Managing people is a challenging skill. Managing our own lives is already a difficult task, and the day-by-day can sometimes be stressful. That's not to say it's all stress and whatnot cause despite the bad days, there are good days too, and they happen in equal measure.

Nowadays, video games have become so meta that simulating the management side of things can be a gamified experience. For fans of the genre, virtual stress can be a dopamine/endorphin-releasing experience. Paradoxical? But that’s a mystery we can solve in another article.

Let’s list down the best sports management simulation games released over the years. Popular franchises like the NBA 2K Series, FIFA Series, MBL, and many others inspire these management games. The only difference is that instead of controlling every minute action of the player, such as shooting or passing, you take on a more hands-off-the-ball approach. By hands-off, I mean making the crucial decisions that’ll make or break the team, drafting, scouting, player development overview, and contract negotiations.

The amount of text and graphs you have to sift through with these games is complicated and possibly overwhelming. But I think it’s a natural expansion of what a sports video game should be and how it should play. So, wear your best suit and tie and hustle and huddle with us as we take you to the rabbit hole of sports simulation games.

FOOTBALL MANAGER 

You may be familiar with football or soccer games like FIFA and PES. But some of you may have heard about Football Manager. It is striking and is considered one of the most in-depth sports management sim games of all time. 

The first game in the series was released in 1992 by Sports Interactive and published by Eidos under the name Championship Manager. After the developer’s fallout with Eidos in 2004, SEGA picked up Sports Interactive and released it under its new title, Football Manager. 

Since then, the series has become widely known and critically acclaimed.  Modern game iterations have many features: maintaining the budget and finances, developing infrastructure, taking up press conferences, indulging in transfer market activity, engaging in coaching sessions, experimenting with formations, scouting young talents, and signing potential superstars to secure your club’s future.

The number of decisions you make is varied, and to add realism, it uses real-life football metrics to measure activity. Real football clubs use the game to do scouting runs! If you’re a football/soccer fan, why don’t you give it a whirl? Who knows, it might even inspire you to get a Coaching license in the future! 

OUT OF THE PARK BASEBALL 

If football fans have Football Manager, baseball fans have their version called Out of the Park Baseball. Starting as a simple text-based game released in May 1999, it created a buzz among online gaming sites. It wasn’t until OOTP 3 that the game took off, and players started noticing. At this point, the developers were still in the indie gaming scene. By 2005, Sports Interactive purchased the franchise, but Markus Heinsohn, the lead developer, still directed the game. 

By 2007, Sports Interactive split from the franchise and gave the reins back to OOTP Developments. Since then, the game has been constantly praised as one of the best games on PC. A true testament to the staying power of simulation games such as this.

It has since moved on from its simple text-based gameplay and added modern features for better immersion such as officially licensed MLB rosters; better 3D graphics, an interactive and dynamic user interface, a recoded scouting system; a new fielding ratings development system; achievements; new trading AI; more realistic player creation among many other features. This game certainly knocks the ball out of the park!

TENNIS ELBOW MANAGER

So far, we’ve only discussed two popular ball games, and now we’re on to the third. Another critically acclaimed game due to its realism, Tennis Elbow Manager sets the bar high for most sports management sims games, let alone for Tennis sports. It currently has no other rival in its niche, making it the only available Tennis simulation game. But would you ask for anything more if your game is as polished and balanced as this? I certainly wouldn’t! Every iteration released since 1996 has continually improved over the previous games. 

Its latest iteration is Tennis Elbow Manager 2, which features a complete 3D match engine, improved AI with new player strategies, and more realistic behaviors. It even has a system to accurately measure player statistics such as fitness, power, and precision, to name a few.

You can tweak the level of realism in the game, such as turning “fatigue” on or off having the indicators of where the shots will impact the court displayed or not. There are different CPU levels (6 in total, from "beginner" to "incredible"), and choosing from Arcade, Simulation, Elite "Controls" affect gameplay. What makes this game unique from other sports sim games is the ability to take control of your players and play the actual 3D tournament matches. A new release is said to be in the works, and although there is no official announcement yet, we’re curious about what new features it brings to the table and hope it’s something smashing!

MOTORSPORT MANAGER RACING 

Enough about ball games! How about we pick up the speed with the next game on this list: Motorsport Manager Racing! This game puts you behind the wheel of a racing team manager as you create your own motorsports team, hire engineers to give you the best car performance, recruit new drivers, build new infrastructures, and the usual micromanagement of your finances.

Although initially released on mobile platforms only, it has since been released on Steam thanks to Sega taking on the publishing reins for Playsport Games. The PC version improves on the mobile version by adding a more in-depth gameplay experience and a massive improvement to graphical fidelity.

One of its features is a random events system that provides choices to the players, which either improves their relationship with a different team or compromises the player’s popularity with the current team. The random events system in place may also provide optional upgrade choices to the three research segments in the game but may increase cash costs. These research segments include manufacturing—which determines car reliability and tire wear, design—which generally affects all aspects of the car, and aerodynamics—which affects car downforce and acceleration. These random segments can trigger during or at the end of a racing season.

