Electronic sports game | Definition, History, & Notable Games

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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/William-L-Hosch/6481" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">William L. Hosch</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">William L. Hosch was an editor at Encyclopædia Britannica.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> William L. Hosch</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-17T00:00:00CDT" >Oct 17, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/electronic-sports-game/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/electronic-game" topicid="183800">electronic game</a></dd> <dd><a href="/sports/esports" topicid="2133496">esports</a></dd> <dd><a href="/technology/arcade-game" topicid="1369617">arcade game</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/electronic-sports-game"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref1023670"></span>electronic sports game</strong>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/electronic-game" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">electronic game</a> <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="genre" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre" data-type="MW">genre</a> that simulates a real or imagined sport. The first commercial electronic sports game, as well as the first commercially successful arcade game, was <em><span id="ref1080969"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pong" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pong</a></em> (1972). Produced by the American company <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/Atari-console" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Atari Inc.</a>, <em>Pong</em> was a simulation of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/table-tennis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">table tennis</a> (Ping-Pong).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Since its founding in 1982, the American company <span id="ref1080970"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Electronic-Arts-Inc" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Electronic Arts</a>, and in particular EA Sports, has been the premier developer of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/esports" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">electronic sports</a> games for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/personal-computer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">personal computers</a> and video game consoles. Among its marquee sports titles were <em>John Madden Football</em>/<em>Madden NFL</em> (1988– ), <em>PGA Tour</em>/<em>Tiger Woods PGA Tour</em>/<em>Rory McIlroy PGA Tour</em> (1990– ), <em>NHL</em> (1991– ), <em>FIFA</em> (1993– ), <em>Bill Walsh College Football</em>/<em>NCAA Football</em> (1993–2013), <em>NBA Live</em> (1994– ), and <em>Triple Play</em>/<em>MVP Baseball</em> (1996–2007). EA Sports maintains its market dominance through annual sequels that typically include actual player names and likenesses, often licensed on an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="exclusive" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exclusive" data-type="MW">exclusive</a> basis, and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="incremental" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incremental" data-type="MW">incremental</a> improvements in <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="fidelity" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fidelity" data-type="MW">fidelity</a> to realism, which has extended to using videos of the players to model their game movements.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Nintendo Company’s <span id="ref1080971"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nintendo-Wii" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wii</a> (2006) home video console, with its motion-sensitive controllers, enabled a new way of playing electronic sports games. In particular, the launch title <span id="ref1080972"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wii-Sports" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Wii Sports</em></a> (2006), which included <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/baseball" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">baseball</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/bowling" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">bowling</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/boxing" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">boxing</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/golf" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">golf</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/sports/tennis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tennis</a>, appealed to a much wider <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="demographic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demographic" data-type="MW">demographic</a> than any previous electronic game and soon created something of a fad for <em>Wii Sports</em> parties at which family and friends competed against one another.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/William-L-Hosch/6481">William L. Hosch</a></span> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":1515300,"pageLength":232,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Electronic sports game | Definition, History, & Notable Games | Britannica