10 Times Sports Video Games Took a Leap Forward

Sports fans love their video games. The ability to play as one’s favorite athlete or team, controlling intricate details of the franchise, is something a majority people can only dream of.

The world of sports video games opens that door and lets anyone with a fistful of dollars inside.

These games have been great because like any other genre, it has continuously taken leaps forward in terms of technology. Elements are added and systems are built, creating a better experience for consumers.

We wanted to crawl back through history and present 10 times sports video games took a leap forward, honing in specifically on various technological advancements and additional game modes.

Here’s what we came up with.

Madden 2005: Hit Stick

Fans of the Madden franchise have continually been blessed with innovations on and off the gridiron. One of the biggest and most memorable additions was the introduction of the hit stick in Madden 2005.

Instead of simply using buttons to wrap up offensive players, EA Sports allowed fans to flick the right joystick on their controllers and lay series of bone-condensing, “scream out loud” hits.

This piece of technology not only created a needed element of action within the confines of the franchise, but it also was built in a useful way, forcing fumbles and breaking up passes in the backfield.

No piece of on-field technology has been as important as the hit stick. For all intents and purposes, it revolutionized the Madden brand.

NHL 13: EA Sports Hockey League

Online play is essentially the driving force behind any great video game. Ever since Xbox and Playstation decided to transform traditional sports games into an online community, the entire way people consume the product has changed.

EA Sports was one of the first companies to embrace the online revolution and offer innovative approaches to it, rather than cookie-cutter modes.

NHL 13 became the transformative year in terms of online play by introducing the EA Sports Hockey League, a league that was—and remains—a place where friends can create their own characters, form a club team and battle the world.

With NHL 13, the franchise went even further by adding decision-making tactics, giving users the chance to pick team members and assign captains.

The EA Sports Hockey League provided something tangible NHL supporters didn’t realize they even needed: an engaging platform for gamers to gather around the ice and work together as one cohesive unit.

WWE 2K16: Counter Bar

Before you knock it, go out and try it. These are words not only spoken by parents, but also by video game buffs.

No matter what your feelings are on professional wrestling, WWE 2K16 was a tremendous sports achievement on all levels, despite it not representing a “mainstream” sport. The presentation was spectacular, the online play simmered and the offline experience was even brighter when played solo or in large groups.

The appeal of wrestling video games has always been maximizing your ability to have fun. In terms of sheer fun, WWE 2K16 was the best release of the 2016 video game season.

One way it took a leap forward from previous editions was by adding a fluid counter bar. For those who aren’t familiar, the counter bar is a way to time an opponent's move and reverse it into one of your own. It effectively changes the outcome of matches when used correctly.

WWE 2K16 was the first installment to provide a limited amount of counters. Instead of having an unlimited source—which in many ways ruined the flow of matches—this new system made people focus more on strategy over button mashing.

It was a minor change, but it really altered the game. The counter bar pushed WWE 2K16 into the must-own category for sports fans across the globe.

Madden 2006: Vision Cone

Not all technological additions are created equal. Take the vision cone in Madden 2006 into consideration.

This yellow highlighter effect—displaying a quarterback’s on-field vision—was a tough adjustment for many gamers. Part of the fun during the mid-2000s in Madden was being able to sling the ball all over the field without any direction. When the vision cone came out, users were limited to what they could do.

EA Sports wanted to mix a greater sense of reality into the game by forcing users to aim this cone at their targets. It created a sense of confusion and tons of getting used to—though when perfected, it changed the way you'd play the game.

Madden quickly ditched the vision cone and went back to more a traditional passing system. However, the cone remains important, because even in defeat, it forced Madden to find a balance between heaving the rock all over the grass and making sure passes are dictated by good footwork and aim.

MVP Baseball 2005: Hitter’s Eye

We haven’t had an MVP Baseball game in 11 years, yet the franchise remains the gold standard for virtual play on the diamond.

