Today's Game(s) Brought to You by EASN

Custom logo for mods of NHL '94 by member Coach Mac of nhl94.com.

As I retire from my hardcore Sega fandom I noticed a small gain in objectivity (I try to be objective all the time) when it came to multiplatform releases. Even as a Sega fan I would be remiss to fail to grant how Electronic Arts, initially still under the leadership of founder Trip Hawkins, had a significant role in driving sales of Sega's Genesis console (ironic for a developer who strong-armed the deal by cracking the code and threatening to produce unlicensed cartridges for the system). In retro terms, while other EA titles of note are still fondly remembered as being best on Genesis (such as Mike Posehn's Strike series), sports are the genre where it is common knowledge Genesis had it better than rivals and EA was a huge player (pun intended) in making that so.

The "EA Sports" brand that continues today may have established itself on Sega Genesis, but the start of EA's sports legacy begins much earlier. When the company was still brand new it jumped right on the celebrity endorsements that defined much of their sports gaming approach with One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird. The next sport EA portrayed was later in the decade with World Tour Golf (already covered in this blog), and even the recreational flying scene got its EA celebrity endorsement with Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer.

Then in the late 80s EA modernized its sports approach, still straddling the line between the action and strategy while adopting the TV-style presentation that would set EA's sports games apart. Two coaches would endorse two different sports to this end: Earl Weaver Baseball and John Madden Football. Save for add-on disks there were no official endorsements from the leagues or players' associations, typical of the gaming times which prompted all sports developers to produce their own workarounds. An update of One on One with new star Michael Jordan replacing Julius Erving rounded out the offerings, granting EA a strong position for computers sports going into the 90s but no official console presence yet (a port of Jordan vs. Bird: One on One to Nintendo Entertainment System was produced by Rare and published by Milton Bradley in 1989).

Then came the "deal" with Sega, among the results of which is some of EA's earliest games for Genesis will not function on a console with TMSS (Trademark Security System, ironically developed to target EA's computer sports competitor Accolade which also produced unlicensed cartridges). It was something of a parallel in computer history; switch a decade and have EA play the Microsoft to Sega's IBM: an adept developer who had to embrace hardware on a benefactor's terms in order to achieve worldwide success they continue to enjoy today. Though ports of The Immortal & Skate or Die 2 (the original Skate or Die! ported by Konami and published under their Ultra Games label for the system) on Nintendo were EA's first official console touches, there was only one system everyone knows put Electronic Arts on the home console map for good.

The remainder of today's post will be a sport-by-sport evaluation of this era that launched EA Sports into the stratosphere.

Baseball

Earl Weaver was EA's first "whole" sports game, though basketball came first with One on One and EA technically covered baseball earlier with Radio Baseball (albeit this PC exclusive was a text-only coaching simulator). It was good by standards of the late 80s and succeeded accordingly with an expansion disk and sequel, but in bringing the sport to console EA proved less stellar. Ironically their first on Genesis is their most unique and probably most fondly remembered for it: EA got to publish the port of SNK's Neo Geo sci-fi action game Super Baseball 2020 of which the Genesis port is considered among the stronger not found on SNK's own system.

The sport would be brought fully into the simulation realm with EA's signature TV-style presentation with a version of SSI's Tony La Russa Baseball exclusively for Genesis. La Russa filled the role for baseball as John Madden for EA's contemporary football titles alongside 1993 EA Sports commentator in-residence Ron Barr of Sports Byline USA. The likewise Genesis-exclusive sequel La Russa Baseball 95 went for the classic behind-the-pitcher viewpoint common to TV (but uncommon for baseball video games which are generally behind the batter instead), but both games are executed so roughly they are probably more enjoyable to watch [by setting both teams to CPU control] than try playing...for baseball on Genesis the vastly superior choice is Sega's own World Series Baseball franchise.

Between each release of La Russa EA made a more serious attempt at baseball simulation first for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. MLPBA Baseball (the name betraying a key flaw: lack of MLB license) featured Ron Barr on the original SNES release while its later 1994 Genesis port (same release year as La Russa 95, creating a sports redundancy in EA's Genesis library) had successor John Shrader. In terms of presentation and features this is a stronger title on SNES; the Genesis version may play somewhat better but is no alternative to that year's debut of World Series Baseball.

