From Pong to Play Station

The Evolution of Sports Videogames

In today’s billion dollar videogame market, sports games make up around one third of the titles
available. They allow players to simulate an experience they already enjoy – like playing tennis, or
try something they’ve always dreamed of – like driving a formula one car.

Videogames and sports share a key element in that they’re both competitive. Victory comes by
beating an opponent, whether a team, an individual or a computer’s artificial intelligence.

In fact, the first ever videogame was a sports simulation. Young gamers today would probably find
‘Pong’ boring or laughable, but that’s where it all began – before the Play Station, before the home
computer – way back in the 1970s. Pong was a very basic representation of table tennis. The ‘ball’
was square-shaped, and the sound effects were single electronic bleeps, but despite the limitations,
one fact could not be denied – Pong was addictive!

More games soon followed and the craze snowballed. Amongst all the alien invasions, dangerous
mazes and extra lives, sports video games such as racing car simulator, ‘Pole Position’, and martial
arts challenge, ‘Karate Champ’ (the great grandfather of games like Street Fighter and Mortal
Kombat) thrived, and had kids putting coin after coin into arcade machines.

Meanwhile, videogame home entertainment in the UK was dominated by the Atari console, but
everything changed with the arrival of home computers such as the Commodore 64 and its superior
counterpart, the Sinclair 48K Spectrum. Arcade favourites such as ‘Hypersports’ and ‘Yie ar Kung-
Fu’ could now be played at home.

The Spectrum and Commodore were in turn replaced by dedicated games consoles. Sega and
Nintendo offered games that matched the sound and graphics of the ‘coin ops’ (coin operated arcade
games) for the first time.

In the late eighties, arcade game manufacturers fought to hold onto their customers by introducing
gimmicks that gave the games an extra dimension. Sports video games were perfect for this – skiing
games where the player stood on actual skis that could be tilted to change direction; racing games
where players sat in cars with steering wheels and pedals instead of a joystick and buttons.
Hydraulics allowed the machines to tip, jolt and shake for extra thrills.
 Product Placement

With so many loyal fans, it was inevitable that video games – like the sports they emulated – would
become a platform for advertising. McDonald’s, BMW, Old Spice and Nike are just some of the
companies who have signed big product placement deals with videogame producers.

Sports fans are used to seeing advertising when they watch their favourite teams, so it is an easy
matter to put similar advertisements into the games. Unlike television and movie product
placements, which last a few minutes at most, videogame advertisements can be in full view of
gamers for hours on end.

The advertising relationship between sports and videogames works both ways. Watch any British
Premiership football match and you’ll see the latest home consoles amongst the advertisements
surrounding the pitch. It’s clear that there is a big overlap with games and sports fans.

Videogames Versus The Real Thing

From the exciting arrival of Pong to the immersive reality of current home console titles,
videogames have come a long way in just four decades. Graphically, the latest sports videogames
are close to perfection, and the artificial intelligence of computer controlled opponents is becoming
more and more sophisticated.

Such realism means that videogames now present a challenge to the sports they are based on. Why
settle for watching your favourite team when you can take control of them and win the match
yourself? The new generation of sports fans want to help create their entertainment experience,
rather than passively watch. Of course, for truly immersive reality, kids could simply turn off the
console, go out into the sunshine and play actual sports!
Vocabulary Builder

Try to find these words in the text

a) _ i _ _ i _ _ _ innovative or novel devices that help sell something

b) _ o _ i _ a _ e _ taken over, controlled
c) o _ e _ _ a _ to have an area in common
d) i _ _ e _ _ i _ e an experience which fully involves the player
e) _ o _ _ i _ _ i _ a _ e _ more complex or refined
f) _ i _ u _ a _ e imitate
g) _ _ o _ _ a _ _ e _ grew quickly in size
h)_ i _ i _ a _ io _ _ restrictions, shortcomings

Comprehension Quiz

1. What portion of videogames are sports related?

2. What were the limitations of ‘Pong’?
3. What kind of game is Pole Position?
4. Why did arcade game manufacturers need to use gimmicks?
5. Why are videogames better than movies for product placement?
6. Why do some kids prefer videogames to real sports?