There was a time when we were content with unsophisticated graphics and simple gameplay. For many years, that was all we were offered, as the technology to create ultra-realistic titles was still decades away. Gamers were happy with what they had and played the games that were put in front of them.
But in the last couple of decades, there has been a huge shift towards what is now called “hyperrealism”, especially when it comes to sports games. With many of the top titles regularly featuring on the ideal mobile betting sites, there is a demand for the most realistic graphics to be used. In many cases, we expect to see what we would see in real life. With sports, this means that the players and teams – and even the stadiums – must be replicas of what we see when we watch real-life games.
There are still plenty of more basic games available for traditionalists but the great-sellers tend to be the ones that most accurately replicate real life. This is especially true when it comes to soccer titles. But why is that so? And might there be a change in attitudes, as more people get attracted to more vintage-style games?
Real Players, Real Teams
There are a number of reasons why older soccer games do not look like actual real-life soccer matches. The obvious example is that the technology just wasn’t there to portray the sport so well. But even when the graphics and gameplay had developed slightly, soccer titles also suffered from not being official products.
The FIFA game we enjoy today is full of real-life players, teams, and competitions but that’s because it is licensed. Back in the day, many gamers had to make do with made-up teams full of players with many times outlandish names. We demanded realism and actual players and the titles that were able to pay for the licensing deals were generally the ones that became market leaders.
Customization
As games have become more immersive in recent years – and the technology in this field is advancing all the time – we have been able to customize and personalize our experiences. Whereas gamers of the past would just play the game of soccer in front of them, possibly with minimal roster selection at most, we now enjoy the off-field tasks almost as much as the game itself.
There is still the opportunity to trade for the ideal players in the world but there are so many different modes in most top soccer games these days that you can spend a lot of time before you even hear the whistle at the start of a match. Gamers love to play with these titles and now expect to be able to create their own version of hyperrealism with the tools they have.
Greater Connections
It is not a prerequisite for gamers playing soccer titles to actually be a fan of the sport. The beauty of hyper-realistic games is that they require the skills needed in a whole range of other types of games. If you are a gamer, you do not need to be able to kick a ball to be one of the ideal soccer title professionals.
But many FIFA game fans will be soccer fans as well. Part of the attraction is that they can play as their heroes – possibly winning the trophies and titles that their own teams will never get the chance to compete for. The hyperrealism creates an intense emotional connection between the real-life soccer world, the video game, and the gamer.
Player Engagement
One of the, perhaps unexpected, annual traditions for the FIFA games is now the yearly spectacle of real-life soccer athletes becoming outraged at how low they have been ranked by the game’s designers. As much as the game attempts to be as realistic as possible, there will always be professional athletes who believe that they are better than they are portrayed.
These athletes have grown up with the soccer titles and have become fans just like everyone else. It must be strange to play as yourself in a game (not an experience that most people will ever enjoy) but this engagement means that the game becomes even more realistic. The fact that these titles then receive a lot of media attention when linked with real-life stars only makes them more popular.
Professional Competition
We mentioned this factor briefly at the beginning, but the top soccer titles are now used in professional competitions and events with huge cash prizes available to the eventual champions. Moreover, there are now people all over the world who bet on the outcome of these events – so hyperrealism is absolutely necessary.
Although more limited soccer titles are still popular (as we will see in a moment), there is no way that customers would spend their money betting on games that don’t actually look like real soccer games. Part of the attraction is that it is just like placing a wager on a real soccer game. Hyperrealism is a crucial part of the process.
There is no doubt that the top soccer titles will only become even more realistic as time goes on. The technology available will improve to a point where the developers are able to offer experiences that are just the same as those enjoyed by professional soccer athletes. Immersive and augmented reality is already offering some of these.
But there is also still a desire for the “good old days” of vintage gaming. Titles such as Sensible Soccer were never supposed to offer realistic soccer experiences but still were – and are – extremely popular. There were realistic names, thanks to licensing deals that helped, but the attraction is not that it plays like a real soccer game.
These vintage titles will always endure, even amongst younger audiences, proving that as much as hyperrealism is desired for the biggest games, there will always be a wide range of gameplay available for soccer title fans.