EA continued its baseball efforts, temporarily shifting focus back exclusively to Genesis (as with some of their other games of the time) to debut the first of a new series in Triple Play 96, an improvement over its predecessors but still lacking the MLB license. With Triple Play 97 EA took baseball into 32-bit (with the MLB license this time!) with Genesis getting an exclusive 16-bit equivalent called Triple Play Gold which was essentially a roster update title (lacking the MLB license!). Triple Play enjoyed a degree of success on various platforms for several years, morphing into MVP Baseball for its 2003 entry until 2005 when EA opted to drop Major League Baseball (though MVP continued a couple more years with NCAA baseball titles) after 2K Sports bought exclusive rights to the MLB license in a counter to EA having done likewise for NFL.

Basketball

With One on One EA first covered one of America's most popular sports (popular around the world as well), but it would take several different approaches before they found their stride. After being 1-upped by competitor Accolade who made their own Fast Break a 3-on-3, EA jumped on the NBA license for the first in what became known as their NBA Playoffs series: Lakers vs. Celtics, exclusive to MS-DOS in 1989 but supporting its range of enhanced hardware (including Roland MT-32, a first for an EA sports game). A port of Lakers vs. Celtics with updated rosters was among the 1990 EA games for Sega Genesis, and it looked and played better than its progenitor made with lower common denominator systems in mind.

One interesting attribute of the NBA Playoffs series not retained for NBA Live is its perspective sideways from the court, like what is commonly seen on TV. It worked well enough until the series transmogrified, regardless of title or system. That the arcade basketball games by Midway kept this perspective testifies to its staying power.

After the Genesis-exclusive sequel Bulls vs. Lakers an interesting dispersion occurred. The last exclusive EA basketball game for Sega (save the contemporary port of Jordan vs. Bird) was Team USA Basketball, an adaptation of the engine towards portraying the exploits of the original Olympic Dream Team (worth having as a time capsule for this reason alone). Then, starting with the final official Playoffs title Bulls vs. Lakers, EA's basketball developments switched to being SNES-centric.

It is true EA's sports games are generally remembered as being superior on Genesis, and the NBA titles are no exception since even minute improvements in framerate and smooth gameplay can make a lot of difference with action games (and Sega's Motorola processor was better known thus more accessible to developers). This is especially apparent in SNES entries that are sloppy ports from Genesis as opposed to those tailored for the system. This is when it gets interesting: that the SNES versions were consistent in releasing first proves it became the new target system.

But it would not be long before even that point was rendered moot. The later Genesis releases played better and generally carried updates and fixes owing to their later release, but the debut of NBA Live 95 was not just a rebirth of the franchise: it was the return of EA NBA basketball to PC, and improvements in computer hardware over the past half-decade meant this version left the popular 16-bit systems in the dust (provided aspiring gamers had rigs powerful enough to run it properly; requirements were steep by standards of the day despite it being the same time Doom, another demanding action game, was taking over the world). Live 95, of course, ditched the sideways perspective in favor of the FIFA-like isometric view that defined the series for the rest of 16-bit.

Both Live 95 and Live 96 are best experienced on PC, but the console versions are no slouches and still offer plenty of fun (tailored to each system though, as mentioned a couple paragraphs ago, Genesis got the 16-bit gameplay edge while SNES is more audiovisually pleasing). Live 96 was the PlayStation debut however it is, like the rest of EA's offerings on the system that year, like the PC version but rougher. Live 97 made the jump to full 3D, and from there the series stood as strong competition to the NBA 2K line by former EA SNES development partner Visual Concepts (who defected to Sega in 1997).

But that is not the whole story. College basketball is another popular genre (though not to the level of NBA or college football), and EA Sports first covered it in partnership with Mike Krzyzewski of Duke fame for Coach K College Basketball which used the Live 95 engine but was one-of-a-kind on Genesis. Then for PC in 1993 was the unique Michael Jordan in Flight which was not even an NBA game but more of a technical experiment (its SVGA mode could only be enabled on certain video cards because the game predated VESA standards) in true 3D that has not aged well at all.

