Why can't sports games be more serious and pull ideas/stories from real life?

[Kane99]

I thought of this after I remembered something to do with ESPN NFL 2K5. A game that came out on the PS2 and Xbox back in 2004. It was and is by far one of my favorite sports games, and favorite NFL game. It did so much better than modern Madden games do today. It has better presentation, controls, and everything else. It also has a robust season mode that lasts for pretty much forever. But I found out recently that Madden only allow you to play for like 30 years in season mode. Which sure, is fine, but in ESPN NFL 2K5 it was unlimited from what I recall. 

Anyway, that's not the point of this topic. After I had played for a few years in season mode, you could encounter career ending injuries. For example, I remember a player that had an broken neck as an injury, and the injury length said for the rest of his career. I know that's grim, but it provided realism to the game that I never saw before or after. Madden wouldn't dare add something like that to the game. But I think it would add a sense of realism. 

That's why I wish Madden and any other sports games would push the idea of realism more. As well, better story modes that focus on beefs with other players, realistic drama and so on. Also better presentation where they air game shows every week or even after every game like ESPN NFL 2K5 did, and many other sports games do aside from Madden, who kinda half-ass it in terms of presentation. 

I know some sports games like NBA 2K, MLB The Show and other sports games have more realistic stories and better presentation to boot. I would like to see more story driven content in sports games. They are trying to do it already with Madden, NBA 2K and others, but I feel it can be done more. 

What do you guys think? Would you like more realistic stories with your sports games? Or do you want them to keep it the way it is now? 

[Empire]

One complaint that I hear every. single. year. is how its the "same game" every release. What do people expect? It's not like the sport of Football or Soccer changes year to year. And at this point it's as close to realism as you can get so it's not like graphics are changing so of course it's going to be a similar game. And when they do add things like when madden added the story mode people bitched about how bad it was.

[Shortie]

I feel if sports games were to pull real life stories and ideas they would probably do better than they do now. At the moment we have pretty much the same thing releasing every year without fail with not much of a change and if pulling better stories and ideas in meant that there were more changes it would probably entice more people to come forward and buy the game.

[Kane99]

10 hours ago, Empire said:

One complaint that I hear every. single. year. is how its the "same game" every release. What do people expect? It's not like the sport of Football or Soccer changes year to year. And at this point it's as close to realism as you can get so it's not like graphics are changing so of course it's going to be a similar game. And when they do add things like when madden added the story mode people bitched about how bad it was.

The problem with the yearly releases is that they don't innovate on anything, often releasing the same exact game with minimal changes. And sure you're right, the sport rarely changes. But for games like Madden, that have gotten worse because of the yearly releases, it's tiring to see the same things over and over. 

The problem with the story modes is because they're tacked on modes where the devs half ass it. For Madden for example, their focus is more on their ultimate team mode, while franchise and other modes often get neglected. 

And I disagree with the "realism" side. Madden for example may look pretty graphically, but there's not much realism to it. From the glitches that result in fumbles being unrecoverable by either team, or the ball magically appearing elsewhere on the field. I wouldn't call Madden realistic in any way. Hell they removed refs from the field. When games back on the PS1 had refs. 

The problem is the yearly releases. They aught to drop that and make one single game, and update it constantly. That way they can focus more on fixing problems, improving presentation, gameplay, and so on. And it wouldn't end up being the same exact game every year, because it'll be constantly updated and changed. That's a future I want for sports games. 

[Reality vs Adventure]

This is a much needed post and is something the gaming industry seriously lacks which is a sports game that has a great story with it. That could bring sports games back to people like me who wants a bit more than just playing a sport. Got my mind racing now with ideas. Imagine though, to have a bit of storyline, then go and play a match, back to story. I'm thinking something like the movie The Last Boyscout but with a lot more football action. Or the movie The Color of Money and have a story along with pool tournaments. Or even one of my favorite movies, The Basketball Diaries, except have more basketball action of course. I'd love to play a game in that new genre. I'm excited just thinking about it. Hope this idea takes off a bit and someone makes something good. Wouldn't that be something if they had a GTA mixed with Madden. Freakin insane. Or something like Rocky movie series mixed with Mafia game series. Again, cool topic!

 

[Kane99]

On 12/29/2022 at 5:18 PM, Reality vs Adventure said:

This is a much needed post and is something the gaming industry seriously lacks which is a sports game that has a great story with it. That could bring sports games back to people like me who wants a bit more than just playing a sport. Got my mind racing now with ideas. Imagine though, to have a bit of storyline, then go and play a match, back to story. I'm thinking something like the movie The Last Boyscout but with a lot more football action. Or the movie The Color of Money and have a story along with pool tournaments. Or even one of my favorite movies, The Basketball Diaries, except have more basketball action of course. I'd love to play a game in that new genre. I'm excited just thinking about it. Hope this idea takes off a bit and someone makes something good. Wouldn't that be something if they had a GTA mixed with Madden. Freakin insane. Or something like Rocky movie series mixed with Mafia game series. Again, cool topic!

 

100% agree. I think it would add so much to the game, especially if they have to do their yearly releases anyway. They could go down how tough it is to get into sports, the trials and tribulations and all that. You can show their personal lives, and their struggles. Could be a fun way to present a story in a sports game. 

[Reality vs Adventure]

5 hours ago, Kane99 said:

100% agree. I think it would add so much to the game, especially if they have to do their yearly releases anyway. They could go down how tough it is to get into sports, the trials and tribulations and all that. You can show their personal lives, and their struggles. Could be a fun way to present a story in a sports game. 

Exactly, the trials and tribulations. There are so many stories that can be made with this. A largely untouched kind of genre. I guess some sports games have to start off a bit cheap on the story to break the ice a bit and see if players like adding a story to their sports. The potential is huge is what I’m thinking. I mean, even take a look at this year’s FIFA in Qatar, and all the drama. That’s all a story in itself. There would be a big audience for a good sport story. 

[killamch89]

Sporting games such as Fifa, Madden, NBA2K etc. don't care about making a quality story because that'll take too much effort and is pointless to the publishers as their games will still sell with minimal graphical upgrades and the re-addition of old gameplay mechanics and branding it as "revolutionary".

[Scorpion]

Totally agree, adding realism and immersive story elements would take sports games to the next level. Drama, rivalries, and genuine player journeys could make each season unforgettable!