Sports games have always been an extremely large portion of the multi-billion dollar console gaming market, with all of the major team sports (and some of the insignificant ones) heavily represented in the market. Yet several years ago it already became clear that the number of individual titles within the sporting market would eventually become unsustainable. Was there any real reason for three or more titles to be updated every single year for every major professional sporting league in existence?

PlayStation’s in-house sports game development arm, 989 Sports, is the first to pare down its offerings, despite the financial might of Sony at its behest. 989 is focusing only on hockey (“Gretzky NHL 2005”), baseball (“MLB 2005”), football (“NFL GameDay 2005”) and soccer (“World Tour Soccer 2005”) this product year, leaving the door wide open for third-party developers to pick up the slack left in 989’s wake.

Much of said slack is aptly picked-up by EA Sports, now standing alone as the undisputed leader in professional sports gaming. And the 2005 iterations of EA’s top sports titles are expectedly top notch, with both of “Rugby 2005” and “MVP Baseball 2005” proving to be some of the best video game experiences this year. It stands to reason that both titles are far-and-away the top selling releases in their respective sport in question.

Moreover, each of the new releases, “Fight Night: Round 2” and “NBA Street Vol. 3,” have been “Live Online Enabled” on both PS2 and XBOX. In particular, opening the popular “NBA Street” franchise to the world via the World Wide Web is a vaunted achievement for EA, as there are veritably legions of basketball fans throughout the continent chomping at the bit to get a dose of hoops action in the thick of the b-ball playoffs in 2005.

Once again, EA Sports sets the standards for sporting video games, and now opens them to multi-player campaigns with the networking capabilities of the current generation of consoles. With the consolidation of sports games sans former heavyweights like 989 Sports, EA stands to dominate the market for many years to come. Fortunately for us, they just so happen to create cutting-edge enjoyable product!

EA Sports Fight Night Round 2

Unleash the most fearsome punches in video game history with EA SPORTS Fight Night 2005. You now have total control of your boxer with 360 degree Sticking and Moving and the ability to punch and block while dancing around the ring. For the first time, a single Haymaker can crumble your opponent to the canvas like he was hit by a wrecking ball, but miss and you're in trouble. Every devastating punch inflicts massive punishment and reduces a fighter's ability to defend himself - swollen eyes impair vision and broken ribs reduce mobility. During each fight use the all-new Cut Man between rounds to minimize the damage because nagging injuries persist from fight to fight and haunt you throughout your career. Graphically, Fight Night Round 2 offers stunning visuals. Watch the sweat drip and muscles flex on the most realistic boxer models ever created. With the Create A Champ mode, create and train the ultimate champion by transforming his skills and physique. Finally, take your game online with Xbox Live and prove your skills by going head-to-head against other boxers in the ultimate destination for online gaming. Manage your boxer inside and out of the ring and pave your path to glory with EA SPORTS Fight Night 2005.