the version they just bought last year with streams from the new one and decide whether it might be best to skip buying the game this year -- if only because when they do finally buy the game the following year, it will then feel like a more significant improvement. This is why it behooves these companies to attempt to bolster the game action each year by leaps and bounds rather than the slight fine-tuning and roster updates so many fans grumble about upon release.

Read More - What All Sports Games Could Focus on Improving in 2017

[DJT]

I'd like to see the ability to go back to any off-season and start from there. Like you can go back and re-do any drafts and completely change the league.

[ant0n]

agree 100% I'd argue there are games who still have not made a significant leap into next gen with gameplay innovations. FIFA is still plagued by issues found in FIFA 08 and FIFA 09

[tril]

games should focus on going back in time a bit. maybe streamlining game controls a bit.
stripping down some of the animations...meaning giving players(users) back more control. Im specifically talking about NBA2K17. it would be nice to see the player control found in ch2k8 and the NBA series NBA2k15 or earlier.
these games look nice-but alot of the times I feel as though its not me controlling said players in game.

[cool667]

i agree with DJT

[jpollack34]

Customization, Customization, Customization!

The future of gaming will be all about putting power in the gamer's hands via customization and edit modes.... Any company that tries to pull control away from the user will be on the wrong side of history.

[bxphenom7]

The way animations mesh with gameplay still doesn't feel next-gen to me. Just not enough animations for certain situations in some games, while some animations take away too much control in others. I also thought by now we'd have gotten rid of choppy/weird looking animations/movement, but that might have just been an unreasonable expectation...or not, I'm not sure. It's interesting because some games still aren't where they should be graphically when compared to other games within and outside the sports genre, yet gameplay has only refined despite present legacy issues and franchise/career modes across all games (except NBA 2k, though I can't stand what the career mode has become) have stagnated. Customization is also severely lacking outside of UT modes (NBA 2k again an exception, PES as well). I remember saying this at the start of this gen, and it seems like it's still true...UT is really the only mode across all games that has changed. It's probably why I've spent less time playing sports games than ever before. I'm always following them clearly lol This gen has been one of refinement, which has given us quality games across all sports, but different? I don't know. At a certain point, when do we stop settling for refinement? I doubt these consoles throw all their power towards refinement. Also, even with games that have decided to take that route (even the great MLB The Show that used to be my favorite series), I can think of PLENTY of common sense additions that must be made to the gameplay. It just seems like these studios are settling.

[rspencer86]

One thing that all sports games still struggle with is capturing what makes individual players, teams and coaches unique.

They've done an outstanding job with the visuals, player faces, the unique accessories... players and coaches really do look like their real-life counterparts.

But when those digital players start playing the game, the illusion mostly goes away.

In Madden, nearly every team plays the same way, and it seems the CPU AI runs the same dozen plays on offense, no matter what the team. The quarterbacks—probably the most important position in sports—all play a similar style and have similar abilities. I want to have to gameplan and account for guys like Cam Newton and Marcus Mariota who can beat you with their legs. I want to see the gunslinger style of Phillip Rivers, the "Captain Checkdown" mentality of Alex Smith, Tom Brady's ability to read defenses and carve them up. I don't get that now. They need to add tendencies and more traits (and make the traits they do have more pronounced).

In FIFA, there have been slight improvements but it still feels like every team plays with the same approach. I want to have to take a different approach to games between teams with two completely contrasting styles.

In MLB The Show, there are still no player (or coach) tendencies, which is really holding back the game from taking the next step in representing the real life sport. Jon Lester never attempts a pickoff to first in real life. Currently, there is no way to represent that in the game. Salvador Perez loves to throw behind runners and try to pick them off of first and third. Again, there's no way to currently capture that. I could go on and on here.

NBA 2K probably has the most tools for making players and teams have different strategies and approaches, but there is still work to be done. For example, there isn't enough difference between elite defenders and average (or even weak) ones.

This is one of the biggest reasons why franchise modes aren't as fun as they could be. Playing multiple seasons where all players and teams mostly play the same way gets repetitive and boring. It would be much more fun if players and teams were unique, and as the years progress the identity of teams changes and new strategies and directives emerge.