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Best sports games on GamesNostalgia

In the world of gaming, sports games have always held a special place; they have not only entertained millions of fans worldwide but have also managed to revolutionize the gaming industry as a whole. These games have come a long way, evolving from simple 2D renditions to immersive experiences that bring the thrill of the stadium right into our living rooms.

At the beginning of the '80s, the first sports computer games appeared. Kevin Toms wrote the first Football Manager in 1982 for the ZX Spectrum. International Soccer in 1983 was one of the first soccer games for the Commodore 64, while David Crane developed the iconic The Activision Decathlon for the Atari 2600, later ported to Commodore 64 and many other platforms. The same year, One-on-One created a fantastic basketball experience on the Apple II. Anyway, Epyx "Games" series was one of the biggest sports hits in the '80s, with Summer Games, Winter Games, California Games, and other titles.

In 1989, Kick Off for the Amiga changed football simulations forever, with its innovative top-down view and a ball not "glued" to the players. This inspired Sensible Soccer in 1992, the game that stole the throne to Kick Off 2 as the most played soccer game, at least until Sensible World of Soccer was released in 1994. The Manager changed the perspective in 1991 as a pure managerial game. In 1992, the famous Championship Manager was released. It was the first of a long series that continued for many years; see for example, Championship Manager 97/98.

But it's not all about football (aka soccer). Wayne Gretzky Hockey in 1988 was the first successful hockey sim, while Links: The Challenge of Golf in 1990 made golf a popular game on computers. John Madden Football in 1989 started a long series of (American) football sims, a series that is still alive today. Cinemaware introduced a new way to present sports games with the TV Sports series, started with TV Sports: Football in 1988 and continued with TV Sports: Basketball and TV Sports: Boxing.

If you like rugby, don't miss World Class Rugby and especially Jonah Lomu Rugby, while for tennis, you should not miss Center Court 2 for the Amiga. For sure many other great titles are missing in this overview. Just browse the titles below and have fun!

Final Match Tennis pc-engine

Final Match Tennis is a tennis simulation developed and published by Human Entertainment exclusively for the PC Engine in 1991. This title stands as the most sophisticated tennis g...

Year: 1991 Genre: Sports

2 players competitive pc engine original sports tennis turbografx-16

World Games amigacommodore-64

World Games is a multi-sport athletic simulation developed by Epyx and released for the Commodore 64 in 1986. It was ported to numerous platforms, including the Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIgs, Amstrad CPC, Sega Master System, and more.

Year: 1986 Genre: Sports

c64 original game hotseat mixed sports multiplayer olympiad sports

Winter Games amigacommodore-64

Winter Games is a sports simulation created by Epyx originally for the Commodore 64. It was published in 1985, as a sequel to Summer Games, the highly successful title based on the 1984's Olympic games.

Year: 1985 Genre: Sports

c64 original game commodore 64 hotseat mixed sports multiplayer olympiad skating ski sports winter sports

The Games: Summer Edition amigacommodore-64

The Games: Summer Edition is the official game of the 1988 Summer Olympics that took place in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. The game developed by The Code Monkeys is part of the fam...

Year: 1988 Genre: Sports

c64 original game commodore 64 hotseat licensed mixed sports multiplayer olympiad sports

California Games amiga

California Games is a sports game developed by Epyx and Westwood and published by Epyx in North America and by U.S. Gold in Europe. The game was released in 1987 for Apple II and C...

Year: 1988 Genre: Sports

c64 original game commodore 64 hotseat mini-games mixed sports multiplayer north america skateboarding sports surfing

TV Sports: Football amiga

TV Sports: Football is the first game of the TV Sports series created by Cinemaware initially for the Amiga. It was published in 1988, while the C64 and DOS versions followed later.

Year: 1988 Genre: Sports

2 players american football amiga original game multiplayer sports top-down

Kick Off amiga

Kick Off is a football (soccer) game designed by Dino Dini and developed by Anco Software in 1989 for the Amiga, Commodore 64, and other platforms. This football game was the first to use a top-down view of the field.

Year: 1989 Genre: Sports

2 players birds-eye view competitive football multiplayer soccer sim sports top-down

Sensible World of Soccer: European Championship Edition amiga

Sensible World of Soccer 95/96 European Championship Edition is the special edition of Sensible World of Soccer. It was released in time for the UEFA Euro 1996, with a preset competition with updated teams.

Year: 1996 Genre: Sports

2 players football management multiplayer soccer sim sport management sports

Sensible World of Soccer amiga

Sensible World of Soccer is the enhanced version of the original Sensible Soccer, the soccer sim designed and developed by Sensible Software. "SWOS" was released in 1994 for the Amiga.

Year: 1994 Genre: Sports

2 players amiga original game competitive football multiplayer soccer sim sport management sports

FIFA International Soccer dosamigagenesis

FIFA International Soccer is a soccer/football sim released by Electronic Arts in 1993 for the Sega Mega Drive. It marked the beginning of one of the longest-running and most profitable sports game franchises in history.

Year: 1993 Genre: Sports

2 players football isometric licensed multiplayer soccer sim sports

Championship Manager 2 dos

Championship Manager is the second chapter of the famous football manager series, developed by Sports Interactive and published by Domark in 1995. Compared to the first chapter, C...

Year: 1995 Genre: Sports

football hotseat management multiplayer soccer sim sport management sports

NHL Hockey genesis

NHL Hockey, also known as EA Hockey in Europe, was released in 1991 for the SEGA Mega Drive and marked the beginning of the EA NHL series. It would become one of the most iconic sports game franchises of all time.

Year: 1991 Genre: Sports

2 players competitive genesis original game hockey licensed sports top-down

Super Tennis snes

Super Tennis, also known as Super Tennis World Circuit, is one of the early standout sports titles for the Super NES. Released in 1991, developed by Tose and published by Nintendo,...

Year: 1991 Genre: Sports

2 players competitive snes original game sports tennis

Pete Sampras Tennis genesis

Pete Sampras Tennis, released in 1994 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, is a tennis game developed and published by Codemasters. The game was programmed by Andrew Richards, while the graphics were made by Stephen Dietz.

Year: 1994 Genre: Sports

competitive genesis original game licensed multiplayer sports tennis