Competition and fandom is not just limited to the hardwood and the gridiron. The virtual world of video games illicit the same type of passionate and fervent debate that the sports world provides. From NBA Jam to Tecmo Bowl, sports video games have a close connection to sports fans.
Madden or FIFA? Mike Tyson 's Punch Out or Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball? The LeBron vs. Jordan debate has nothing on the sports video game debate.
MORE: NBA 2K player rating changes | Madden NFL '16 trailer
Sporting News has decided to let the fans decide what is the best video game of all-time, and like most video games, it won't be easy but it will be a lot of fun. SN video game contributor Bryan Wiedey ranked the 16 best sports video games of all time and provided explanations for his seeds, which can be read below the bracket.
You can vote on the bracket here.
Voting for the first round will take place from 9 a.m. on Monday until 10 a.m. on Tuesday. (If you have trouble seeing the full voting module on mobile, scroll past in the story and then return to the module. We apologize for the inconvenience.)
Boom Shakalaka Region
1. NBA 2K – The gold standard of modern hoops games, thanks to a series of great decisions and a run of good luck. The inclusion of "The (Michael) Jordan Challenge" in NBA 2K11 took the entire sports game genre to a new level – built on every year since with historic teams and compelling, story-driven single player modes – and the simultaneous collapse of the NBA Live series has transformed NBA 2K into the undisputed King of Cool.
2. MVP Baseball – Another in a list of long-lost sports games, MVP Baseball was the best of its kind for several years. Built upon the ashes of the Triple Play series, MVP did more things right than any other rival at the time, including color-coded pitch type indicators, silky smooth gameplay, and surprisingly manageable controls for a complex game. A victim of the exclusive license phase of the mid-2000’s, many fans pine for its return.
3. Tecmo Bowl – No football game captured the imagination of more people than Tecmo Bowl, which is revered to this day. Images of Bo Jackson swerving through hapless defenders, realistic statistics with playoffs and Super Bowls, and a rock-paper-scissors strategy opened up Tecmo Bowl to countless millions of people.
4. NBA Jam – No game defined fun like NBA Jam. Thanks to a combination of simple yet stylish gameplay – two on two instead of five-on-five allowed individual personalities to shine unlike anything before or since – and an unforgettable announcer whose catchphrases live on today (Boom-shaka-laka!) NBA Jam is the gold standard of arcade sports games.
5. Baseball Stars - Baseball Stars is one of the prime examples of games from the 80's that, if you played it, will always hold a special nostalgic place in your gaming past. The Nintendo title was the first to allow customization with teams and created players, and even implemented role-playing game elements. Realism, despite simplicity, is what made the game so attractive to many.
6. 2K Sports' College Hoops – In a sea of college basketball games, College Hoops 2K stood out above the rest by the time its last game shipped in 2007. Sporting a ton of schools, gyms, and options to play, College Hoops disappeared long before it had to. A crowded market, lagging sales, and a crushing amount of work to keep it up to date ultimately meant the end of the vaunted series.
7. RBI Baseball – At the time it was unprecedented. A game with real players, teams, statistics, and standings, coupled with incredibly fun and welcoming gameplay? No one had seen anything like RBI Baseball before it burst on the scene. To this day, it remains one of the most inviting baseball games ever made, both for casual game players and big-time hardball fans.
8. NFL Blitz – Over the top doesn’t begin to describe NFL Blitz, which took the frenetic pace of an NFL game in action and injected it with adrenaline. Late hits? Incredible catches? Impossible throws? All of those were just part of the game. Traditional “sim” players may have cringed, but Blitz was beloved by many.
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1. NFL 2K – The longtime rival to Madden died a hero’s death, cultivating a passionate fan base during its brief lifetime. Starting off as a Dreamcast launch game and ending as a bargain-basement competitor to established NFL games, the 2K series was known for innovative choices that sometimes worked – such as online leagues and television broadcast presentation elements – and didn’t – such as First Person Football. EA’s capture of the exclusive NFL license spelled the end of the series in 2005, an event some football fans have never forgiven or forgotten.
2. Madden – As the most important sports game in America, Madden has defined video game football for multiple generations of fans. Since its early days on consoles and computers to its current hardcore simulation incarnation on next-generation consoles, Madden has been synonymous with video games for more than a quarter century.
3. NHL '94 – Many people point to the NHL series turning them into fans of the real sport, and not the other way around. Featuring delightful visuals and sounds, real players and teams, and the joy of skating the Stanley Cup around the ice after winning a championship, NHL remains a fond memory for a generation.
4. Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball - Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball didn't have the MLBPA license, but it had young superstar Griffey, and that was enough. It managed to overcome the lack of real players with fun, fictional names, accompanied by the actual stats matching all the real life players. It was an arcade-style game that put more value on fun than realism and considering the esteem it's held in today it was undoubtedly successful.
5. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out – Back when boxing was relevant, Mike Tyson was its undisputed king. Untold millions of Nintendo owners climbed the ladders of Punch Out, trying desperately to learn each fighter’s “tell” and ultimately get a shot at Tyson himself. In the age before the internet let you discover how to beat games in an instant, few video game accomplishments felt more daunting than knocking out "Iron" Mike.
6. FIFA Soccer – The advent of Ultimate Team – a card-collecting mode that allows players to create unique squads to take online against the world – changed FIFA from a popular game to the world’s most important digital property. Long known for solid gameplay and tons of licensed clubs and leagues, and innovation with its online modes, it’s now also known for printing money thanks to Ultimate Team’s microtransaction-assisted model. It has become the most important game in EA’s arsenal, and is greeted by fanatical receptions upon its release every fall.
7. EA Sports' NCAA Football – To many fans, the launch of NCAA Football every July signaled the official start of sports game season. Loaded with hundreds of teams, stadiums, fight songs, conferences, and bowls, NCAA Football was also different enough from Madden every year for plenty of people to justify the purchase of both. Its best-ever version was also its last, as the crush of lawsuits against the NCAA and EA for improper use of player likenesses spelled doom a couple of years ago.
8. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater – One of the most influential franchises of its era, Tony Hawk introduced millions of kids to skateboarding. Sporting an addictive system to learn tricks then build on them, Hawk dominated the mindshare of fans for years. Unfortunately, the series suffered from too many releases in too short of a time and the market became saturated. It’s been gone for a few years now, but a comeback is in the works.