With the release of John Madden 2005 just behind me (arguably the greatest sports video game ever), I recently began thinking about what the top sports video games of all time are. I realized quickly that the greats, aside from the Madden franchise, were all simple and just plain fun. Light on the peripherals and heavy on the bleeding thumb, hurting eyes, play for 50 hours straight factor. Most of the list seems to come directly from the Nintendo era with Bases Loaded, Nintendo Ice Hockey, and Double Dribble pushing the front of the list. Simple games, with bad 8-bit animation and worse computerized music. Yet some of the most addictive games ever.
Things have gotten so detailed with the latest versions of Madden, that my brother and I literally will spend 8-10 hours between the time we open the box until the first kickoff, simply setting up our franchise. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a guy that loves attention to detail in my sports video games. For my money, setting the pricing on a foam finger at Reliant Stadium is up there with throwing deep to Jerry Rice in Tecmo Bowl or hitting Paste for the second time in one game so I can start a fight in Bases Loaded. But I digress. In talking with some friends, and posting this question online in some random places, I have come up with the short list of the greatest sports video games of all time…in no particular order.
Double Dribble
The Entire John Madden Series
Lakers Vs Celtics
Blades Of Steel
Bases Loaded
Tecmo Bowl
Jordan Vs Bird
Excite Bike
EA Sports NHL 95
GOAL!
NHL 94
Ten Yard Fight
Baseball Stars
Knockout Kings
PUNCHOUT!
Nintendo Ice Hockey
Nintendo Track And Field
Hardball III with Al Michaels
Little League Baseball
Joe Montana Sports Talk Football
Baseball Stars
Super Mario Kart
Ten Pin Alley
Duck Hunt
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