5 Sports Video Game Franchises That Deserve a Revival
The Sports genre in the video game industry is arguably the toughest to break into, especially with sporting leagues handing over exclusive licenses to developers. There have been many game franchises that have fallen by the wayside because of this, even though they produced solid games. We decided to take a look at five sports video game franchises that you may have forgotten about, and that we believe should make a comeback.
NBA/FIFA/NFL Street
It’s hard to believe it has been eight years since an NBA Street game has been released. NBA Street put the entire Street franchise on the map with its over the top dunks, crossovers, and alley oops. The NFL was the next sporting league to get the Street treatment, and was also very successful. Despite it’s success, there hasn’t been a new installment since 2006. FIFA Street had a much longer run in comparison, with the last game being released in 2012. With all the new superstars in each of the three leagues, it only makes sense to put their star power to use in the Street Series.
NFL Head Coach
Every football fan likes to pretend to be Coach or General Manager from time to time, and NFL Head Coach gave you the opportunity. NFL Head Coach put you in charge of every play, every trade, and every front office decision, as you try to cement your place among the greatest coaches of all time. While the series only lasted two short years, we would love to see it again on one condition: Don’t charge the same price as Madden. It was hard to justify paying the hefty price for a full blown simulation game, so we hope it comes back as a downloadable game for about half the price.
Street Hoops
Street Hoops was essentially a more realistic version of NBA Street, but featured all streetball players from the AND 1 Mixtape tours. There was only one Street Hoops game in the short-lived franchise, but the developer, Black Ops Entertainment, would go on to develop AND 1 Basketball in 2006 and switching publishers from Activision to Ubisoft. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever see a Street Hoops game again, but if it ever happens we’ll welcome it with open arms.
NFL Blitz
In 2012 NFL Blitz was revived by EA as a downloadable game, after Midway lost the NFL licensing and went on to create Blitz: The League. The hilarious football series that was famous for its massive late hits and dog pile tackles was much more tame in the EA reboot. It is unclear whether EA plan on continuing on with NFL Blitz, but hopefully it becomes a yearly release like its big brother, Madden.
Fight Night
For seven years the Fight Night series was the Madden of boxing. The Fight Night franchise began in 2004, taking the place of Knockout Kings, which had four year run. Every installment of the series received incredibly positive reviews, but for some reason we haven’t seen a Fight Night game since 2011. This could be partially due to the fact that the sport of boxing has been on a steady decline, but we hope to see something new in the near future.
With the exclusion of Fight Night, it is unlikely we will see any of these franchises again. Are there any we missed? Which sports game do you miss the most? Let us know!
