If the thousands of people who voted in the first round of The Best Sports Video Game Tournament made brackets, they’d all be out by now. Everyone’s bracket is busted. A ridiculous amount of underdogs somehow toppled serious favorites — the Gamecube’s NBA Courtside 2002, a 16-seed, upset Tecmo Bowl (!!!); 2-seed NBA Jam lost out to Mutant League Football; and 16-seed 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge defeated NHL ’94. Utterly shocking.
After a long discussion between the editorial team, we chalked this up to a shift in tastes between children of the ’80s and children of the ’90s. If Tecmo Bowl lost out to one of the best sports games on Gamecube, then we had to respect the next generation of gamers as voting powerhouses.
But then, Off-Road, an ’80s arcade classic upset Mario Kart. Nothing is what it seems. Anyone can go at any time, and the matchups in Round 2 get downright nasty.
Glancing over the bracket, there’s no way NBA Courtside will be able to upset NFL 2K5, but then, we didn’t think NBA Courtside would even be here right now. Other, fascinating matchups include Madden ’05 taking on Blitz 64 in classic football supremacy, RBI Baseball vs. Ken Griffey Jr., and Excitebike taking on FIFA.
Finally, WWF No Mercy, the dark horse favorite of the tournament (judging by the comments) should be making its way to the next round when it takes on underdog Links 386 Golf, which somehow upset Mike Tyson’s Punchout!!! as a 15-seed in round one.
First round results: Traditional Sports :: Non-Traditional Sports
The Basketball and Football Region
No. 16 NBA Courtside 2002
Nintendo was even publishing NBA games back in 2002, unveiling NBA Courtside 2002 on the Gamecube. It had a simulation and a “street” mode which was especially fun if you had four-player going. The game is so beloved, people are enhancing it and re-releasing modded versions today.
VS.
No. 9 NFL 2K5
Considered one of the greatest sports games ever, NFL 2K5 blew gamers away with its deep suite of features and impeccable gameplay — all for just $19.99 compared to Madden‘s full priced game.
No. 4 NBA 2K12
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird graced the cover of NBA 2K12, one of the truest love letters to a sport in digital form. It bridged the gap to the next generation with a painstaking attention to detail and endless ways to play.
VS.
No. 5 Double Dribble
Double Dribble was pretty much the first basketball game, and the fury it caused with shots like these will forever be etched into the souls of those who played.
No. 15 Mutant League Football
The first and only post-apocalyptic hybrid of the sport, Mutant League Football was yet another early ’90s football game by EA. This time, you could bribe and eventually kill the ref, which made plenty of gamers happy.
VS.
No. 10 NCAA Football ’07
Featuring Reggie Bush on the cover and a nearly impossible to stop “momentum” game mechanic, NCAA ’07 offered one of the deepest dynasty experiences up to that point. Its Xbox 360 version was bare-boned, but the PS2 version is up there near Madden ’05 and ’06 as one of the most complete packages in EA’s library.
No. 3 Madden ’05
Competition is good. Competition is very good. Recent Maddens have come close, but Madden ’05 came out with all guns blazing in an effort to stay the king of the digital gridiron. The franchise mode alone was worth the purchase.
VS.
No. 6 Blitz 64
Few things in the world of gaming were more satisfying than crushing a dancing Deion Sanders in the end zone well after the play ended. You were scored on, but they paid. Oh, they paid.
The Baseball and Hockey Region
No. 16 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge
Released by Midway in the mid-90s, 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge was another attempt to capture the magic of NBA Jam. Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey would perfect this formula a few years later, but 2 on 2 remains an important part of alt-hockey game lore.
VS.
No. 9 MVP Baseball 2005
Long considered to be one of the best baseball games ever before The Show came into its prime, MVP Baseball 2005 was EA’s final foray into America’s pastime before losing the license. The stats would go back over 100 years, the graphics are still phenomenal, and the deep franchise mode was so beloved, it’s still supported by modders today.
No. 4 MLB ’16: The Show
Few games flirt with perfection as often as The Show series. The animations are impeccable, the features are deep, and the graphics have been making a passerby think a real baseball game is on TV for nearly a decade. It’s truly one of the best.
VS.
No. 12 NHL Hockey
The game that kicked off the SNES and Genesis era, NHL Hockey‘s graphics and gameplay set the bar for all to come. Hitting never felt better, and up until that point, skating never felt real.
No. 2 RBI Baseball
The first game licensed by the MLBPA, RBI Baseball was transformative in replicating hitting and pitching mechanics and is such a landmark in gaming history, people are mashing up RBI Baseball and real baseball history for fun.
VS.
