One of my favorite genres of past generations was the Sports Game.  I still remember playing NHL '94 on my buddy's Genesis, or racking up insane stat totals during a season of Tecmo Super Bowl for NES.  But since the portrayal of these games have inched ever closer to their real-life counterparts, I've found myself less interested.  Recently I've wondered why I hadn't bought a new Madden since 2002.  Or why the only basketball game that's piqued my interest is the upcoming revival of NBA Jam.

The added processing power of recent consoles has changed sports games for the worse.  All games now feature the same photo-realistic look, trying to mirror actual broadcasts.

Compare it to the past, when less powerful hardware couldn't yet attempt a realistic aesthetic.  Because of this, developers chose a particular art style since a) they had to, given the lack of polygons, and b) to differentiate their game from others in the arena.  The consequence of such necessary decisions? Each game featured a distinctive feel and tone.  I argue that today's sports games are boring in comparison, if only because they succeed too much at mimicing the real thing.

What follows is a quick look at three earlier generations of baseball games, with a representative title from each opposing system.  We see a marked difference between the two and can imagine a receptive audience for each.   What we don't see are images that could be mistaken for something shown on ESPN.  But maybe that's okay.

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Reggie Jackson Baseball (Sega) - Master System

Detailed batter models with stubby players in field used to fake realistic depth-of-field.

Bases Loaded (Jaleco) - NES

Clean, crisp sprites with a unique Pitcher-to-Batter perspective.

Ken Griffey Jr. Presents: Major League Baseball (Nintendo) - SNES

A cartoony, simplified game of ball, with a catchy rock soundtrack and humorous player animations.

World Series Baseball (Sega) - Genesis 

A first step towards realism, but still stylized. The "in-the batter's-box" perspective puts you in a position no TV broadcast can accomplish.                  

Triple Play 2001 (EA) - PSX

Brighter, more colorful, faster-moving.  Transparent shadow and slight-overhead view of batter.

All-Star Baseball 2000 (Acclaim/Iguana) - N64

Fluid animation, a more digitized, motion-captured look.  Opaque shadows, with camera placed lower behind batter. 

Fans of each of the above games could probably recognize them by the screenshot alone.  Even though the gameplay itself, especially in a sports game, is more integral to the experience than the graphics, there's no denying the intrinsic charms of a game that feels and looks like none other.

Compare this to the screenshots for two present-day baseball titles.  Both are beautiful, rendered to near-perfection. And perhaps this is nostalgia speaking.  But I yearn for the days when each sports game had a style all its own.

MLB The Show vs. MLB 2k10

Can you tell the difference?

Sound off below:  Share a memory of a past favorite sports title, or tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about.