Sport the Odd One Out: What Sports Haven’t Made it onto Consoles

The sporting world is a billion-dollar industry. Just take a look at how much footballers earn, how much money is in Formula 1 and how much the top tennis stars can make per tournament. The gaming industry can also be lucrative, if you make the right games. Sports titles are a great way for both sports to cash in on their brand as well as making developers loads of money, but not every sport has successfully transferred themselves to the digital medium. So who have succeeded and who have failed? Let’s find out.
Forza FIFA
Well the FIFA series the obvious one, isn’t it? It’s hardly surprising that the world’s most popular sport also takes the crown (albeit unofficially) as the world’s most popular sporting game franchise. Released every year, EA Sports have so far released 35 titles spanning 25, and they’re set to make it 36 in 26 with the release of FIFA 20, the latest in the line, towards the end of September.
Along with football games, racing titles have been a mainstay of the gaming world. Most of them aren’t translated literally from the motorsports on TV, but do feature real cars and real tracks. The ever-popular Forza games are the go-to for Xbox users, with Forza Horizon 4 being the latest console title in the series. And if you’re a fan of the games, find out how you can get Forza Motorsport 6 for free.
Formula 1 seem to release a game every year now, with F1 2019 being the latest in the long line of games emulating the high-performance motorsport. So far there have been eleven F! Games released by developer Codemasters, starting with F1 2009 in, you guessed it, 2009. But despite all the millions in Formula 1, you may not be so fortunate to have that much money. However, you what you have you’ll want to make it go as far as possible, without having to sacrifice buying the latest gaming titles. However, thanks to Discount Promo Codes, you can get what you love for much, much less. They have codes from retailers like 365 Games as well as Argos and Zavvi, so it’s not just gaming you could be saving on.
Failed to Score
But despite the numerous successes, there have been many sports titles that have failed to hit the mark. The world of cricket has featured a few hit-or-miss games, with no title being good enough to earn a regular annual released like the FIFA or F1 games. Cricket 19, released this summer, covers the ongoing Ashes series as well as all test nations and all formats of the international game. The graphics on it, however, look outdated, but the game as a whole was praised by IGN. The mixed reviews, however, are nowhere near the criticism that one cricket game from a few years ago received. Ashes Cricket 13 was due to be the official game of the Ashes series taking place in the same year. It was initially available on Steam for Windows users to play, however, it was lambasted for its plethora of bugs and woeful gameplay. Judge here for yourself to see if you agree. Only a week after it was released, the developers 505 Games said they had canceled the release scheduled for consoles and refunded everyone who bought the game on Steam.
Now skiing isn’t something you would think of when it comes to creating a sporting video game, but that’s what Ubisoft Annecy was thinking of when putting together their 2016 game Steep. Set in the Alps, the game features all kinds of sports such as snowboarding, paragliding and wingsuit flying. Addons to the game featured sledding, base jumping, and speed riding. The game itself gained mixed reviews, with it being praised for its graphics and open-world nature, whilst also being derided for its lack of direction and reliance on multiplayer online gameplay. Despite the huge number of DLC packs the game later incorporated, there are currently no plans to develop a sequel, giving snow sports fans only a taste of what’s possible when non-mainstream sports are given their time to shine in the huge market of video games.
Category:Xbox One Games