Boxing

As with some others there is not much to say about this genre because of how little it touched the 16-bit realm. EA was the American distributor of Mindscape's 4-D Boxing for PC and Macintosh (developed by Distinctive Software which did a lot of work for Accolade, particularly in the racing genre), and published Foes of Ali developed by Gray Matter (known for some infamously bad games with a few good ones) as an exclusive to that favorite Trip Hawkins console, the 3DO. Toughman Contest, which has a view similar to Nintendo's famous Punch-Out, was a Sega exclusive for Genesis 32X.

The big EA sports endeavor into boxing started in 1998 with the first Knockout Kings, which evolved into Fight Night before eventually landing the UFC license.

Cricket

Something like the equivalent to baseball in the British commonwealth but unheard of [outside Indian-American neighborhoods] in America, none of EA's Cricket series released in the US and was exclusive to PC for the time frame covered in today's post.

Football

Of course I had to show the man himself. Is it just me, or does he bear a striking resemblance to President Trump?

EA published the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64 and IBM ports of Imagic's Touchdown Football in 1986 but likely drew no significant ideas from it. How John Madden came to be selected (and dictated accurate 11-man teams on the field, a tall order for computer hardware of the time) is a story known well to classic fans. How Sega desperately turned to EA (actually developer Park Place Productions) to finish their own Joe Montana Football for the system (and how EA had Montana deliberately stunted so Madden would be the superior product) is another anecdote of gaming history, but today's post focuses on progression of the games themselves.

John Madden Football on Sega Genesis, part of EA's 1990 lineup, was not so much a port of the original but what would be known today as an enhanced re-release. It was a major hit and started the Madden series as it is known today, which built on its success despite Sega 1-upping the contemporary Madden release year after year (play-by-play commentary for Montana II, the NFL license for Montana '93, then the NFLPA license for Montana '94). Park Place came back for Madden '92 which debuted the famous ambulance and the first version for SNES which was the basis for the more strategic MS-DOS exclusive John Madden Football II but NOT the contemporary John Madden Football for Amiga (which was a port of the first game for Genesis).

The 16-bit console trend was established with Madden '93 which was given great audiovisual love in its SNES port but the Genesis version still boasted exclusive features (including a separate Championship Edition with historical teams which, as a rental exclusive, is possibly the rarest sports game on Genesis). Whether series entries were better on SNES or Genesis past that point is a matter of [sometimes strong] opinion, but it had already grown past those roots in 1993 with John Madden Football for 3DO. There was the cancelled PlayStation version of Madden 96 which left the 32-bit upgrade of that entry exclusive to Madden NFL Limited Edition in what would have been a triumphant return on PC (if only it had been more widely distributed), but in reality it is [aside from the NFL on Fox commentary featuring Madden & Pat Summerall, both now deceased] a prototype of the PC port of Madden 97. The 32-bit releases of Madden 97 on PlayStation & Saturn (the latter admittedly weaker, EA never granting the system its due with the key exception of Soviet Strike) were big hits for good reason, the broadcast immersion rounded out by Madden, Summerall and James Brown.

For those who would rather stick with Sega Sports than EA Sports for later entries in the Genesis library an alternative may be considered. Bill Walsh College Football and its College Football USA sequels use the same engine as their contemporary 16-bit Madden entries from '94 through 97 (NCAA Football 98 is only available on PC & PlayStation), and the debut game got an enhanced version on Sega CD while Bill Walsh '95 was exclusive to Genesis and featured more teams (but fewer options) than Sega's College Football's National Championship II. There was also Mutant League Football, something so unique it generated its own little franchise. Madden & NCAA continue to this day, opinions on Madden faltering due to perceptions of quality drop since EA secured a monopoly on the NFL license in 2005.

Golf

Will Harvey's Zany Golf (more a fun take more which may or may not have been an answer to Accolade's Mini-Putt) aside, simulating golf believably on console was a challenge not really achieved prior to 1990. Powerful arcades and new 16-bit systems like Genesis delivered the necessary power, as demonstrated by Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf early in its lifespan. As covered in the golf games post a while back, 1990 was the year computer golf really took off in 3 different ways: Jack Nicklaus & Links would see ports to console with mixed results over the years while their core games remained computer-centric, but EA took it in a different direction.

