Tuesday Thoughts
Well, if you’re still reading this and judging by the stats, you aren’t, Craigsca makes a very valid point: we haven’t been right on top of things.
The biggest issue for us is that let’s just say that EA doesn’t like us very much and we have to get a lot of our information second or third hand. Sony, 2K Sports/Games, and various other publishers we have good relationships with so we can forward the information as we get it.
For me, when I started this blog with Bill Abner, the whole idea was to just talk about anything but primarily sports games. I had felt that the OS discusssions had morphed into this rulez and this sux and why aren’t the towels right on the KC Chief players and less about stuff that mattered, such as running back field goals, or actual real-life rules implemented in the games.
GLen and I continue to play games and for the most part I still play sports games more than any other genre. Yes, occassionally I’ll get hankering for Battle of The Bands wii or Rock Band…maybe even a Game Party. I like the weird games that mainstrem doesn’t pay attention to, such as weird Japanese imports featuring a bottom biting bug, for example.
If you are looking for “first looks” or up to the minute news, I will tell you check out the news sites. Heck, there’s where I go to get the news myself. If you are looking for witty wise ass comments about what will Dan say, then the blog is the place to go.
With sliders becoming available online and roster updates also becoming available, an online site will be more the place to go to find out a roster is uploaded rather than actually downloading the roster itself.
Everything is constantly evolving, both here, on the internet and in my personal and professional life. I’ll be glad to offer opinions on what the people (that’s you) want me to render opinions on. Usually I gauge what’s going on by the comments. SO when I post about Mario & Sonic at the Olympics and technically it is a sports game, and no one comments, I doubt I’ll keep talking about it. On the other hand, when the most comments we get are about TV shows, I’ll proabably keep talking about TV shows. :).
That’s not to say I dont’ want you to comment on TV Shows. I do — I love the community dynamic, and I do think we have a community here, even though it’s not Sim City-sized.
So with all that being said, what do you want us to talk about?
Here are some sports games I’ve been playing of late, and basically I call it a sport if it’s a competition that you might watch on TV — I guess hot dog eating is a sport, it’s on ESPN after all.
Wii: Mario Kart Wii. There’s nothing new here, except online (yay), but the game mechanics are good and the game is fun. It’s not an OMG game that I’d camp out at midnight for, but I enjoy it.
M&S At the Olympic Games: Seriously ever since Summer Games on the C64, everything else is second rate. Konami’s Track & Field is awesome too, but that’s older than Summer Games. Mario & Sonic is one of the better Olympic Games I’ve played in some time (remember the crap on the Genesis), but I’m not dying to play it every night either. Well worth a rental though.
MLB Power Pros continues to be one of the best baseball games ever.
Finally one game that I’ve played a lot of recently is a Tennis game for the Wii — Sega Superstars Tennis. I love how you can play as various different Sega franchises. Samba de Amigo and Space Channel 5 is a Dreamcast lover’s wet dream. Unfortunately there is no Seaman though. Where is Seaman, dammit? I think the game plays better tennis than Wii Sports — but the CPU AI when you play doubles is horrid and the power shots are lame (which you can turn off).
Of course teh game that’s getting the most play on the Wii continues to be Wii Sports. You just can’t go wrong with the bowling here.
Okay on this post, I’d like others to discuss Wii sports games what you like,and what you don’t like. Tomorrow: PS3 sports games.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Does pinball count as a wii sports game?
May 6th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
I finally bought a Wii last week. I love Wii Sports Bowling. After all the discussion of Power Pros here, I should have it in the mail from Goozex tomorrow. I’m looking forward to playing it.
I’m so-so on the Wii controls so far. With Wii Sports, I feel bowling is the only game that captures the natural motion of the sport being played. The other games (aside from boxing) are played more effectively sitting down and just flicking the controller with my wrist.
You guys seem to be having an identity crisis today. Keep up what you’re doing. I visit everyday and enjoy the site. Just post more.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:55 am
Hey guys, just an FYI I have been reading the blog for years and really enjoy it. I think that it’s your blog and you can cover whatever you want on it. If that’s Mario vs. Sonic Olympics then go for it. There is a sports “theme” behind it at least.
I also think you should talk more about text sims. Go into more details on the games. What do you like about them? Give us the top down version of your dynasties and how things are going.
Anyways keep up the good work. I’ll keep on reading every day.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
First time poster, really enjoy your site guys. Keep up the good work. Like you said, there are many other sources on the web for current sports gaming news and I like the particular niche your blog fills. Being an older sports-gamer that has been around since the Atari/NES days, I really enjoy your perspective on sports games and gaming in general. Your comments about GTA IV earlier this week were spot-on.
My only request is that you keep up the strong coverage for the Wii. It seems that a lot of the sites/blogs that cater to sports gaming ignore the Wii entirely, which is a shame. I’ve had as much fun with MLB Power Pros and Wii Sports as I used to in the Sega Genesis/SuperNES days.
Once again, keep up the good work and I’ll keep reading everyday.