With that said, the exhilaration doesn’t just come from behind the wheel while zipping past other cars; sometimes, it's the satisfaction that you made all the right decisions during race day, allowing for a smooth team workflow, essentially grabbing a win for the whole team!

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING MANAGER™

We’re down to the last game on this list, and it certainly packs a punch! World Championship Boxing Manager™ may be an old simulation game, but its influence is evident across different gaming generations. It was initially released for the Commodore Amiga in 1990 and is one of the earliest boxing management simulation games.

For modern gamers looking to try this out, it is now on Steam if they want to get a hold of a classic retro game. Gamers may consider much of the gameplay elements to be clunky nowadays, but it still holds on its own and adds to that element of deep and immersive mechanics that’ll pull you in to play for hours and hours.

These features include designing boxers' training regimens to get their skills and physique in fighting shape and negotiating with managers and promoters to secure fights with top-rated fighters that provide good payouts. In addition to this, coaching boxers in each round will make sure they come out on top; and keep your boxers healthy and motivated to take the number one spot.

Most modern boxing simulation games released recently follow these formulae laid down by WCBM, attesting to the adage that “if it ain’t broken, there’s no need to fix it.” With almost two decades in its life, WCBM needs a proper sequel. Fortunately, for us fans of the genre, Mega Cat Studios, in collaboration with Ziggurat, is up to the task of bringing us the much-awaited sequel: World Championship Boxing Manager™ 2. 

The franchise's next iteration will be adding more features such as a story mode with branching narrative choices and multiple endings. If you're a skill buff, extensive skill trees and deep statistics will keep you occupied for hours. The features don’t end with more deadpan humor and goofiness, an improved user interface, and real-time cinematic fights. Recruit and grow your staff, such as physical therapists, trainers, cornermen, and secretaries, to help you in your efforts. That is just scratching the surface of what is to come, and by the time the game comes out, you’d want to channel that inner Rocky Balboa of yours and start shadow-boxing to the tune of Eye of the Tiger! In the meantime, add the game to your Steam wish list!

YOU MANAGE TO HAVE FUN!

That ends our list of some of the best sports management simulation games in the past few years. The sports sim genre is certainly not for everyone due to the steep learning curve and the amount of patience you need for the entire playthrough. But different strokes for different folks!

There’s undoubtedly fun injected into tycoon and management games, and if you think about it, everyone can use it to learn specific soft skills. Even real-life sports managers and aspiring ones are already using these games with actual scouting and drafting sessions. All these real-world applications show how much video games can be a force for knowledge and learning, and though some people may not agree, it’s not just pure fun and games.

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What’s the deal with fighting? Who in their right mind would subject themselves to a beatdown in front of a massive crowd for a living? As it turns out, quite a few people. People have probably been fighting since people existed, although not necessarily for entertainment. Now, violence is everywhere. You see it in movies and TV, hear about it in song lyrics, read about it in the news, and perform it yourself in games. People generally look down on the current culture of oversaturated violence. 

As a sport, however, fighting is seen differently. It’s not necessarily about the violence itself, but witnessing someone overcoming their opponent and themselves both mentally and physically. It is a matter of heart, not violence, and for many, that is where the beauty of the sport lies. That has been the case for a long time. The ancient Greeks used ox hides as gloves to spar each other. Romans did similar with strips of leather. After the fall of Rome, interest in bare-handed fighting waned slightly until its revival in England, known as prizefighting, although there were no official rules. Much further along in world history, President Theodore Roosevelt boxed quite often until he was blinded in one eye. All of this before video games were even conceptualized!

Boxing in Entertainment Media

The sport of boxing is particularly fascinating. It is a more recent development in the history of fighting but has been improved and refined since its inception. Compared to sports like MMA, which are sometimes unfairly viewed as crude and messy, boxing is considered more refined and strategic. As far as pop culture goes, Rocky is the first to come to mind when it comes to boxing movies, and for many sports movies in general.

The Rocky films have a very specific message of fighting being the great equalizer among humans. The first two movies pit Rocky against Apollo Creed, a rich and famous, yet likable, narcissist. He represents the upper class and those who have been handed everything they want on a silver platter. Rocky represents the underdog, the everyman with whom most of the audience will be able to sympathize. In the end, Rocky proves that not despite but as a result of his hardships, he can step into the ring as Apollo’s equal as long as he gives it all he’s got. 

Even now the franchise still rakes in cash with the wildly successful Creed movies, where Rocky trains Apollo’s son Adonis. While the story of Rocky was loosely inspired by a Muhammad Ali fight, the movie Cinderella Man is a biographical film about boxer James Braddock. Braddock starts the movie unemployed due to an injury, but slowly rises to fame through his hard work. Also biographical, Raging Bull explores the dark side of boxing, where Jake LaMotta’s inability to connect with those around him is a result of the violence he partakes in during matches. These franchises had a great impact on the general perception of boxing, making it seem honorable and noble. 

