Every year without fail you can bet your left eyebrow that there will be a plethora of games released with a title ending in a date. It’s just something we’ve come to expect now, but do we really want or need them? 

First of all I would just like to clarify that I don’t have anything against the games, I own a lot of them myself, but now that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business. 

When you think sports title you will no doubt think of the Fifa, Madden series to name but two, I’ll just use these two games as an example. Both of these franchises have produced great games but when I look back in my collection I see a whole selection of games, all baring the same name but with some slight difference. 

Madden 2000
Madden 2001
Madden 2002
Madden 2003
Madden 2004
Madden 2005

Now, I do have to admit I have enjoyed playing each of these games, but what I will admit is that I feel that these games probably shouldn’t have all been purchased. If anything, at least three of the games were impulse buys as I felt the need to have the next game in the series as it did offer just enough to be considered a purchase. But even with updated team rosters and slightly improved graphics, there’s often hardly any new content.

Seriously though, even with updated rosters, a few changes in control and slightly improved graphics, does it really warrant a new game? 

Now many of you will be saying that the changes are enough, which in that case then that’s fine, if that’s what you’re looking for in a game then you are in luck, as there’s plenty on the market to suit your needs. 

Surely any other genre would be slammed into the oblivion of gaming crapness if there were new games in the series less than a year apart with only slight changes.

So do we really want a new game every year with slightly new improvements, or would it benefit us (the gamers) more if they were every two or three years. Things like rosters are important to players and this reason alone normally forces me to buy the new game, simply because I am a big sports fan, but surely these rosters could be available for download should we wish? All of the next generation of consoles will have online support so I see no reason why not. 

Then while we continue to play through our latest edition of our favourite sports title, the parts of our brain that stores everything gaming will be safe in the knowledge that somewhere a group of developers or working on creating a really good sports title instead of a bit of last years game with some improved graphics and other small additions.

Perhaps it is just me, but I don’t get the same feeling from picking up a sports game now as I do when I pick up another game. Normally I feel excited at another game to pit my wits against, while with a sports title I don’t really think anything, it’s like a sort of numbness that you get when you buy a new DVD and put it on your shelf not to be watched for the next six months. 

I know it would never happen, but what if every time a new Madden games came out the fans of the game all went “wow, that looks great” just like when we saw trailers for the Xbox ‘360 madden. Instead of the “oh is it that time of year again.” 

The developers will never allow it though, as while people continue to purchase their games they will continue to make them. I’m not going to slate them for it, that’s just business. 

But some new innovation every now and then would be nice, or at least something new that will change the way I play sports games, that will hopefully give me the same enjoyment as another genre I enjoy, say RPG. Perhaps I’m asking for to much, but I don’t think I’ll be buying the next set of sports titles, maybe I’ll wait for a year or two so when I do pick one up again, at least its all new and fresh again.