As new games are released each year, many are starting to reminisce about older titles. This is true for most long-running game franchises, but perhaps even more so for sports games that typically launch every year. Whether it be Madden, WWE 2K, FIFA, MLB The Show, or other sports series, most communities have long discussions about the best game in the series, and it’s very rarely the newest.
The problem is that it’s not always easy to run those old games, especially in terms of WWF No Mercy, and play them one more time. Licensing and player-likeness issues aside, could there be an untapped market for remastering older, popular sports games?
Remastering classic sports games
The remastered versions of the games have proven popular among gamers. The remasters provide better graphics and smoother gameplay but without any love taken from the game. It’s a great way for game companies to make more money with a game that already has the coding there. On the other hand, there are those who think that remasters are loopholes. Especially when a previous round of new IPs didn’t generate new excitement.
The best course for retro football
It is certainly an option to choose for example FIFA 98 Where Pro Evo 6, then just remaster the graphics. However, it is very difficult to choose a specific year of a game that comes out every year and decide that it is the best choice to remaster. After all, like any game, remastering is an investment. The idea of playing from a certain season with smoothly updated graphics is definitely one that would appeal to users of a certain age.
Although it might seem quite fanciful to produce a game with the old teams and try to cling to the past (looking at you WWE 13), one could argue that Fifa already has the right balance with the addition of icon cards in the Ultimate Team game mode. In Ultimate Team you can have players such as Eusebio, Zinedine Zidane, Maradona, Pelé, Puskas and many other incredible players in the game. Yet the idea that these players have never played together takes away the idea of a retro game.
However, it is possible to customize your career mode and add Ultimate Team players into the game. This gives a great pseudo-retro feel to the career mode.
A question of authenticity
EA previously added retro kits to the game. These were purchasable in-game by earning coins. It proved a big hit with fans who loved seeing their favorite current players wearing the same kit as the iconic legends. Although still accessible by Ultimate Team (EA’s biggest goal) they’re not in the game like they were before. Whereas Fifa may be out of the question for now, it will be interesting to see if EA Sports FC pays homage to legends of the past.
At the moment it’s just pure spit and an idea that I’m sure a lot of people have had over the years. That said, there is always room for new ideas like new betting offers or new decisions made on games that people may be interested in.
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