No. 7 Ken Griffey Jr. Presents: Major League Baseball
If you were growing up as a sports gamer in the ’90s, there was a great chance you owned Ken Griffery Jr. Baseball. The production values and sprite-based characters were second to none in 1994, and were the last hurrah before polygons took over in the N64 and PS1 era.
No. 3 Blades of Steel
If you owned an NES back in the day, you played Blades of Steel. The intense faceoffs and fighting made you forget about your lack of team options, and games were intense.
VS.
No. 6 NHL ’11
For a good half-decade, EA was churning out incredible hockey game after incredible hockey game, and NHL ’11 was the pinnacle. Smooth skating, decent load times, and unparalleled control made the game fun to play for anyone who picked up the controller.
The Soccer/Racing/Whatnot Region
No. 1 Pro Evolution Soccer 6
The FIFA series may have been dominating stateside, but European and Japanese gamers flocked to Pro Evolution Soccer 6 with its deep gameplay that allowed players to do just about anything they could think of with the ball.
VS.
No. 8 Wii Sports
Even if you skipped the boxing minigame completely, Home Run Derby, Bowling, and Tennis could entertain a household for years. Say what you will about the Wii, Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle with Wii Sports. The fun was probably enhanced if you were living with a bunch of roommates at the time.
No. 13 Off-Road
I still have no idea who Ivan “Ironman” Stewart is, but I do remember Off-Road fondly. The isometric view was novel at a time when the camera would typically follow the player’s car, but this 4-wheeled arcade unit was about making the best multiplayer experience. Elbows to the ribs and all.
VS.
No. 5 Rocket League
One of the best hybrid sports games to come out in the last few years, the nearly-perfect Rocket League is still inducing fist pumps and kicks to the air even after your 1000th game.
No. 2 Excitebike
The track editor is arguably one of the most “ahead of its time” features in all of gaming. In 1984 we were barely seeing coherent representations of sports games, then Excitebike comes out and dominates the field.
VS.
No. 7 FIFA 16
At this point, FIFA has outclassed Pro Evolution/Winning Eleven in nearly every way, and the last few years of FIFA have come as close to perfection as an ever-evolving simulation can. FIFA 16 is just as deep and smooth as they come. You can get lost in the features.
No. 14 Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball
Move past the skimpy outfits and… physics… and you have one of the best (only) volleyball games in existence. The sand kicking around your feet and breathtaking stages helped keep you around until you fully understood the challenging gameplay.
VS.
No. 11 Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
One of the first games go to another level of jaw-dropping visuals, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec was everything a car junkie wanted. Its graphics were so good and its controls so difficult, A-Spec made a sizable amount of people be content in just watching someone else play.
It still looks good considering it came out in 2001.
The Extreme Sports/Fighting/Golf Region
No. 1 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2
Improving on the first THPS in every way, THPS2 was more of everything — more control (manuals) more hidden secrets, a bigger and better soundtrack, and one of the most addictive combo-chaining mechanics in gaming. The game would refine itself and add much-needed features in later years, but THPS2 will always be loved forever. The level design is perfection.
VS.
No. 8 Fight Night Round 4
The Fight Night games almost always delivered on a high-quality boxing experience, but Fight Night Round 4 went above and beyond. The graphics were jaw-dropping, and the matchups (Rocky vs. Ali) were unforgettable and the Raging Bull slobber knocker replays were always a hit.
13. WWE Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain
Fighting all over the arena and creating your own storylines paved the way for future WWE games. This was what PS2 users needed after Nintendo 64 dominated the wrestling landscape — pure freedom.
VS.
No. 5 WWE No Mercy
The gold standard of the THQ/Asmik Ace Entertainment/AKI Corporation run, No Mercy brought the create-a-wrestler to another level while delivering deep gameplay that built upon Wrestlemania 2000 and WCW vs. NWO. This was a 4-player staple.
No. 15 Links 386 Pro
Watching the courses load was half the fun, but for many, the stunning graphics and nuanced gameplay couldn’t be touched for a decade. There were so many options. You had such control. The golfer looks so real!
VS.
No. 7 Mario Golf
It’s like Mario Strikers met Mario Kart and made a Mario Baseball baby who then fell in love with Mario Tennis and had a kid of their own that really liked golf.
No. 3 Tiger Woods 2005
With one of the best create-a-player suites in gaming, Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’05 was a favorite in competitive households. Tiger straddled the line between arcade and simulation gameplay, which allowed for close games between newbies and vets alike.
VS.
No. 6 1080 Snowboarding
It was hard as hell, but once you understood how to land, you were soaring through the air unlike ever before. The weight and feel of your snowboarder gliding up a halfpipe changed everything.