The PGA Tour series was driven in the 16-bit era by Sterling Silver Software, later renamed Polygames. The first entry was, like its peers in the genre, for home computers such as Amiga. PGA Tour Golf came with the same three professional courses and single fantasy course on all 16-bit versions save the later SNES adaptation, but only the computer versions got a Tournament Course Disk adding three more (no loss, as those same courses were included in later console entries). PGA Tour II was only for Genesis and Macintosh, with only the former including the fantasy Sterling Shores course while the latter has a couple [timed] exclusives.

Also in 1992 was an enhanced port of PGA Tour Golf for 16-bit Windows based on the Macintosh port. The last simple entry is PGA European Tour which was made for a European audience (getting not one but two Amiga versions enhanced for later iterations of the line) but still made it to America on Genesis & SNES. While all version are tailored like for the first PGA Tour, in console terms Genesis is considered stronger due to more consistent playable speed and graphics fidelity.

A significant divergence for the series happened in 1994; to reduce confusion, entries from this point on will be judged equivalent on the basis of content. There was PGA Tour III for Genesis with 8 courses like on PGA Tour II, some redundant to what came before while others were exclusive to this entry; this was ported to SNES the following year as PGA Tour 96 but is NOT the same as any other version of PGA 96. That same year for DOS debuted a 3D enhancement [with system requirements to match] of the engine in the form of PGA Tour 486, ported to Macintosh and 3DO as PGA Tour 96 (confusing yet?).

As if that was not enough there are THREE variants of the REAL PGA Tour 96: a 16-bit on Genesis that is not recommended over previous entries for the system due to less content (though translation of the 3D engine is not bad), a PC version that could double its courses with the addition of Championship Course add-ons, and the franchise's debut on PlayStation featuring a paltry 2 courses. The annually numbered PGA Tour 97 was exclusive to consoles and likewise featured only 2 courses, 1 shared between them and 1 each exclusive to Saturn and PlayStation (the act was more together for the PlayStation-only PGA Tour 98 which bumped available courses up to 5).

On the computer front the PGA Tour line would eventually re-merge but meanwhile took its own path. It was this side that became Tiger Woods PGA Tour in 1998, with add-on courses compatible with multiple entries. After a brief renaming for new PGA champion Rory McIlroy in 2015 the series has been dormant since.

Hockey

Like with many other sports covered today EA technically touched hockey prior to launching the genre on Sega with Powerplay Hockey for Commodore 64 in 1998, featuring multiple modes but only 2 teams: the US & USSR. Sega had its own entry in the form of Mario Lemieux Hockey which was decent for what it was (and, ironically, featured the TV-style sideways arena perspective which EA would eschew despite them being the ones typically opting for TV-style presentation), but the conventions establishing in that same year's NHL Hockey proved such a winning formula that this is THE one sport EA definitely shined the most on Genesis. Yet the franchise history beyond Sega in its early years may be more interesting.

The first NHL Hockey lacked an NHLPA license while NHLPA Hockey '93 had the opposite issue, making both games complementary...at least on Genesis: the series debuted on SNES with NHLPA '93 but that port was sloppy and rightfully reviled. The commentary of Ron Barr enhanced the broadcast experience beginning with NHLPA '93, aided by his voice in the Sega CD and PC versions of NHL '94.

The SNES port of NHL '94 (still ranked among the greatest sport games of all time) was not bad but it and the rest of the series, despite gaining audiovisual flair over Genesis, would lag as the weaker of the 16-bit entries for their rougher gameplay (the way people generally see the SNES/Genesis comparison when it comes to EA Sports). On Genesis, an alternative take using the NHL '94 engine was Mutant League Hockey which is hilarious just to watch. Where it really took off was the PC debut, titled NHL Hockey and with none of the exciting features that set the Sega CD port apart but was first in the series with full season play and full-team line setups. This version was something of a prototype: season play came to consoles with NHL '95 while its PC port used an SVGA-enhanced variant of the interface.

The feature additions continued with NHL 96 which, like Madden, only got a 32-bit version on PC (in 3D at least, the debut of EA's "Virtual Stadium"). NHL 97 made it to full 3D on all 32-bit systems (only the PlayStation and Saturn versions have the broadcast video clips), but 16-bit was not left out as some of its new features like All-Star challenges were backported. NHL still receives new entries today, but it is still the 16-bit entries of the early 90s that prompt the fondest memories.

