The very first video game with a graphical display was invented in 1958 by physicist William Higinbotham. It was titled Tennis For Two. Then, in 1972, Pong was released. Pong, which was based on table tennis, ushered in the Golden Age of Arcade Video Games; an era that would last for over a decade.
During this time, tons of arcade games were made, both original and knock-offs. And sports games were among the most popular; in their defense, sports games are still popular today, no matter the medium. Just look at the sales of franchises like FIFA and Madden and you’ll see why.
Arcade sports games were among the most popular because they emphasized one’s hand-eye coordination rather than their athletic ability. So, it wasn’t odd to see a scrawny kid becoming an unbeatable boxing champion on the arcade.
So, without further ado, here are 10 of the best ever arcade sports games!
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10 Arch Rivals
Basketball and violence? Only Arch Rivals could blend those two into a coherent and addictive game. While playing the game, rather than winning the ball back fairly, the game encouraged players to punch their opponents right in the face. There were no penalties for this. In fact, the only penalty in the game was for shot clock violations. The two-on-two gameplay ensured that every second of the game mattered. And with each two or three-point shot came a single cheerleader’s enthusiastic “Go team!” chant!
Arch Rivals was a game that did not take itself seriously, and it was all the better for that.
9 Super Mario Strikers
The Mario franchise has never been limited to our favorite plumber fighting Bowser and rescuing the princess. The spin-offs range from cute horror games like Luigi’s Mansion to fun golf games.
One of the better sports games in the franchise is Super Mario Strikers, based on soccer. The game is fast-paced, with familiar characters like Mario and Donkey Kong. The unique ways each character move around, coupled with attacks from Bowser, massive bouncing koopa shells and electrified fences make this a brutal but welcome addition to the Mario sports franchise.
8 Golden Tee Golf
Unless you’re an avid golf fan, the sport might be a tad dull—to both play and watch. However, this changed with Golden Tee Golf. It made the sport far less complicated than similar games, without forcing players to be precise with things like hooks and slices. A complete novice could start playing the game and, as long as they had a rough idea of what golf was like, they could get the hang of things only after a few rounds.
The game was quite popular, and future versions received welcome additions like the voices of popular commentators such as Gary Player and Jim Nantz.
7 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
In the US, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing was released alongside the Sega Dreamcast. Made on 128-bit hardware, the game was a graphical marvel at the time. And it used its graphic prowess to create some of the most interesting characters ever made for a boxing game, like Boris Knockimov and Afro Thunder. The characters showed their injuries in real-time, like missing teeth and black eyes. Each fight’s winner often looked cartoonishly injured.
After landing several strong punches in the game, the player enters RUMBLE Mode where they can release a series of overpowered attacks.
6 Mutant League Football
Mutant League Football is one of the strangest games published by Electronic Arts. Unlike their simulation-esque Madden series, Mutant League Football was a silly and macabre arcade game. Monsters and skeletons battled it out in games of football where rules were anything but standard. The game allowed everything from deadly pile-ons to exploding balls and even landmines. If the player was losing, they could bribe the officials and get false penalties. Or, if all else failed, they could just kill the officials outright.
For a game which was as much an all-out war as it was a football game, Mutant League Football was a mega-hit, and it remains one of the most unique EA games.
5 NFL Blitz 2000
Sometimes, the more unrealistic a sports video game is, the more endearing it becomes to its player-base. This is the case with NFL Blitz, which did away with most of the technicalities of the game and just let players enjoy the core gameplay of the sport.
Instead of the usual 11 players per side, for instance, NFL Blitz reduced the number to 7 players. Despite its simplicity, the game was fun, and it even had licenses to the real-life NFL teams and their rosters. The goal of the game was simple: score as many points as possible without regard for any of those pesky rules like pass interference that are in the actual NFL.
4 Punch-Out!!
Released in 1984, Punch Out!! was a game most people couldn’t stop playing. It allowed players to unleash rapid-fire hits with just a few button presses, and it was just as exciting as watching a real-life heavyweight boxing match—only much shorter, of course.
The characters in the game had unique names like Pizza Pasta, Bald Bull and Glass Joe. If you wanted to move on to the next fighter, you had to beat the current one. Players who mastered the game soon realized that they were just fighting the same challengers over and over again. However, that did not diminish the sheer fun of knocking out one’s opponent.
3 Super Dodge Ball
Released in 1988, Super Dodge Ball was an action-packed arcade game where the main rule was simple: throw the ball at the three opponents until they die. However, the opponents did not just stand around getting hit; they could hit you right back and smack your team members to death. Skilled players could launch surprise attacks using the outfielders, and they could even catch balls mid-air and send their opponents flying for additional damage.
Super Dodge Ball included a number of locations all across the world, from Kenya to Japan. It also had eight different teams you could choose from.
2 Sega Rally
Motorsport has always had the best adaptations to the arcade, and Sega Rally is arguably the best of the bunch. It did an amazing job of recreating the fast-paced rallying experience, from the terrifying speed to the steering wheel and even the bucket seat. When playing it, you felt like you were in the actual car, which gave it a level of immersion not found in most other arcade sports games.
When Sega Rally launched, there were only four available courses. However, they were each challenging, different and plenty of fun to master. Modern games like the DiRT franchise owe a lot to Sega Rally for how immersive it was.
1 NBA Jam
NBA Jam isn’t the most profitable arcade sports game of all time for no reason—it raked in over $2 billion worth of quarters. It pitted four players against each other through 2-on-2 teams, with each quarter lasting 3 minutes. The gameplay was amazing. But more than that, it had a legendary commentary: everyone who played the game cannot forget classic quips like “Boom-shaka-laka!” or “KABOOM!”
NBA Jam isn’t just one of the best arcade sports games ever; it’s also one of the best video games of all time, entertaining millions of players with its gameplay and timeless quips.