GamesNostalgia

Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac

iten

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!

Tecmo Super Bowl nes

Tecmo Super Bowl, released for the NES in 1991, is widely regarded as one of the greatest American football video games ever made for an 8-bit console. Developed by Tecmo, the same...

Year: 1991 Genre: Sports

american football licensed nes original game 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

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

Super Tennis Champs amiga

Super Tennis Champs, published by Audiogenic Software in 1995 for the Amiga, is one of the platform's best tennis simulations ever created. The game was designed and programmed by Elton Bird using the Blitz Basic programming language.

Year: 1995 Genre: Sports

amiga original game blitz basic co-op coverdisk multiplayer sports tennis versus

Sensible World of Soccer 2024-25 amiga

Sensible World of Soccer 2024-25 is the fan-made update to the 2024-25 season of the iconic Sensible Soccer game. Sensible World of Soccer, affectionately known as SWOS, remains one of the most iconic football games ever created.

Year: 2024 Genre: Sports

2 players amiga original game birds-eye view competitive football mod soccer sports

Leader Board Golf amigacommodore-64

Leader Board Golf is a gold simulation created by Access Software originally for the Commodore 64 and released in 1986. Leader Board redefined the sports simulation genre and introduced many players to the joys of computer golf.

Year: 1986 Genre: Sports

c64 original game commodore 64 golf hotseat multiplayer simulation sports

California Games II amiga

California Games II is a sports game created by Epyx. It was released in 1990 for MS-DOS and later ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, and other platforms. It's the sequel to the origin...

Year: 1992 Genre: Sports

hotseat mini-games mixed sports multiplayer north america skateboarding sports surfing

Front Page Sports: Football Pro dos

Front Page Sports: Football Pro is a sports simulation game developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-Line. It was released in 1993 for MS-DOS. It's the sequel to Front Page ...

Year: 1993 Genre: Sports

american football isometric sport management sports

Player Manager 2 amigados

Player Manager 2 is a football management game created, developed, and published by Anco in 1995, initially for Amiga. The game was conceived by Steve Screech, a programmer and gra...

Year: 1995 Genre: Sports

2 players amiga original game football multiplayer soccer sport management sports

NHL 96 genesis

NHL 96 is a hockey simulation developed by High Score Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1995 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. It was also released for PC and SNES. It...

Year: 1995 Genre: Sports

genesis original game hockey licensed sports winter sports

Super Baseball 2020 genesis

Super Baseball 2020 is a futuristic baseball game released initially on Arcade and Neo Geo platforms in 1991. It was then ported to Genesis/Mega Drive and SNES in 1993. The game was released in Japan by SNK Corporation.

Year: 1993 Genre: Sports

baseball coin-op conversion futuristic sports science fiction sports

John Madden Football amigagenesis

John Madden Football is a highly realistic American football simulation developed by Park Place Production and published by Electronic Arts. it was released in 1990 for the Mega Drive/Genesis and in 1992 for Amiga.

Year: 1990 Genre: Sports

2 players american football birds-eye view licensed sports

Premier Manager 3 amiga

Premier Manager 3 is a football management simulation game developed by Realms of Fantasy and published by Gremlin Interactive in 1994. It is the third installment in the Premier Manager series started in 1992.

Year: 1994 Genre: Sports

aga football isometric soccer sport management sports

Earl Weaver Baseball amiga

Earl Weaver Baseball is a baseball simulation released by Electronica Arts in 1987 for MS-DOS, then ported to Amiga, Macintosh, and Apple II. The developers, Mirage Graphics, worke...

Year: 1987 Genre: Sports

2 players baseball licensed sport management sports top-down