Best Sports Launch Titles Of All-Time
Submitted on: 11/14/2013 by
Jayson Young
On the eve of the PlayStation 4's release, Operation Sports is taking a look back at some of the most memorable launch-year sports titles.
Because many players experienced these systems for the first time on Christmas morning, games on this list qualified for selection if they were released in the same year as their respective platform. Only American release dates were considered.
No. 10
Ridge Racer (1995, Sony PlayStation)
Debuting in Japanese arcades in 1993, Namco's Ridge Racer was brought to Sony's PlayStation in time for the console's 1995 North American launch.
While the console version was an audiovisual marvel, [I]Ridge Racer's[/I] shallow AI and poor steering controls kept the gameplay several laps off the pace set by the SEGA Saturn's SEGA Rally Championship.
The playable stage of Galaxian that ran during Ridge Racer's loading screens may have been more fun than the actual racing, which was limited to single player modes.
No. 9
Excitebike (1985, Nintendo)
With numerous course hazards and tons of competing riders all packed into just four racing lanes, Excitebike was a claustrophobic and chaotic racer. All it took was a slight touch of your back wheel onto an opponent's front wheel to send a rival's bike spinning into the dirt.
As part of Nintendo's "Programmable Series," Excitebike included a level editor where gamers could build their own sequences of ramps and boost strips. Sadly, only the Japanese version could actually save created tracks, meaning American and European players had to recreate their favorite designs every time they turned Excitebike on.
For a game that had no problem putting multiple bikes on screen, Excitebike also disappointed players by not including any way to race their friends head-to-head.
No. 8
F-Zero (1991, Super Nintendo)
The Super Nintendo's ability to rotate and scale backgrounds via Mode 7 gave F-Zero the feel of a 3D game, despite its simplistic sprite designs.
Colorful courses, fast vehicles and a rocking soundtrack made F-Zero a must-play racing game during the Super Nintendo's launch year.
Unfortunately, Nintendo EAD could not get two-player split-screen races working in F-Zero by launch day, causing the feature to be pushed over into Nintendo EAD's next racer, 1992's Super Mario Kart.
No. 7
Project Gotham Racing 3 (2005, Xbox 360)
Along with Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 2, Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 3 gave gamers a great reason to drop $400 on the Xbox 360, sporting gorgeous graphics and exciting 8-player online races.
The unique Kudos system, which originated from the SEGA Dreamcast's Metropolis Street Racer, made races more complicated than simply following the best line, as linking together drifts and drafts was the key to compiling high scores.
A series of retail flops (The Club, Blur and James Bond 007: Blood Stone) would bring Bizarre Creations into bankruptcy by 2011, making Project Gotham Racing 3 the developer's last successful AAA game.
No. 6
SEGA Rally Championship (1995, SEGA Saturn)
Easy left! Medium right! Fiiiiiiiii-iiiinnnnnish!
In the competitive field of early 3D racers, which included Daytona USA, Virtua Racing and Ridge Racer, SEGA Rally Championship emerged from the pack as the best racing experience during the 32-bit systems' first year.
While the SEGA Saturn port of Daytona USA suffered from a short draw distance and a slow frame rate, SEGA Rally Championship was much more faithful to its arcade counterpart.
The game's scenic courses, multiple road surfaces, tight controls, CD-quality rock soundtrack and turn-by-turn navigation made it the most impressive 3D racer on consoles that year.
No. 5
Wave Race 64 (1996, Nintendo 64)
Releasing the same year as SEGA's Wave Runner arcade machine, Wave Race 64 was technologically the most impressive title in the Nintendo 64's holiday lineup. Multiple weather conditions and spectacular water physics made Wave Race 64 play differently than any prior console racing game.
Steering your rider's jet-ski through each course's unique wave patterns felt great on Nintendo's new joystick-based controller. Restricting each level's racing lines with cleverly placed buoys added even more tension to the endless tug-of-war between the waves and your watercraft.
No. 4
SSX (2000, PlayStation 2)
As the first title in Electronic Arts' short-lived "EA Sports BIG" brand, SSX was a significant departure from traditional, reality-based snowboarding games, such as the PlayStation's Cool Boarders and the Nintendo 64's 1080° Snowboarding.
Most of the tricks in [I]SSX[/I] willfully defied physics, as its grinds were impossibly long and curvy, and its jumps would snap a real snowboarder's legs on impact.
Each of the game's bright, colorful slopes was packed with rails and ramps, ensuring that descents involved more time staring down at the snow from high above and less time gliding plainly along the surface.
No. 3
Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey (1996, Nintendo 64)
As the Nintendo 64's debut four-player title, Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey was the system's initial reason to invest in a full set of controllers.
With only six skaters plus two goalies appearing on screen, Midway was able to crank up the graphics and create fully 3D polygonal player models -- a first for console sports games.
The Madden series, by comparison, would not include 3D players until a year later, when Electronic Arts rushed out Madden Football 64 for the 1997 holiday shopping season without an NFL license.
Sports fans used to the convenience of battery-backup were frustrated to discover that Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey's 82-game season mode required a separate device to save their progress (what the heck was a "Controller Pak"?), but for all the extra money gamers had to spend on accessories, Midway's hockey title rewarded players with memorable Tim Kitzrow one-liners and highlight reels full of flaming pucks and big, painful body checks.
No. 2
NBA 2K (1999, SEGA Dreamcast)
If NFL 2K was not already reason enough, the release of NBA 2K two months later would cement the Dreamcast's reputation as the premier sports gaming system during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
I remember waiting in line at a Best Buy kiosk, watching a slow motion replay of Vince Carter throwing down a rim-rattling, backboard-shaking alley-oop from Tracy McGrady. It only took those ten seconds to realize that I needed to return my NBA Live 2000 cartridge to FuncoLand ASAP and start saving up for a SEGA Dreamcast.
An unorthodox, trigger-based free throw system and a lack of compelling modes or features were the only weaknesses in NBA 2K's amazing debut.
No. 1
NFL 2K (1999, SEGA Dreamcast)
The shocking cancellation of Madden NFL '96 for the Sony PlayStation simultaneously ended Visual Concepts' partnership with Electronic Arts and sparked a new rivalry between the two game companies.
Having learned some costly lessons from the failed launch of Madden NFL '96, Visual Concepts made sure that its next football game, NFL 2K, would not only make the SEGA Dreamcast's release-day lineup, but also become one of its prime performers.
While NFL 2K shipped without any multi-season franchise mode, a feature introduced the previous year by Electronic Arts' Madden NFL '99, Visual Concepts' audiovisual design was so strong that football fans could easily excuse the omission.
By the time NFL 2K1 would take the field the following season, featuring a full franchise mode and online play, football gaming would have a new undisputed champion.
Honorable Mentions
Super Hang-On (1989, SEGA Genesis)
Super Tennis (1991, Super Nintendo)
NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995, Sony PlayStation)
NHL Faceoff (1995, PS1)
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC (1999, SEGA Dreamcast)
NFL Blitz 2000 (1999, SEGA Dreamcast)
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing (1999, SEGA Dreamcast)
NHL Hitz 20-02 (2001, Xbox)
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 (2001, Xbox)
Fire Pro Wrestling (2001, Game Boy Advance)
Super Dodge Ball Advance (2001, Game Boy Advance)
NBA 2K7 (2006, PlayStation 3)
Fight Night Round 3 (2006, PlayStation 3)
Wii Sports (2006, Nintendo Wii)
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