The current state of sport simulation games
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With the recent release of Madden 21 I once again came to the sad realization of how the sports gaming industry developed over the last 10 years or so. I haven't touched Madden (or any other EA Sports game) in years, nor will I ever again and it blows my mind that their business model is still sustainable because people just keep handing over their money like zombies.
MLB The Show is not as bad, for one reason and one reason only; you can earn the virtual currency by playing the game or working the market and therefore much of the content is not stacked behind a giant pay wall. Although it is for some people, like most of the casual players who have no time to grind the market. That isn't even my biggest gripe about these developments, it's the fact that developers have gotten lazy and the quality degrades every single year.
Make no mistake; MLB The Show has already cut online franchise because it wants to focus on Diamond Dynasty exclusively since that's where the money is made. And the quality of the game suffers because of it. Just look back at the last 5 editions of the game and ask yourself honestly how much of a (positive) change have been made. Almost everything is still the same, with minor tweaks and visual upgrades. Those are not significant improvements, even though they want you to believe they are. You could even make the argument it has gotten worse. And that goes against nature in a way; shouldn't a new game build on the good things of its predecessors and learn from the mistakes? The game looks and feels exactly the same since MLBTS 18. It plays different, due to minor tweaks and adjusted sliders, but are you telling me this is the best they could do in 3 years when 18 is generally regarded as the worst MLBTS game ever made?
Hell no. But as long as you keep playing DD/Ultimate Team and give them your money. This game could have been so much better by now, with all the technology and resources that are available. It's mind blowing and yet we keep accepting mediocrity and even pay a premium for a lazy unfinished product every single year.
I wish I had resources like Elon Musk and take the industry head on. I would outbid EA Sports, 2K Sports and Sony for the licenses and create a whole new line of sports simulation games where game quality and realism would be the top and only priorities with content available to all, instead of milking its player base for every hard earned dollar they have. Developed and funded (!) by people who are passionate about sports and the gaming industry, not by suits who only care about quarterly sales and their fat bonuses at the end of the year.
These companies can make tons of money by just selling the base games. The exclusive single player story games have proven that, like God of War and The Last of Us. I wish the sport games industry did a 180 and went back to that formula where passion and quality overshadow greed, not the other way around.
If you have some extra time on your hands (it's a lengthy video), I highly recommend you watch our brother Angry Joe in his Madden rant and reconsider your own perspective on the industry as it is right now and actively keep in mind that every dollar you spend in this industry is a dollar spent towards keeping things as they are.
https://youtu.be/UX5_6M5LLwA -
Preach bro. The gameplay has been going downhill since mlb 16!
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100% agree, great post!
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@mitchhammond24 said in The current state of sport simulation games:
Preach bro. The gameplay has been going downhill since mlb 16!
And it's a darn shame, because I love the idea of this franchise and I know you do too. But I despise the actual product.
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I was saying this the other day too. Man, I wish there was a company that would go against the mold. It’s 2020 and it feels like the early days of gaming still, just with advanced graphics.
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I definitely agree with this I watch SoftDrinkTV on YouTube and he has done deep dives into the NFL 2k series and MVP Baseball 05 and some other great sports games. He basically talks about how older versions of video games have more features and better gameplay animations than current games with more advanced technology. I definitely recommend his channel
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This game is awesome!
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@EncinoMan_TV said in The current state of sport simulation games:
This game is awesome!
You don’t even play online gtfoh
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@EncinoMan_TV said in The current state of sport simulation games:
This game is awesome!
What do you like about it the most? Can you give me like a top 3 of things that make you say it's awesome?
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@mitchhammond24 said in The current state of sport simulation games:
Preach bro. The gameplay has been going downhill since mlb 16!
True Statement...........The ensuing "ball physics" has changed the game and how we play it ever since. Of course I'm not as good as y'all but it is all relevant.
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NBA NFL MLB FIFA are all monopoly businesses. There is a reason the government doesn't allow this with major business. Because it damages the consumer. Their MUST be competition between sports game creators within the same sport or they just DONT GIVE A F!! As long as this remains you can expect this BS game play to go on for a Millennia!
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@raesONE said in The current state of sport simulation games:
@EncinoMan_TV said in The current state of sport simulation games:
This game is awesome!
What do you like about it the most? Can you give me like a top 3 of things that make you say it's awesome?
It isnt madden. Love the realism of the players swings. And it isnt madden
Show has a lot to improve but it is by far my fave sports game. Been playing for 3-4 years and have fallen in love like madden used to have on me.
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@mrcityofwin said in The current state of sport simulation games:
@raesONE said in The current state of sport simulation games:
@EncinoMan_TV said in The current state of sport simulation games:
This game is awesome!
What do you like about it the most? Can you give me like a top 3 of things that make you say it's awesome?
It isnt madden. Love the realism of the players swings. And it isnt madden
Show has a lot to improve but it is by far my fave sports game. Been playing for 3-4 years and have fallen in love like madden used to have on me.
That's a fair point, it surely isn't Madden. But like you say the game has a lot to improve and in my opinion that's not their priority. So in a way, it is like Madden.
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Instead of you having Elon Musk money we should see if he would make a baseball game. I mean the dude figured out how to land rockets on their own and cars that drive themselves while (mostly) not hitting things. He could probably hack out a hitting engine in a few hours.
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@Bounceman75 said in The current state of sport simulation games:
Instead of you having Elon Musk money we should see if he would make a baseball game. I mean the dude figured out how to land rockets on their own and cars that drive themselves while (mostly) not hitting things. He could probably hack out a hitting engine in a few hours.
Ha that would be great. Elon is great because he doesn't see problems but challenges and has the money to make it happen. I'm not sure how much he cares about gaming though.
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@mitchhammond24 said in The current state of sport simulation games:
@EncinoMan_TV said in The current state of sport simulation games:
This game is awesome!
You don’t even play online gtfoh
Mantle in 14 days
Trout in 1 minute
All Bosses collected ....almost every Card in the game
over 1.4 Milly stubs.
You GTFOH bruh and cry me a river ...go play Mine Sweeper
Took this pic for you .... https://twitter.com/YogaFireGaming/status/1301598226420699136?s=20
This game is awesome !!!!!!
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@EncinoMan_TV said in The current state of sport simulation games:
@mitchhammond24 said in The current state of sport simulation games:
@EncinoMan_TV said in The current state of sport simulation games:
This game is awesome!
You don’t even play online gtfoh
Mantle in 14 days
Trout in 1 minute
All Bosses collected ....almost every Card in the game
over 1.4 Milly stubs.
You GTFOH bruh and cry me a river ...go play Mine Sweeper
Took this pic for you .... https://twitter.com/YogaFireGaming/status/1301598226420699136?s=20
This game is awesome !!!!!!
I asked you a question that I'm legitimately curious about though.
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@Bounceman75 said in The current state of sport simulation games:
Instead of you having Elon Musk money we should see if he would make a baseball game. I mean the dude figured out how to land rockets on their own and cars that drive themselves while (mostly) not hitting things. He could probably hack out a hitting engine in a few hours.
I like how you think LOL
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Totally agree with op unfortunately this is what we get with no competition in the market...like you said. We can only hope for a revamped product when this game goes multi-platform next year. With the new console generation just around the corner I don't expect anything changing much until then. One thing is for certain in my mind though until this business model proves to be ineffective because people stop shoveling $ into the machine this is what we're going to get.
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@raesONE said in The current state of sport simulation games:
I wish I had resources like Elon Musk and take the industry head on.
I will be happy to invest my $99 2021 MLB the Show fee into your new company.