So how does that translate to the medium of video games? Well, to start with, the inherently competitive nature of boxing is key. Sports will always be great fodder for game concepts. There is built-in competition both for couch play or online, and when commonly played games such as football and soccer are adapted, players usually already know the rules, and therefore already know they’re interested in playing a game featuring those mechanics. You can use established celebrity athletes to advertise your game, recreate legendary matchups, the possibilities are endless. Boxing in particular is an excellent subgenre because of the high barrier that comes with real boxing. Anyone can pick up a basketball and play a pickup game in real life, but to give boxing a shot means putting yourself at risk for getting rocked way harder than you signed up for.

Early Attempts

The first attempt at a boxing game came in 1979 with the appropriately but lazily named Boxing Match. Its simple name matches its simple gameplay, however. On a two-dimensional plane, two blobs of color move back and forth throwing out the same jab over and over until one of them goes down.

This was a product of the limited technology at the time, but compared to other games of the time such as Space Invaders, its aging gameplay is forgivable. A few years later, in ‘83, Rocky Super Action Boxing was released following Rocky III which arrived the year prior. Rocky Super Action Boxing was a step in the right direction with improved character sprites and a whopping two different punch animations, a high and low punch.

The Golden Era of Boxing Games

Things would shortly be on the upswing for the boxing genre, as 1984 saw the release of Punch-Out!! in arcades in Japan and America. Punch-Out!! made a lot of changes to the formula that helped it immensely, making it not only more reminiscent of a real boxing match but also a great deal of fun for those who played on its release.

Instead of the side angle of the previous two games, it had an over-the shoulder-view that better placed the player into the action. The gameplay was far more in-depth, there were several attacks, blocks, dodges, and what was known as the K.O. Meter that filled up as the match went on to finish off opponents. The enemies were all far more emotive and exciting than the blobs of the past, each with a distinct personality. Their eyes would flash yellow before they attacked, forcing the player to react quickly to incoming danger. They would react to being punched in a cartoonishly charming fashion.

It wasn’t necessarily a recreation of the excitement that came with real boxing, but it was a great success nonetheless, winning several awards that year including Game of the Year by certain companies. The series would remain relevant for years, most recently fans of Super Smash Bro’s Ultimate will recognize that the Punch-Out!! protagonist, Little Mac, appears as a playable character, K.O. meter and all. This was the beginning of not only the Punch-Out!! franchise, but of serious interest in the subgenre.

The rest of the ’80s saw several more newcomers, as well as several sequels to Punch-Out!!, including a spin-off called Arm Wrestling just to throw a wrench in the already confusing franchise. There was also the notable release of World Champion Boxing Manager (WCBM) in 1990. While the other games were exclusively about taking control of a fighter and beating down opponents, WCBM chose to focus on the training aspect from the perspective of a manager. You get to decide how your boxers spend their time, when they train, and watch as your athletes gain strength, stamina, and speed. It was an interesting and creative departure from the existing market that called for a strategic approach instead of the timed button presses of its competitors.

Interestingly, as the new millennium arrived and 3D models became commonplace, the more realistic appearance of these games simultaneously improved the possibilities for player input but also reduced the fun aesthetic of older games. The rough models started to lose the charm of the last few decades and tread slowly towards the uncanny valley of too-realistic graphics. The Wii Sports boxing game revived some of that which was lost.  The simple Miis which were customized by the user, utilized motion controls for throwing punches, blocking, and dodging. The most recent Punch-Out!! entry also came on the Wii, featuring more cartoon-inspired graphics and fun characters to avoid the stagnation in other boxing franchises.

Modern Boxing Games

As the ’00s ended and the ‘10s began, the output of boxing games slowed down. The only notable release came in 2011 when we got Fight Night Champion with a mediocre appraisal on Metacritic. More recently, we have seen a shift to Virtual Reality, Creed: Rise to Glory being the most notable. Virtual Reality might have been the last step necessary to fully immerse players in the sport without actually putting them in danger (Unless you consider punching a spectator while blinded by the VR headset danger).

Boxing’s relationship to video games is long, confusing, and oftentimes straight-up weird, but we’ve now arrived at the advent of something potentially great with the new opportunities that come with Virtual Reality for further immersion. It is even possible that games become the new home of the sport instead of TV. 

Saved by the Bell

For those who are more interested in the strategy behind training for boxing and want to create your montage straight out of a Rocky movie or those who just want a break from the constant action of modern gaming, there are still options. The upcoming World Champion Boxing Manager 2 may scratch that itch for you by reviving what worked from the original and making plenty of additions and improvements to bring it up to modern standards. Not to mention, a closed beta has just been recently announced until March 30th, 2022! Head on to the Ziggurat page and sign up for their newsletter to reserve a spot! 

Bottom line? There’s never been a better time to get into the genre, as you’ve got a catalog of classics to get through and a lot of potential in the coming years, so tape up your gloves and step into the ring!

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