The Sport Games That We Miss

Major League Baseball

In 2013, Xbox saw its last MLB title hit their system with MLB 2K13. It wasn't well received by the masses but I believe that it is because the controls were complex. Fans never liked the way the pitching and hitting mechanics but I loved them. It required true skill and I think skill is something drastically missing from sports titles today. The analog controls also added a form of realism when it came to pitching. In real life, every pitch type is thrown differently and 2k did an amazing job at displaying that in the game. Since the disappearance of the MLB 2K series, Sony has had a monopoly of the sport. MLB The Show is only available on Playstation consoles so if you want to play baseball you'd have to purchase their system. Xbox users are in desperation when it comes to a MLB title. It's been almost 6 years since we've had one and 2K Sports and EA Sports have no intention of making a new title. MVP Baseball (EA Sports) is looked at as one of the greatest baseball games ever. It was just so ahead of its time with the customization built into the game. I don't remember why EA stopped the series but we haven't seen baseball games from them since the PS2 and original Xbox days. Whichever company, EA Sports or 2k Sports, decides to capitalize on this opportunity to gift Xbox users with another MLB title will have an easy victory. The demand is there for one yet neither studio has any interest in making one.

National Football League

Every year football fans are saying that Madden is getting worse and worse. When Madden 19 was released, I played an online game with a friend and the entirety of the game all we could think about is how bad the game is. It's very dry and dull, the commentators aren't even real commentators on television, the presentation isn't that great, and the gameplay is horrendous. Every year it seems like they remove features instead of adding them. Over the past two years they've sold us on this Longshot mode but that only last you for about 4 hours of gameplay. Sadly, those 4 hours happen to be the best thing that Madden has been able to provide over the past two years. Outside of that, they haven't added anything new. All of the energy goes into Ultimate Team. It's their virtual card mode that literally drives more and more money into the game after players have already purchased the game. The franchise mode is very inconsistent and has very little to offer. The game is even missing the Pro-Bowl, which they said it's very difficult to add that into the game because it causes bugs. Meanwhile, Madden games on the Playstation 2 had the Pro-Bowl. Honestly, the developers who make Madden are just ultimately lazy when it comes to producing a solid title and are only interested in making a quick dollar. Features like , create-a-team, create-a-jersey, create-a-stadium, and even create-a-fan have been removed from the game for who knows why. The career mode use to have the NFL Draft Combine with position based skills. Now all those features have been removed with no intentions of bringing them back. They just give use new names for features that they claim to have added into the game but you'll never notice because you can't confirm if they're there or not. 

Many people are wishing that 2K would hop back into the NFL game, or hell even football. The last game that 2K gave us was All-Pro Football 2K12, which consisted of NFL legends placed onto random generated teams. We didn't know who most of the players no the teams were because if they weren't a star then they had a generic name, but the game was fun. That game in 2011/12 had more realism than the latest Madden game. The reason 2K stopped making NFL games is due to the licensing deal that EA made with the NFL to exclusively make video games for the league which monopolized the competition. Yeah over the years we've had games like Blitz the League and All-Pro Football, but that NFL licensing and playing with current players really means something. I believe this is the perfect year for 2K to make a football game with the growing popularity of the new AAF. They have former NFL players in that league and it has a fanbase. I think that's a place where 2k can capitalize and dominate. 

The Street Series

Fifa Street 3 and NFL Tour were the last two games we received from EA Sports BIG. If you aren't familiar with the BIG studios then you missed out on some of the best sports games ever. They were responsible for the Street franchise. The most famous game out of that series was NBA Street Vol. 2. At the peak of AND 1 Basketball, EA Sports BIG delivered us the perfect video game form of street basketball. It was arcade-y but we didn't care. It featured our favorite NBA players at the time and it even had Michael Jordan. If you don't think having MJ was a big deal then just play any basketball game from 2005-2010. The dribbling and the crazy dunks were what we loved immediately. Unfortunately, the entire series has disappeared and what the closest thing we have to that is the NBA 2K Park. Now park is cool but it's very hard for a game based upon simulation to give us the arcade feeling that we loved about NBA Street. When it comes the NFL, we haven't had anything close to it yet. I guess you can say we had NFL Blitz, which was a fun arcade experience but it was something about dodging a defender off of the wall or even catching passes off the wall that made you feel like you could really go outside and do the things that were in the game. We've been asking for these games back but I feel like even if we get them back, they won't be loved like they were when we were little. What really drove those games were the kid in us back then and most of those players have matured and don't have that same interest in those type of games. The kids nowadays won't even  understand what it means to get a Gamebreaker. They won't even understand what it meant to break the rim for a game winner.  We desperately need those games remastered or returned in someway shape or form.

Boxing

The sport of Boxing is back. Almost every other month we have a big Pay-Per-View where everybody is tuned in ready to watch. From Canelo Alvarez to Manny Pacquiao , Deontay Wilder to Anthony Joshua,  Tyson Fury to Adrien Broner, boxing is at a high once again and we don't have a video game to even play with these new young fighters. The last game we got was Fight Night Champion and for some strange reason EA has yet to deliver us with another one. Fight Night was a boxing series that featured legendary boxers such as Muhammed Ali and Mike Tyson, and current fighters and you could create fantasies. According to EA, there is no demand for a new Boxing game which isn't true since people are still playing Fight Night Champion. It wasn't the best fight night but it got the job done. Instead they've taken the studio that made Fight Night and strictly focused them on UFC games, which have been subpar if you ask me. UFC is a growing sport and I can understand why they'd make UFC games but it doesn't make sense to replace the Fight Night series with a completely different sport. They should have the games alternate just like they have DICE make Battlefield and Battlefront games. It's completely possible and I don't think it would be a loss on the hands of EA. I actually think it would make them more money. Older gamers and younger gamers would love a boxing game since the sport is growing again but I doubt we'll ever see another one due to the fact that I'm sure EA doesn't know what they're doing. Especially since they keep giving us Need for Speed games that nobody is asking for. 

Skateboarding 

Now I know it seems like I've been blaming EA for most of the sport's gaming genre issues but its only fair. They were responsible for giving us some of the best games ever and then turning them into complete garbage. It was either that or just canceling the games we loved without any explanation why. The biggest example of that is the Skate series. Skate 3 was the last game in the series that we got from them and we've been wanting another one since. The demand for this game is clear. If you don't believe me, go to EA's instagram page and read the comments on any post over the past 5 years. No matter what EA post, the comments are going to say "Skate 4". The fan base is dying for another skate game. Ever since the first Skate was released we threw Tony Hawk games in the trash. Tony Hawk games were too arcady and Skate gave us the first realistic skating experience. It also featured real skaters and great customization. You could create your own Skate parks and all. In Skate 2, they even gave us the Fantasy Factory. Theres a new skateboarding game in development now but it isn't Skate 4 so I'm not too excited for it. It is, however, another simulation skateboarding game so hopefully it gives me the same feeling that Skate did when I first played it.