The Real Reason NFL Blitz Could Not Survive

Sports games like Madden and 2K have been some of the most popular console games in history. But as the years go on, the innovation behind these sports video games have slowed to a crawl. New versions are nothing more than roster updates, and a few graphic tweaks. What happened to the days of arcade style games like NFL Blitz or NBA Jam? NFL Blitz set a high bar along side NBA Jam for cartoonish depictions of Sports Games. Will we ever see the likes of NFL Blitz again?

#nflblitz #nbajam #nerdstalgic

Written by Ash Mitrano
Edited by Nick Murphy

[Bigmonh]

For me sports games stopped being fun when they became riddled with micro transactions and pay to win mechanics

[zachconlin]

The biggest problem to me, which was outlined in the video, is that EA and 2K have monopolies on the marketplace, and therefore have no reason to push the boundaries aside from yearly roster and graphic updates

[bambammartin]

Games like this and NFL street were staples of get togethers as a kid

[jacobjeb]

i remember playing blitz with my older brothers on the n64 and it never mattered who was winning cause the game was just so hilarious

[ThatFanBoyGuy]

I never owned Madden 64 because I had NFL Blitz on my Nintendo 64, and I enjoyed it a whole lot better than any Madden game ever

[saywhat]

There should actually be a “monopoly” rule where you can not sell an exclusive license or must sell 2 of them to force competition in the marketplace especially in light of sports being all about competition.

[benjammin]

Still remember trying to always unlock the big head cheat prior to a match starting.

[chucklos]

Hate these ultra realistic looking games. I love the graphics and how goofy and fun NFL Blitz was. These are video games meant to be fun.

[James_Dawg]

I never understood why Blitz was so looked down upon. It was the only American Football game I liked, and one of the few sports games I liked as well in general. It was the wacky fun I looked for in a video game, and it looked to me as though there were several other directions the wacky sports game could be taken.

[ShMeatWad]

I miss MLB Slugfest. Loved sliding into home and kicking the catchers legs out

[tux]

Midway needs to remake NFL Blitz, MLB Slugfest, NHL hits, and NBA jam. Sell it as a collection! All four games in one game

[bonesjackson]

Fun sports games died with exclusivity and when Midway died. Nobody did or has done fun sports games that maintained good gameplay like Midway. It'd be great if someone could pick up that torch. Heck, fun games are few and far between period.

[EduFirenze]

Wow, NFL executives were out of touch as far as 97

[Russellm]

Loving seeing the actual motion capture to moves that are an engrained part of my childhood

[PatYolo]

Ah, blitz the league was the only football game I liked growing up, me and my sister just kept trying to injure each other. I won't forget that one tackle that came at me so hard that it ruptured my player's balls(pretty sure that was the second game).

[harveyplissken]

With the second XFL revival supposedly coming out this year, it'd be cool to see the NFL Blitz team back to develop a fun, goofy arcade-type game with the XFL license attached.

[TheDrizzle]

NFL Blitz, then NFL Street, and NFL Street 2. Then it was all dark age from there.

[wizardoferror]

This video just goes to show how when it comes to making sports games, all the leagues care about are realism, advertisers, and money. No fun is allowed. Makes me sick.

[GIJosep]

I miss NFL Blitz. Think I was the only one of my friends that truly preferred it over Madden and Quarterback Club. Didn't know the original creator was a Detroit Lions fan! That's awesome.

[adrianmartinez]

Man sure I miss cartoony/arcady sports game like these that they weren't afraid to make it fun for everyone. Don't get me wrong I understand there's a huge crowd for realistic sports games and cartoony sports games can be a turn off for this crowd however these games are perfect for people like me, people who doesn't like sports games at all but had fun with these titles and not to mention there's a chances to make people like me interested in the sport. I don't like your EA NFL NBA2k games but sure as hell I enjoyed NFL Blitz and NBA Hangtime (Special shout-out to Football Mutant League).