Jason Leonard was in his pomp, Jonny Wilkinson was the young pretender and the PlayStation 2 had brought new levels of realism to gaming. Then again, in the late 90s, that was about right.Īh, the turn of the millennium. Of course, players soon learned that to get anywhere in the game, you had to avoid playing the All Blacks, as Jonah himself had seemingly superhuman powers. Bill Beaumont’s bizarre commentary was the icing on the cake. The passing system worked brilliantly, the graphics were fine by 1997 standards and most of all, it was just so much fun.
Released in 1997, this was the first serious attempt to bring rugby to console gaming, and for that reason alone, many look back on it with fondness. They won’t attract TV audiences, but they do serve as a great way to while away a rainy Saturday afternoon when there isn’t a game on in the real world. Having said that, there have been some memorable games across the years. Few would argue that right now, rugby is criminally under-represented in the video games world. In the online era, it seems punters are as enthusiastic about placing a bet on eSport as they are on backing their favourite teams in the real world.īut where does rugby stand in all this? There is no FIFA or NBA2K equivalent, with fans eagerly waiting for the new release, far less any serious talk of joining the eSports phenomenon. It attracted plenty of spectators, but even more notable was the amount of eSports betting that took place through online bookmakers. For example, this year’s inaugural eSports Premier League was broadcast on Sky. For the first time, virtual games are becoming as popular with spectators as they are with players. Football has FIFA, American football has John Madden and basketball has NBA 2K. That is particularly so in this new era of eSports. Having a virtual game has become as much a part of the overall experience as reading the latest team news or placing a crafty bet, and has come a long way over the past 30 years or so. What fan can having a go at a video game interpretation of his or her favourite sport.
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