Video games and sports have gone hand in hand for decades, but it's safe to say some have been much, much better than others. To help everyone navigate this quagmire, we need your help putting together the Just About list of the best sports games of all time.
Please nominate one video game about sport and tell us why it's so great! We're deliberately being vague about what constitutes a 'sports' video game because we want to open the floor up to your nominations. Anything from sports simulators that try to recreate a sporting experience, or something loosely themed around or inspired by a sport, is eligible, even if they aren't baked in reality. Ten of the best submissions can get $3 apiece!
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As far as sports games go this probably won't even crack a top 20 but for me it's one of the games that gave me so much enjoyment when I wasn't replaying FIFA 99 (The one with Dennis Bergkamp on the cover, obviously).
It offered so much in terms of tournament modes, the bomb challenge (the balls had a timer and would explode when it ran out) and not to mention all the ridiculous things like being able to hit your opponent in the crotch with the ball and all the racket unlocks - like playing tennis using a fish, or a frying pan for example. On top of that, the art style reminded me of a souped up Super Tennis from my Sega Master System days so that probably helped.
It had all the bells and whistles you'd expect of a NAMCO arcade style game but it genuinely provided enough of a challenge for it to be rewarding and make you want to push on for those other unlocks.
An underrated and forgotten sports game but definitely one you should try out.
WcW vs nWo World Tour holds a special place in my heart because it was the first wrestling game I played. It wasn't the most graphically impressive even for it's time, but it was just at the start of the attitude era. Still one of the best 'retro' wrestling games out there.
I feel like this answer is very subjective but I’m gonna go ahead and say I feel like the best video sport game would be Wii sports well now it’s rebranded and Nintendo sports but I just think the game itself is so iconic. Been playing it again as an adult and been playing the new version that’s on your Nintendo Switch and it’s so much fun. It’s really fun way to get a little bit active but it’s done in a really good way to get like the whole family involved of all ages you don’t particularly need to learn any skills to do it. You’ve just it’s quite easy to pick up so it’s very inclusive. I feel like as well, and it was really good that they added a couple of new games on there so Wii sports would be my answer
I used to love playing the old Track and Field games because of all the different all the different sports you could do even if some of the time it was just mashing the buttons as fast as you can. Me and my dad spent a lot of time trying to set records between us.
There's an arcade bar round my ends in Manchester NQ64. I absolutely love playing that game. It's one of the first cabs I show people since you can get really competitive and really easy controls to understand and play
I'm going to be cliche but I absolutelt thing EA FC Sports 24 is the best video game out there for one reason only. PRO CLUBS MODE
I'm an adult who has a college student used to play fifa every evening for hours however now finding time to play becomes quite difficult as usually its a 1v1 football game. However with pro clubs mode there are 3 of us that play on the same team against another multiplayer squad. Playing on the same team really enhances the feeling of comradery and we have our individual characters who can can level up
You can customise your player to make them look exactly like yourself or you can make them look like Vegeta from DBZ like I did. It's so much fun packed into a couple of hours of gaming. I get more fun from 2 hours of gaming on pro clubs than I did from 20 hours of fifa back at uni!
I used to play soo much Fifa back in college. It was like THE game to play.
We used to have these little rules that if you win by over X amount of goals, the loser had to do these forfeits like: if they lost by 5 goals the loser had to write a FaceBook message on your wall about how badly they lost etc.
One time I got a bunch of mates round and absolutely battered the lot of them - the forfeit was they had to write a hand written letter again about how badly they lost. Suffice to say they posted them all on Valentine's day! My parents thought I was really popular and suffice to say the truth was a lot more embarrassing..
Skateboarding is a sport ! Many sports game have interest to people specifically into that sport but skating is just cool , most gamers at some point have played the series of games.
And its not just the focus on the skateboarding itself the games are filled with great missions, it made lots of young people aware of so much good music and it really highlighted the skateboarding culture.
I have always enjoyed blood bowl video games. Nice mix of sport and violence with many different styles of play.
The early games were by far the best with a good mix of solo and online play available. However the recent installment Blood bowl 3 has let me down as it is primarily multiplayer.
Fellow Blood Bowl players unite! You're bang on the money with Blood Bowl 3. Loved playing BB2, took part in an online league for a couple of years with my trusty Orcs, but BB3 quickly put a stop to that since it launched in such a poor state.
Just a heads up, to be eligible for the bounty reward you may want to add a touch more detail to your submission as this bounty is getting quite popular and there are only 10 rewards available. Do you have any notable Blood Bowl matches in mind you can recount a tale or two from? I've just found this incredible clip from back in the day when I used to play, which takes the crowd being known as "the 12th man" to a new level.
