Computer games have experienced another surge of interest during the coronavirus pandemic. Growing e-sports are also affecting the popularity of sports simulators. Here are some of the most interesting ones!
There are several different soccer simulators available on the market, but the undisputed leader is FIFA. The game created by the Canadian headquarters of the American corporation EA Sports has been the world’s most popular soccer simulator since the late 1990s. The first version of the game had its premiere in 1994, and until now 27 subsequent editions were created. FIFA lets you not only play with your favorite teams in the most popular leagues around the world, but also create your own team, play matches against national teams and play against virtual opponents.
The popularity of FIFA has also led to the spread of e-sports. Every year various tournaments are held in the football simulator, and even individual football clubs present their own players. In Poland, Legia Warszawa, Arka Gdynia, Piast Gliwice and Jagiellonia Białystok, among others, are interested in e-sport.
Among sports game simulators, one of the most popular proposals is a virtual version of a basketball game. NBA 2K was created by Visual Concepts studio in 1999 and has been released every year since then. In addition to the leading NBA clubs, the producers have a licensing agreement with the Euroleague, which allows the use of the image of up to 25 teams from Europe. The simulator allows for single-player or multiplayer, both with several connected pads and in remote form. As with FIFA, NBA 2K allows you to play specific teams, create your own teams, play league competitions and build the best basketball squad.
The NHL game, like the previous two productions, refers to the best sports league in a specific discipline. Thanks to the license of the Canadian-American league, users have at their disposal profiles of the best players and clubs in the world. The first edition of the game was released in 1991 and since then it is released with each new season. EA Sports, which also produces FIFA, is responsible for creating the ice hockey simulator. As in all such games, the user can play alone or team up with virtual opponents.
An equally popular sport that has found its reference in the world of e-sports is tennis. There are several different games available on the market, such as the legendary Virtual Tennis, which ended its production in 2009, but the most popular simulator is Tennis World Tour. The first edition of the game was released in 2018 and played at the French Grand Slam tournament Roland Garros. The latest installment allows you to choose the court yourself and play the game in several different modes.
Increasing technical capabilities and requirements of the players themselves make tennis tournaments more and more professional and require from the player accuracy and precision in every move. Thanks to Tennis World Tour, you can impersonate your favorite players, such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Serena Williams, and start your career by playing the most important matches, as well as decide on the sponsorship deals you sign.
There are so many disciplines related to combat sports that each of them has its own separate game. One of the most popular proposals is a simulator based on the rules of the American MMA federation, the UFC. In the game produced since 2014, you can fight the best fighters belonging to the federation, win championship belts, improve your skills and organize professional tournaments. Available fighters include Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jan Blachowicz and Ronda Rousey, among others.
Featured photo: Marco Verch / flickr.com
