Would Competition Change The Process Of Creating Sports Video Games?

Dating back as far as the fourth generation—or 16-bit era—of home console video games, the annual new edition of sports franchises such as Madden, NBA 2K, FIFA and NHL have largely stuck to the yearly model, and for the most part, one studio handling that task. A one-year development cycle, strict release dates to coincide with the real life sport’s season opening and pressure from fans to be as “realistic” as possible while still remaining a “fun” video game are just a few of the plates that creators are left spinning on their fingers.