10 Awesome Gaming Franchises It Became Cool To Hate

2. Sports Games (Madden, FIFA, NBA 2K, etc)

Sports games tend to be scrutinized by certain gamers for being lazy. A new entry in the series has to be released every year, which limits the developers ability to innovate and improve in significant ways. Each game feels nearly identical save for a few minor design alterations, creating a vicious cycle where each game becomes outdated in a year. Combine this with the intense popularity of sports games and it becomes evident why it is so easy to hate them. They represent mass consumer gamer culture, rewarding bare minimum effort with millions in profit. A fact that has to be acknowledged here is that sports games are meant for, well, sports fans. They're for the people who follow each season with passion and enthusiasm. It just so happens that these same people also play their fair share of video games, hence the overlap. This intense following is why they have to pick up the new FIFA or Madden every year. And there isn't really anything wrong with that. These games are appealing to a large market that is willing to pay for being up to date; updated rosters make all the difference for them. The career modes also have value, as they allow sports enthusiasts to live out a fantasy of playing in the big leagues with custom characters. Some entries in these series are better or worse than others, but as a whole they are fun to play with like-minded people; fans of football or soccer or basketball that get together to engage in a little virtual competition. If sports games don't get your blood boiling that is perfectly fine, but hating on them for "just being sports games" is a waste of time.