Sports have been a huge part of our lives, especially in recent history. They have not only provided entertainment and amusement to us but also have brought people together regardless of their differences. Hollywood celebs and regular Joes cheer for their favorite NFL teams. Both rich and poor root for their chosen NHL and MLB franchises. Some sports like the NBA have even gained global popularity and have united fans from different countries to cheer for their favorite teams and players.
We can say that sports are among mankind’s greatest inventions.
So while we’re all waiting for sporting events to be restored to 100% audience capacity like before, the safest way we can enjoy them, for now, is in the comfort of our homes. But we don’t have to only be viewers to enjoy sports. We may miss hearing a referee’s whistle on a basketball court or seeing a radar gun in a baseball game in person but we can still take a more active part in sports by playing sports video games.
7 of Our All-Time Favorite Sports Video Games
In honor of mankind’s greatest invention, here are seven of our favorite sports video games of all time:
Madden NFL ‘06
Released: 2005
Developer: EA Sports, Budcat Creations (for PC), and Exient Entertainment (for DS and GB)
Platform: Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Windows, and Windows Mobile
This may come as a surprise to a lot of you but we picked this game to be on this list because it was revolutionary for its time. For a series that didn’t really grow much, Madden NFL ‘06 offered new things to its fans other than the typical annual roster update.
NBA Live 2005
Released: 2004
Developer: EA Sports
Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Windows
Since the NBA Live series started, we’ve seen different players featured on the game’s cover but the one with Carmelo Anthony is, by far, our favorite among the entire series to date. On top of the amazing team lineups, it also revolutionized the series with the introduction of the new EA Sports Freestyle Air which gave it greater playability.
Wii Sports
Released: 2006
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Any top-10-sports-video-games list will never be complete if it doesn’t have Wii Sports in it. It has changed the video gaming landscape forever with its revolutionary motion sensor feature. This allowed players to not just sit and play the game with their hands but to get a more interactive, and highly physical, gaming experience that has never been seen before. If you want to get a truly enjoyable video game experience and get a good workout, Wii Sports is the way to go.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Released: 2000
Developer: Neversoft
Platform: PlayStation, Windows, GameBoy Advance. GameBoy Color, Dreamcast, Mac OS, Nintendo 64, and iOS
We’re taking it to the extreme with this entry. Extreme sports, that is. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 built upon everything the first installment had to offer and took things to another level. With improved graphics, updated tricks, and tons of new features, Pro Skater 2 knocked it out of the ballpark — or the skating rink. Fans went crazy over the new changes and are still loving the game today despite being over two decades old. That says a lot.
Tecmo Super Bowl
Released: 1991
Developer: Tecmo
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
Bo may know football but we know our video games and we knew that we had to include Tecmo Super Bowl on this list. Agreed that the graphics and gameplay may be very outdated compared to what’s on the market today but its simplicity and ease of play are what make it the legendary video game that it is.
MVP Baseball 2005
Released: 2004
Developer: EA Sports
Platform: PlayStation 2,. Xbox, GameCube, Windows, and PlayStation Portable
A lot of sports video games and baseball fans agree that MVP Baseball 2005 is perhaps one of the best video games of all time. EA Sports outdid themselves on this one as they published what is known to be a game about baseball that’s way ahead of its time, even if it did look a bit cartoony. The game is so good that IGN readers voted it as one of their top 100 games of all time.
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
Released: 1987
Developer: Nintendo IRD
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System
And last but definitely not least is Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. It’s always fun to see Little Mac, the underdog and the character you’re playing as, beat the living crap out of the game’s top boxers, including Mike Tyson himself. It took us a while to figure out how to get past King Hippo but once we did, there was no looking back. It’s just an absolute classic.
