Welcome to hallowed ground. A virtual hall of fame where only the 10 absolute finest specimens of sports gaming are allowed in. Breathe it in – smell that? Greatness. (Don’t worry if you can’t smell anything, this is just a webpage.)
Sport is a broad term in gaming, of course. Competitive Starcraft is athletic as heck, and the rosters of certain Nintendo karting titles and era-defining skating games would argue strongly for their inclusion here. But we’re being strict.
You can keep your blue shells, Mario Kart. And yes, that is a sick stiffy, Tony Hawk’s 2, but right now we don’t care. It’s numbers, face scans, animations, and forensically accurate kits that matter here. Sports games are about engines simulating and imitating life, and, above all else, making you feel like you’re performing a real sport at a top-level.
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Below are the releases people still talk about, though their polygons might have wilted and their licenses expired because they took a leap forward toward perfect simulation and immersion of the stuff we shout at on TV. They’re the titles we dedicated ourselves to, and were richly rewarded for doing so. Ladies and gentlemen, the sports game GOATs.