EA Sports put its best foot forward when designing and creating MVP Baseball. The game was a masterpiece by all accounts. Hitting was easy to pick up on, pitching mattered and accuracy was the defining trait of this series.

When the hitter’s eye was introduced in 2005, MVP Baseball emphasized the importance of accuracy. Hot, cold and neutral zones were represented in the form of a strike zone, allowing pitchers to dictate where they threw and hitters to strategize the best areas to place the ball.

It’s an advanced system that still holds value in games like MLB: The Show. Without MVP Baseball 2005, developers wouldn’t have a base to build off.

Consider MVP Baseball the Citizen Kane of video games. Though dated, huge chunks of the game remain in the hearts of everyone who played it.

Madden 2007: Truck Stick

It took two years for Madden to level the playing field. After the success we saw with the Hit Stick in Madden 2005, the 2007 version of the game gave offensive players a chance to find some sort of redemption.

The Truck Stick was built to bulldoze defenders like your favorite running backs do on a weekly basis. It was a crucial counterpunch to the Hit Stick’s sheer sense of brutality.

This addition was not only needed, but it represented EA Sports giving its legion of fans a taste of shock and awe. Leveling a linebacker or member of the secondary made for YouTube-worthy highlight reels.

No addition since the Hit Stick has worked as well giving people the ability truck, spin and maneuver around defenders.

NBA 2K14: Blacktop Mode

(Warning: Video contains NSFW language.) 

True video game enthusiasts understand NBA 2K is the only basketball game worth owning. That’s been the case for close to a decade now.

With NBA 2K14, 2K Sports took its gameplay outside of large arenas and onto the streets. The online inclusion of playing with your friends on the blacktop is something that has in many ways surpassed the actual hardcourt mode.

Creating an individual player, honing his skills and playing street-style games with your friends is a cool way to hoop it up online. Creative lob passes, mangy defense and tons of scoring made sure NBA 2K14 took a giant leap forward.

The mode has continued to progress since its inception, giving way for additional technological advances. Today, unleashing fury on the blacktop has turned into a robust community full of seasoned gamers.

Madden 25: Connected Franchise

Going back to the online element of sports gaming, Madden changed everything by unveiling Connected Franchise mode.

Providing an online experience that could melt your brain, this mode was a way to experience all of the franchise-driven benefits with your friends. Taking control of a team and running the front office on a weekly schedule is everything you could want in a sports game. Building that team into a dynasty and assaulting your friends is now part of the Madden experience.

Before this mode, you could play online with friends. But Connected Franchise was a way to elevate the level of competition and create plenty of offseason drama—users were allowed to scout, draft and trade players.

Without this, Madden wouldn’t be the same game, despite the success of Ultimate Team Mode. Connected Franchise, properly introduced in Madden 25, will go down as the franchise’s saving grace.

FIFA 14: Ignite Engine

When developers created new platforms for the video game world, there came a need for a new technology system.

EA Sports unleashed the Ignite Engine into its titles in 2014, hoping to capitalize on the release of Xbox One and PlayStation 4. FIFA 14 was a benefactor of this advanced wave.

It was the first game in series history to unleash fluid movements and more of a natural collision system thanks to the Ignite Engine. Although this technology now spans all of the EA library, FIFA 14 was where it showed up the most.

Today, the game feels and looks beautiful. Without the Ignite Engine, none of this would even be possible.

John Madden Football ‘92: 3D Players

We have to venture all the way back to John Madden Football ‘92 to break down one of the first major technological advancements in sports video games.

Before this game, the use of three-dimensional players wasn’t commonplace—that's hard to believe these days, right? A robust title like Madden was able to change that, introducing 3D players and aesthetics into the gaming world.

What we got in return was a genuine step forward. John Madden Football ‘92 changed the way people played football simulation games from the moment it dropped.

If you take away John Madden Football ‘92, there would be no basis for anything out there today. The game remains a pioneer in the sports world and a memorable leap forward for video games everywhere.