Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 22, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Free online sports games have surged in popularity in recent months. Sports games are currently extremely popular not only on consoles, as demonstrated by Electronic Arts’ (EA) bestseller Madden NFL. Increasing numbers of users who want to play without spending money are turning to online sports games such as Quick Hit Football. The game from online-sports specialist Quick Hit Inc. does not feature authentic NFL teams, player names or likenesses, but it requires no console and is free to play. Countless online games like Quick Hit Football now attract steadily growing audiences.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, the recession is prompting more budget-conscious consumers to avoid buying consoles and video games. Users are largely untroubled that online games generally cannot match console titles’ high-resolution graphics or complexity. At the same time, a new generation of free online sports games is improving in both respects and presenting serious competition to established titles from EA and Take-Two Interactive. The online baseball game MLB Dugout Heroes had been downloaded more than 75,000 times since its April launch, while San Francisco-developed browser game World Golf Tour attracted more than 250,000 unique visitors per month.
Alongside the trend towards free web-based sports games, PC gaming overall was also increasing. In the United States, the industry expected user numbers to rise from 153.5 million that year to around 180.6 million by 2012. In addition to the economic crisis, online video games were booming because they were quick and easy to play compared with console games.
Major publishers had noticed the influx. EA did not fear direct competition from online offerings, but had begun adding web components to its console sports games. “It is beginning to show that sports games are really returning to the PC,” said Andrew Wilson, Vice President at EA Sports. In March, EA launched “FIFA 09 Ultimate Team,” a ten-dollar downloadable add-on for the console game FIFA Soccer 09 on Xbox 360 and PS3.
Further Links:
- Quick Hit Football
MLB Dugout Heroes