Racing

When it comes to fast driving from EA the subject can get loaded quick. The company started with the aptly named Racing Destruction Set (part of their Construction Set franchise) in 1985 which stood out in a time creating custom game content even for computer users was rare. EA's first true entry was among its earliest licensed sports title in Ferrari Formula One which took simulation aspects seriously (and was accordingly designed for the then-stronger 16-bit Atari ST & Amiga computers) but was not considered as strong as its contemporaries. EA also published Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, the debut game of racing specialists Papyrus Design Group.

But it was their next 3rd-party published racer that opened a new direction for EA. Distinctive Software, creators of the Test Drive series and spin-offs for Accolade, let EA be its US publisher (Ocean Software in Europe) of Mario Andretti's Racing Challenge for MS-DOS in 1991. That relationship held with Andretti consulting with EA for years following, albeit his games suffered long development cycles. Stormfront Studios (of the Tony La Russa baseball games) produced Mario Andretti Racing for Genesis in 1994 then Andretti Racing for 32-bit consoles and PC in 1996.

1991 also saw EA's racing debut on Genesis, with quite the twist: Road Rash escalated lawbreaking and violence in a manner that would not have passed muster on Nintendo at the time. It was a hit, so more of the same and better was delivered for Road Rash II the following year. 1994 was its divergence point: Road Rash on 3DO brought the series to 32-bit, ported to PC, Saturn & PlayStation later with a cut back edition for Sega CD and for Genesis straddling the line enough to be called Road Rash III. Road Rash 3-D was the 1998 transition on PlayStation (a variant, Road Rash 64, is the only entry on a Nintendo system) with Road Rash: Jailbreak ending the series in 2000.

The Need for Speed, NASCAR, F1, and any other of the later EA racing franchises are beyond the scope of today's post.

Rugby

Think American football without the body armor, this sport is much more popular overseas (and college campuses) but it was nice for EA to cover it on Genesis. It uses the FIFA engine for its 16-bit entries and is also available on PC (though apparently only in Europe & Australia). After going on hiatus in 1996 the Rugby series released new entries sporadically in 2000, later ones not appearing in America at all before closing for good in 2006.

Soccer

The term comes from its official name Association Football which is among the most popular sports in the world outside America (still popular here too, just less relatively so). FIFA International Soccer was made for Sega Genesis before being ported to a variety of systems: weaker on SNES & Amiga, stronger on Sega CD & PC. The isometric perspective was a defining approach, only supplanted upon transition to Virtual Stadium 3D.

While the original FIFA was enhanced in its original form for Sega CD, it made an early jump (earlier than any other EA Sports game) to 3D with its 1994 entry for 3DO. While FIFA 95 was exclusive to Genesis, FIFA 96 was the 3D breakthrough on PC, PlayStation and even (only in Europe) Sega 32X. This is another hit EA Sports franchise continuing today (though it is titled FC now), including some management titles along the way.

Tennis

World Tour Tennis (NOT at all a sequel to World Tour Golf) was exclusive to MS-DOS with management as well as play features but weird pseudo-3D graphics. IMG International Tour Tennis for Genesis brings it more in common with other EA Sports entries with a coordinated gameplay focus and options. Aside from a couple entries in the Grand Slam Tennis miniseries in the 2000s EA has never further touched the sport.

It's in the Game

I miss the EASN branding; ESPN may have been dipping its toes in the video game realm at the time but that was no reason to try being possessive about it. EASN shows what EA Sports was all about: that broadcast experience in video gaming form. That could even be taken to its logical conclusion: set both teams to computer control and watch the game as if it IS a [custom] broadcast (a viable alternative when sports today charge for streaming services just to watch their games).

Commissioning real broadcasters like Ron Barr added to the immersion and makes EA Sports (especially in its earlier days) something worth coming back to in ways other sports titles from the time lack. Some entries may not play as fun as the competition from Sega, Konami or Tecmo, but that is beside the point. One need not even play but have fun watching; imagine how challenging it is to capture that in a video game, something inherently designed for interactivity, and appreciate how Electronic Arts succeeded in exactly that with graphics and sound capabilities otherwise laughably primitive today.