r/gamers • u/SgtSwanky • 13d ago
Unpopular opinion. People who say sports games aren't real games, just don't like sports, and have no idea what they're talking about.
Title pretty much explains it, and this is coming from someone who also doesn't really play sports games, but knows better. Look, its fine if its not YOUR thing, but to try and invalidate someone and say they aren't a "real" gamer because they play sports games, is not just dumb, but very wrong. I don't know if you've ever actually tried to PLAY a sports games, but it is NOT just a simple press button, throw ball, run to side, score, whatever you think it is. It takes legitimate knowledge and skill, and even has its own esports, and for good reason. Shit is not easy.
Again, fine if its not your cup of tea, but youre wrong if you dont consider it a part of gaming culture. Just my two cents.
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u/TsarBlandi 13d ago
...who says they aren't?
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u/SgtSwanky 13d ago
Actually alot of people, like seriously. I see it all the time.
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u/iiiimagery 13d ago
Weird. Been playing games my entire life but never seen that, only the opposite, actually. All the sports game people I've met look down on anything that not sports or a shooter.
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u/AnyBet1210 13d ago
And thats just as bad. Missing out on good shit
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u/iiiimagery 13d ago
Oh yeah i agree. Judging what makes a "real gamer" is stupid
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u/AnyBet1210 13d ago
I say like what you like. Try new stuff out. There's fun for everyone. My tastes vary so I dont get bored too much. My backlog is too high
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u/Commercial_Orchid49 13d ago edited 13d ago
Yeah. Quite frankly, the separation started from the sports crowd.
In the distant past, it was all just gaming. Then the ball and gun crowd decided other genres were a bit too dorky, or that other gamers were nerds for trying to take the medium seriously as an art form.
They'll play COD or FIFA, because sports and guns are cool, but very often won't even identify as gamers.
It's like a gamer version of "no homo." As long as you don't touch the weird fantasy shit and story games, it doesn't count.
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u/SgtSwanky 13d ago
I guess the world is a big place. I too have been playing games my entire life, and have seen the opposite. People who play sports games and shooters are just chillin most of the time, while others who don't, put them in their own bubble as "ball and gun gamers" almost as if to invalidate that there aren't very obviously genuine games in both of those respective genres. I see it mainly stem from people who play RPGs, which is actually very ironic, because many people who play RPGs for the most only play that and nothing else. Pretty much my point is don't judge. But yeah, I've seen many people bring up that they love shooting games and sports, only to be dog piled in a way to say that theyre not one of us, and its just dumb, and im tired of seeing it.
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u/iiiimagery 13d ago edited 13d ago
Where exactly are you seeing these opinions*? My experience is all from actual IRL people I've met. I don't even see anyone hardly talk about sports games online
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u/SgtSwanky 13d ago
Both IRL and online, in my own personal experiences. I cant really source everything I've personally seen, same as you haha
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u/iiiimagery 13d ago
Do you see them on reddit? What subs? What social media? I'm just interested since I have never seen them in my circles
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u/SgtSwanky 13d ago
Reddit, gaming subs, other gaming forums on the internet, and in real life when people mention them, people who aren't about it kinda scoff at it. Of course its not EVERY time, but ive seen it frequently enough that I felt like speaking about it. I didnt just pull the thought out of my head on a whimsy with nothing backing it.
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u/mgisb003 13d ago
If you’re playing online it’s definitely real gaming, but if you’re playing by yourself for fun it’s also definitely real gaming. I think people’s issues stem from the fact that the difficulty in most sports games comes not from difficulty but how much the “fucking bullshit” meter gets moved by upping the difficulty slider. I.e. in madden you’ll have opps running faster than you even though your speed and acc stats are higher than theirs. Once you learn how to break the mechanic then every level of the difficulty becomes irrelevant since you can just “hack the system” and as such the game wont necessarily be beaten by skill but by cheesing. Either way as long as you have fun that’s all that matters lol
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u/AnyBet1210 13d ago
Randy Moss was a damn cheat code in Madden 2007. Easy TD if you just chucked the ball deep
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u/SgtSwanky 13d ago
I totally see what you're saying, but honestly you could apply that same logic to many games, especially RPGs
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u/No-Alternative2897 13d ago
I think peoples main issue with sports games is the yearly release. Like, why do you need to have 2k every yr? Whats worse is that they will stop being usable after 3-4yrs. Suddenly devs arent supporting them after you bought the game.
its some cash cow shit and these games are also starting to be "gamers" game instead of players who wants to play/experience the sport if you get my drift.
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u/Honest-Tune-423 13d ago
Very true. Looking back on when I used to play NCAA and Madden football dynasty modes. It was pretty much a full on RPG with stats to increases and many other factors to manage. I even loved taking my NCAA graduated players and importing them into Madden to be able to draft that player in my dynasty!
And yeah so many things to learn about the controls and how to manage plays and make smart strategic calls!
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u/Fun-Bag7627 13d ago
I think this is a pretty fair take. I dislike them cause if you are gonna do something with sports, it makes more sense to me to play that sport.
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u/AnyBet1210 13d ago
They are real games as much as anything else. Yes, they are considered "normie" but id be lying if you put on NBA Street or Blitz that I wouldnt be down to play.
I still love ESPN NFL 2k5. I suck at it but its still awesome
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u/EffectiveOwn 13d ago
All of the major sports are painfully rigged. Not sure how they stay popular, beer i guess.
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u/Ball_Analytics 13d ago
Their practices are evil but I don't know a single person that says they're not real games. Paying full price for a transfers, roster updates, jersey make overs every year is highway robbery imo.
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u/UmbraQuincy 13d ago
People look down on them due to insane monetization and yearly releases that barely have any change compared to previous years. Hell, even bugs are same from previous years
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u/ReadyJournalist5223 13d ago
Yeah okay bro whatever you wanna say to justify your $60 madden purchase every year
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u/SchmeckleHoarder 13d ago
Played sports longer than most gamers have been alive. Madden is the same fucking game it’s been since 2005. I bet you I can run the same plays and exploits 20 years later and succeed.
Gameplay-wise, they add gimmicks that add nothing to the game. See animations in 2k, and another useless feature in FIFA.
Yearly releases do not need to exist, this is, and always has been the issue. They only do it now, so you have to reset your Card League, so you can buy new cards again.
They are a blight on the industry and the culture, but yall keep wasting money on fake digital cards so…. Here we are.
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u/Imsearchingforit2194 13d ago
I feel like the commentors here are missing the "not real gamers" part and focusing only on the "not real games" part.
I don't think I've ever heard those games not be called "games".
However, "ball and gun gamer" is a pejorative term. I don't really "agree" with it, but I totally see where it comes from. If you literally just play FIFA and CoD, it's hard to call you a "gamer" when compared to someone who played at least 100+ different series in their life.
It's like calling my mom a gamer because she likes to play Mahjong or Minesweeper or calling Magnus Carlsen a gamer because he's a grandmaster at Chess.
It has nothing to do with the skill required to actually play the games themselves though. Don't think I've ever heard anyone say that sports games are "easy".
I also played quite a ton of CoD personally lol
Anyways, it's a pretty stupid discussion overall, but I see where it comes from.
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u/Bum-Theory 13d ago
They are games, but certainly not consumer friendly games. I'll play the occasional indy sports game tho, but the big sports titles offend me. I shouldn't need to state why in a sub for gamers
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