Will there ever be a new volleyball game that is better than Beach Spikers?
Seeing cmfl3x actually play a sport game for the first time on his 360 made me think for myself as well, would I ever play a sport game? I mean, sure I’ll play sport games with friends and stuff if we’re just gathered around and want to play something multiplayer, but I’m talking serious gaming where I’d actually spend hours playing it by myself and obsess over it. Being a relatively serious volleyball player myself, I have to say that I would love if there was a good volleyball video game out. The list of volleyball games that have been released for as long as I can remember is quite pathetic. Let’s see what there has been so far.
Volleyball [NES] -1986
I was too young to be able to appreciate the sport back in the days of the NES, but strangely enough, this was a Nintendo developed game and it was an indoor 6v6 volleyball game!
Super Spike V’Ball [NES] – 1990
Super Spike V’Ball was another NES volleyball game, but eschewed the indoor 6v6 gameplay of Nintendo’s Volleyball for the 2on2 action on the beach.
Beach Spikers [Gamecube] – 2002
After the two volleyball games on the NES, we had to basically wait over 10 years before the next major console volleyball game would release. In 2002, Sega released Beach Spikers for Gamecube. Having played volleyball in high school and college, I finally had enough experience and love for the sport to really enjoy the game. Beach Spikers was the closest competitive volleyball game I got to play, and I still have fond memories of playing it.
Outlaw Volleyball [Xbox] – 2003
I do realize that people enjoy watching volleyball (especially beach) because of the ladies. I guess around this time is when video game developers also felt that maybe they could make volleyball games tailored to this same audience. “Let’s make a volleyball game that is sexy and raunchy so we tap into that market!” Thus, Outlaw Volleyball was born – a disappointing game for volleyball fans, but with over-the-top antics, fighting, and all sorts of other stuff that don’t even really have anything to do with the actual sport.
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball [Xbox] 2003
The same year that an American game studio released Outlaw Volleyball, a Japanese studio also released its own “volleyball game”. Being a fan of the Dead or Alive fighting games and the sport of volleyball, I thought this would be definitely something up my alley. What it ended up being was a glorified girlfriend simulator as you tried play volleyball with the other girls to raise your friendship meter so you could offer them swimsuits. Let’s just say that even though the title contained the word volleyball, the volleyball itself was not the focus of the game.
Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 [Xbox 360] – 2006
In Tecmo’s follow-up to Dead or Alive Xtreme Volleyball, the developer wisely decided to drop volleyball out of the title. While it was still an activity you could get the girls to play, there were all sorts of other new activities like jet ski and tug-o-war. I guess I can’t fault the game since it no longer has volleyball in its title, but I can be a bit annoyed that this is what the state of volleyball video games have become.
Is there a market for a real volleyball game?
Perhaps the reason why there’s no volleyball game out that focuses on the sport itself is simply because there aren’t enough fans of the sport. But doesn’t the AVP have a pretty sizeable following? Aren’t Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh America’s darling volleyball duo? They brought home the gold! And what about the amount of competitive volleyball that is played in college? Couldn’t there be some sort of AVP or NCAA volleyball game? If there were an NCAA volleyball game that was released annually, I’d buy it every year like the Madden junkies. Are you reading this, EA?
I haven’t seen any good volleyball games out for a long time, but my favorite was also for the NES and was called Kings of the Beach. It came out around the same time as Super-Spike V-Ball. You could play Kings of the Beach with 4 controllers which I think was also pretty new at the time, and I remember the game being a big hit at birthday parties. I guess my friends and I were only around 10 or 11 then, but we had lots of fun with it.
super spike v-ball all the way – tons of memories there… fights broke out for the turbo controller since it gave an unfair advantage in powering up your spike/block.
Forget about volleyball…what about DODGEBALL!?!?! At the very least, it should have been added to DOA Xtreme 2!
Yo wasn’t there like a River City Ransom Dodgeball game? That was awesome.
You really should try this,
(PS2) FIVB Volleyball World Cup: Venus Evolution.
If you are a real volleyball fan I am sure you will like it!
cool thanks for the recommendation Eliott! i never even heard of this game before you mentioned it. unfortunately, my ps3 isn’t backwards compatible and I no longer have a PS2 so it may be tough for me to get a chance to play it – but i’ll keep an eye out for it!