Mar

Extreme sports gaming: Will it ever be as good as the real thing?

Mark Pawlak Category

extreme sports, gaming, nintendo, playstation

HD, 3-D, MMORPG: Just how extreme can our sports games be?

If gamers aren’t shooting their way through a horde of toxic vomit spewing aliens, or thrashing air guitar, there is a good chance they are playing sporting games.

Despite there being only one video game in the current all-time top ten (Madden NFL ’07), games firms have long tried to harness interest in extreme sports.

But, even with High Definition (HD) picture quality, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG’s) and the inevitable arrival of 3-D, are we really ever going to get close to the ‘real’ experience?

No chance. Not even wired up to a surfboard, in an over-sized bath, with someone chucking buckets of salty water over my face. Yes, we can toy with the experience: copy moves, map routes, and send vibrations through neoprene-gloved hands. But it’s chalk and cheese, real and hyper-real, and never the twain shall meet.

That’s not to say we can’t have loads of fun. For me, Konami’s Track and Field (1983) was the beginning of sports gaming. Since then, the FIFA series has perhaps been the benchmark.

With extreme sports, it’s Tony Hawks. Yes, he’s a legend in both sporting and gaming communities. His first tie-in with Activision (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, 1999) sold more than four million games across platforms. The latest version (RIDE) can be played with a motion-sensing skateboard. Interactive indeed, but real? Never.

Soon to be released and exclusively tested on TheSixthAxis.com is Wakeboarding HD (TikGames/Creat Studios). Sceptical at first, the site’s tester was soon won over. Check out the game preview below:

So, is the verdict still out on extreme sports gaming, or should we just get out more and play the ‘real’ version?

About the author

Mark Pawlak wrote 170 articles on this blog.

Editor at Adventure Sports Holidays, Mark's love affair with travel and the challenges of adventure sports continues... "You could save all year for a two-week, all-inclusive, doss by the pool, booze and buffet binge. Or, with a little planning and some good equipment, get off your arse and plan an adventure!"

Tim B March 16, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Great post Mark. I’m a big fan of ‘the real thing’ but I think the reality is the two can compliment each other. I think the Wii has bought active gaming to the masses and we are going to see a closer and closer conversion of reality with virtual reality.

I watched the Gadget Show a few days ago and they tested the Cruden F1, one of the most advanced driving simulators on the market. Check this video out: http://videos.sapo.pt/5gzT93riZb5EWvYbNO0u. Whilst simulators like this are never going to be as adrenalin fuelled as the real thing, largely because there is no real risk, I think they can and will be used increasingly for training as well as recreational purposes.

Maybe the answer in to introduce some real risk into the simulators? Anyone think there is a market for games that give you dead arms & legs, knocks on the head & broken bones when you get it wrong?
luke March 16, 2010 at 2:54 pm
NEVER!

Its the real life danger and physical exertion that makes real extreme sports so much fun.

I played Shaun Whites on the Wii a few weeks ago and whilst being a fun 30 minutes I would have come away with multiple broken bones had it been the real thing. The fact that you need many hours of practice in the real world to avoid serious injury is what makes it rewarding and a massive adrenaline buzz.

If more kids were playing football down the park rather than Fifa on a computer then we would be a fitter and healthier nation….. Plus we might have more players for Capello to choose from!

Long live the real thing
Mark Pawlak March 16, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I love them, I hate them, I love them. In the end, they leave me cold. Not cold as in: “Damn, I should have brought another fleece.” But certainly not warm as in brew going down, biscuit dunking, atop a mountain, feeling.

I’m with Luke on this one. For me, it’s the moment of choice: the should I, or shouldn’t I seconds that drag on for minutes. Next wave? Right turn down random track? Off the brakes… still off the brakes…still off the braaaaagh seat of your pants moment.

With computer games you can re-start, re-spawn, re-try. Out in the world, it’s re-al!
Steve H March 17, 2010 at 5:33 am
No! No! No! No!
I mean..what is the point? There is nothing EXTREME about gaming, apart from the hours some recluses play for and maybe the weight they gain sat on said backsides…even the much lauded Wii doesn’t require the user to move around too much…its all in the wrist action and, some of the Wii Fit titles aside, hardly what you would call active gaming.

If its extreme sports you want, then you should be out there getting stuck in, battling against nature and the laws of physics, feeling the adrenaline rush for real….For me there is no, and never will be, a comparison to the real thing. Even with all the technological advances,VR is exactly that, virtual, not actual.

Not only that, where is the sense of achievement/exhilaration/pride (i could list adjectives all day)? Pulling off an inverted 360 on your BMX after days, weeks and months of practise compared to a few complex button presses on your PS3 controller……I know which side of the fence i am on!

Posting this blog on an adventure sports website was always going to get a one sided response anyway……..
Mark Pawlak March 17, 2010 at 11:37 am
Steve H,

Yesterday I took out a hill. Wasn’t much of a hill, but still. Sat in the car park, gulping down the fluids before the start I was feeling it: trepidation. Once under way, actually within about three minutes, my legs were burning. Looking up, the road was disappearing under a blanket of fog – most of which appeared to be coming from me exhaling so heavily into the cold air. In the end, it was done and once the crest had fallen, I began to rise. Seemingly boundless energy returned – enough to get me to the next set of traffic lights anyway. The view was inspirational. I was elated, pumping, focused on every moment, but yet calm, almost thoughtless. Paradise. Just like tapping the ball back over the net with a Wii handset… Ping…Pong…Ping….Zzzzzzzzz.