Review
Madden turns 25 this year. It’s time for it to start acting its age
There comes a time for all young men to stop eating at the Super China Buffet.
Author: Abe Stein
Article
EA’s Madden says that the Ravens will win. We beg to differ.
Every year, Electronic Arts runs a simulation to predict the Super Bowl. This year, the Ravens were predicted to win, but our sports columnist ran his own simulation. The picture’s a bit more complicated.
Article
Shouldn’t the most popular fantasy game in the world have an IGN page?
There is a fantasy series that over thirty million people play, and gamers never talk about it. Why?
Essay
"That awkward moment": social media in Madden
How Twitter made its way from Chad Johnson’s fingertips to Madden 2013.
Boomshakalaka!
Think the Olympic closing cermony was madness? Wait, til you play Olympic videogames.
In our monthly sports column, Abe Stein explores the mad, mad world of Olympic videogames. Were they always this crazy and what can they tell us about our current Olympic predicament?
Boomshakalaka!
Strings and Swings
Why is pressing buttons more faithful to baseball or golf than swinging a motion controller? Abe Stein explains why videogames need to keep their distance from real sports—at least for now.
Article
Choking in the Locker Room
Sports games can make you the MVP hero of your dreams. But professional sports aren’t based on athleticism alone; traits like sportsmanship and agreeableness have a large impact on a team’s success. New sports games like 2K11 and New Star Soccer consider these ulterior aspects to play, enabling the player to create their own sports narrative.
Boomshakalaka!
An Old Hope
Most sports stories play out the same way. Two baseball narratives, The Rookie and The Natural, offer a different understanding of the game by beginning at the end. Our sports columnist responds in-game.
Boomshakalaka!
Open Your Eyes
The bifurcation of society into jocks and geeks was supposed to end with high school. So why do the two groups eye each other with mutual suspicion? Our sports columnist argues that the videogame community has wrongly ousted sports gamers.