Sports

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It’s In The Game!

Lace your boots and get competitive with our collection of sports videogames! Early videogames focused on challenge and competition for one or more players. Many of these themes found in sports led to their use in videogames. They ended up shaping the industry, the games we play, and how we play them. Sports videogames have a close relationship with how we watch sport on TV. Many sports videogames try to recreate how we consume sport. This can include the noise of the crowds at Wimbledon or camera crews on the sidelines at Wembley! But they can also reflect social issues. In recent years, sports games and how they are marketed have become a bolder space for greater representation. So challenge yourself and your family, score some goals, win some rallies, home some runs, and kick some flips!

Sports in videogames

Sports and sporting games have always been a massive part of videogame history! Many traditional sports were the first to feature in videogames. This included football, tennis, fishing and track and field activities. Extreme sports became increasingly popular during the 1990s. Snowboarding and skateboarding joined the lineup of sports videogames. You can explore these shifts via our selection from the NVM collection archive. What has changed – but what has stayed the same?

Motion control & sports

Motion controllers use in-built accelerators and/or sensors to mark players actions within a game. While the Wii popularised motion control the technology is actually much older! It actually dates back to the earlier Arcade era. At the time,motorbikes, steering wheels, and other replica peripherals were used to simulate motion. Motion control makes sports based games all the more immersive, and can also help players get moving IRL!

FIFA across the platforms

FIFA’s ongoing popularity is demonstrated by the sheer amount of games included in the franchise. To date there are currently 38 games playable across a total of 41 platforms, from the Sega Mega Drive in 1993 to the Nintendo Switch in 2021. FIFA is a consistent bestseller in the UK. It attracts many FIFA fans who would not see them as fans of videogames in general.This can make it feel a bit separate from games culture sometimes. And yet the game tackles important issues in games, such as womens’ representation.

Nintendo Wii (2006)

Many things contributed to the Wii’s success as a console. Firstly, its global advertising campaign. It targeted people who were not traditionally seen as gamers – or casual gamers. This included families across different generations and solo mothers. Adverts featured diverse groups of people enjoying the Wii, showing Nintendo’s intent to appeal to a very wide audience. Motion control and multiplayer mode highlighted the Wii’s sports games and made it feel accessible for more people.

Wii Fit Board (2007)

The Wii Fit Board was a peripheral device created by Nintendo for the Wii console. Advertising for the Wii Fit targeted new audiences – families and fitness fans who weren’t necessarily gamers. Players could use the Wii Board to practice various exercises and sports such as yoga, aerobic exercise, and strength training. The board works by measuring players’ weight and balance via four sensors built into the board’s four corners. This is then transmitted back to the Wii console and interpreted into motion.

Tony Hawk Ride Board (2009)

Tony Hawk is a professional skateboarder from San Diego, California, born in 1968. One of the most important skateboarders in the sports’ history, he became a household name in the 90s. This was in part due to the long-running Tony Hawk skateboarding series of videogames. The Ride Board was the first of its kind – a true skateboard peripheral. The board acts as an alternate controller. It uses infrared motion sensors and accelerometers to measure players’ movements.

Playstation Move & Playstation Eye (2010)

The Move controller works by tracking players’ movements and placing them in digital space. The Playstation Eye camera is trained to identify the shape and colour of each Move controllers’ orb. It tracks the movement of the wand in players’ hands. Combined with sensors within the controller, it translates players’ movements into in-game motion. Often referred to as the ‘Playstation wand’, it has been used to play sports such as baseball, basketball, archery, and even horse riding!

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

In Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, players are challenged to perform skate skills, such as grinds and ramp tricks, to get as high a score as possible within the 2 minute time limit.

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Virtua Tennis 3

Our Virtua Tennis 3 arcade machine has been lovingly brought back to life just in time for the most prestigious tennis tournament – Wimbledon!

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Discover the long history of sports in videogames at the NVM

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Discover the long history of sports in videogames at the NVM

Book Your Visit