The representation of sport in video gaming has a complex history, beginning as far back as the early seventies. One of the very first playable games was, after all, a tennis title – Pong. Far from being part of the billion-dollar industry that it is today, though, Pong was a demonstration borne from the fact that tennis is arguably the most simple activity on earth when boiled down to its most basic elements.
Rugby 08
Of course, the same can be said of most sports. Getting a rugby ball from one end of the field to the other wouldn't be too difficult to replicate on the small screen if the creators dispense with most of the rules and opponents. However, video gaming consoles are now sophisticated machines that can produce almost photo-realistic environments. So, what's happened to rugby since Electronic Arts' Rugby 08?
The short answer is nothing. The longer one is rather more confusing. For starters, not one word has been said on the prospect of a AAA rugby game since 2011, when EA CEO Andrew Wilson revealed the company's distaste for the idea. That decision was based more on a perceived inability to make fans happy than a lack of interest in the sport, though. This was the early days of the era of the PlayStation 3, after all.
A Difficult Sell
The appetite for rugby games remains strong. While mobile creators have kept the dream of a new title alive with several zero-budget App Store entries, casino companies continue to release titles dedicated to various sports. The slot machine Rugby Star, from Micrograming, joins its Football Star experience as one of a handful of sports games available to play at online casinos. The former game is admittedly rare online but Football Star can be played at the 777 Casino.
Therein lies the unfortunate problem with rugby titles. Sites like 777 tend to focus on already-popular games, advertising things like free spins for Starburst, for example, one of the world's favourite slots titles, rather than anything unproven. Similarly, large video game companies like EA rarely take risks. As a sport that has been out of the gaming limelight for more than a decade, rugby is, therefore, a difficult sell to decision-makers.
Jonah Lomu Rugby
Worryingly, EA has dramatically streamlined its EA Sports arm since Wilson's comments, dropping tennis, cricket, baseball, NASCAR, and superbike since the turn of the millennium. UFC, F1, NBA, and NHL also either have no release dates or had their franchises turned over to another developer (NBA went to 2K, for instance). That leaves just two confirmed sports games on EA Sports' roster – FIFA and Madden.
So, from a hint of optimism in 2011, rugby's time as a video game now seems to be all but over. The fact that EA owns 1997's Jonah Lomu Rugby, due to its acquisition of Codemasters in 2020, does raise one final question mark, though. That particular game was technically much better than EA's own efforts. Could the company attempt a return to rugby now that it has a much more proven title under its belt?
