LUCA KEMPCKE: If you’re even a moderate gamer you have probably played a sports game before. Whether it be from tycoons like EA and 2K or a lesser-known brand. Video games are prevalent in the video game industry today. This is not simply a coincidence, however. There are multiple factors that go into these games. Whether it is the satisfaction of greening a three in NBA 2k or scoring an impossible touchdown off a hail mary in EA Madden 25. There is something so alluring about sports games.

LUCA KEMPCKE: Welcome back to The Game On Podcast! Today we are going to discuss…why are sports games so profitable?
I myself have also played sports games myself. I hopped into an NBA 2k25 blacktop game and played many hours of Myplayer. This is what I found…

LUCA KEMPCKE: MyPlayer is a grind. And a long one. However, the glacial pace of leveling up feels very rewarding. I decided to play for the Hornets as I wanted to quickly become a starter on the team and help them win a championship. Your player starts as a 60 overall. Far away from the max of 99. To level up you can either play NBA games for your team or do different quests to give you VC. You can spend this VC on attributes to level up your player or shoes from Nike or the other stores in the game. The atmosphere when you play your games is electric. You get to run out of the tunnel each game and have a minute to warm up. This small detail adds a lot to the overall experience as you feel immersed in the NBA action

LUCA KEMPCKE: Sophomore Zahir Hassan had this to say:

ZAHIR HASSAN: I think the microtransactions in sports video games are pretty worthless as its real money that your spending on video game money and I think that money can be put to much better use than video games

LUCA KEMPCKE: 2k has its flaws. One of the first things you notice is the microtransactions. Right away you are blasted full force with pages of microtransactions. When you open the game you are greeted with multiple pages of different limited-time offers or ads for new games. You can also buy VC with money, which means you can pay to win through your Myplayer experience fully.

LUCA KEMPCKE: Junior Bennett Sauer had this to say:

BENNETT SAUER: Microtransactions in games like Madden or 2k, I feel like they are more structured for kids who have their parent’s credit cards, and its more like a gamble more than anything. Thats just how I kind of see it.

LUCA KEMPCKE: These microtransactions are annoying but effective. Sports games rack up millions of dollars each year off their microtransactions and releasing new games each year. In 2023, EA grossed 350,000,000 dollars just off selling game copies of 2k23. There is a massive demand for titles from sports giants. Sports games are profitable not only because of the microtransactions. Selling a new copy each year to fans is an astronomically profitable system. As each year in sports new stars emerge, and everyone can’t wait to see their new favorite player’s ratings come out. This plys into the marketing as a game producer can create a new game each year to match what is happening in the real leagues. They can add all the new stars to the game and change the ratings of players based on their performances. This generates massive amounts of money which only heightens the amount of microtransactions and titles being released.

LUCA KEMPCKE: In conclusion, sports games are profitable because of the quantity of games they can release each year, which mimic the real-life leagues and give players a real sense of the game. The sports games bring lots of immersion and fun. You can feel like one of the best players in the world when playing the myplayer modes in any game. Microtransactions in sports games also generate tons of money. The pay-to-win nature of these games makes it almost irresistible to buy your way through the game, or just spend 10 dollars on in-game cosmetics.

LUCA KEMPCKE: Thank you for tuning into The Game On Podcast. If you would like to listen to the next episode: (The Fall of Fall Guys) visit The Rubicon website for more.