**WindJammers (1994)**This title was stuck in Arcades and the often forgotten Neo-Geo home console for the longest time before Sony ported it to PS4+Vita in 2017. Frisbee meets Pong, it is a game that is simple to understand and hard to master with different characters' stats giving them advantages over different maps - but that is not to say each player doesn't still have a fighting chance at winning against the odds.
There have been too many near miss and clutch wins in this game for me to count. I only wish there were a more active online community for this game. I joined too late to catch that wave
**NBA Jam (2011)**Taking shooting hoops to the extreme with a trash talking announcer, flaming dunks, acrobatic leaps, and politicians? Yep back in 2011, you could play as your favourite senator, commander-in-chief, or first Lady against their political rivals to settle the score on the courts. Although it's an arcade game there was strategy in how to play and running through co-op mode with a buddy in online multiplayer was incredibly fun.
Alas this title is stuck on the previous generation though I don't think the world today could take Biden dunking on Trump or vice versa before cancelling this game.
**Nidhogg (2014)**My unusual pick. Named after the Norse Leviathan, Nidhogg can be best described as Fencing meets American Football. Defeating your opponent in combat allows you to advance further into their territory until you reach their goal line, first one to the goal wins. However you have to contend with your opponent re-spawning, the pits and narrow hallways forcing you into combat, and of course, whether you fight or run.
Nidhogg 2 ups the ante with more interesting levels, and more weapons including more ranged weapons such as a bow and throwing dagger. Like, WindJammers it's easy to understand and pick up so a perfect party game when you get your buddies round.
All excellent suggestions! Nidhogg especially is an ace game. Definitely stretches the definition of sport, but we'll allow it!
Out of interest, if you had to nominate just one, which would you pick? We may turn this into a piece of curated content with one game from each winning submission, so being decisive helps us when it comes to writing it up!
The freedom to run through the maps and just go with the flow is unmatched. I played skiis the most and thus, I don't have a lot of experience in the other sports, but for skiing I can say it's a good recreation of the sport, with all the limits and hypened actions of a game where gravity is "limited". It also has a photomode, limited, but it is present nonetheless. After years, I still find little new runs, even on maps I know by now rather well.
Now this submission kinda relies on people seeing skating as a sport (it's been in the olympics?!) but i really love this game <3
I never got to play it as a kid because my parents didn't really let me play many video games but my gf has been showing it to me since I started seeing her.
It's so fun! I think the buginess of it actually adds to its charm heheh
Fifa, now I don't just say this to get a quick "submission".
I do not follow football IRL in terms of supporting a team, but, I like the Fifa games, because one you get to play football without leaving your house (who wouldn't like that) and two because I get to build my own team.
It's also very fun to play, so for me, Fifa, don't have a specific one I like, I just like playing them when I get the urge to.
Fifa holds a very special place in my heart because it was simply the go-to sports game for so many years of my life. I've stopped playing it anywhere near as much lately thanks to the dominance of Ultimate Team, but Fifa carried me through both school and uni.
We may turn this bounty into curated content once it closes though, and for that reason, we'd need to know which specific Fifa entry you're nominating. Some have definitely been better than others, but even if it's just remembering which year you played a lot of, that will help!
For me, it's one that gets you moving and burning calories! Nintendo Switch's Ring Fit Adventure is the real deal. It might look like a toy, but believe me, it makes you sweat and provides a serious workout in a fun, gamified way. What's fantastic is that it's also great for kids. The ring is truly impressive, adjusting to each user's physical strength. You can customize your training sessions, whether you're focusing on cardio or strength exercises. During the COVID-19 lockdown, it was the perfect way for my family to stay fit and active.
I’m glad you’re being vague with what a sport is because the obvious answer is Def Jam Vendetta! Best game ever, let alone sport game. I had the best time playing these games growing up.
In a very, very close second place is SSX Tricky, obviously. Tell me I’m wrong.
When I come to think of "good" sporting games over the years not many come to my mind. The obvious one would be FIFA, perhaps not as much in recent times, but certain since the franchise has been out. I haven't played for quite some years now but I always remember it was that one game that I'd purchase every year to get the new squads to play Seasons, Career Mode, and of course the famous Ultimate Team. There's so many different game modes and ways of playing a football game within FIFA that makes it so replayable. I think we can also agree that FIFA has probably one of the best soundtrack collections of all time. Nothing quite like doing some practise before a game or hanging out in the menus and your favourite tune comes on. Lots of great memories playing with friends over the years. Brilliant.
so for me the best sports games have to be the old tiger woods pga tour games from the ps2 where you could just mess around in the driving rages mixed with some good tunes i cant think of any better for me as never been a fan of fifa games
