A Sports Game Fantasy by Jared Robertshaw

Source article: ‘‘Shouldn't the most popular fantasy game in the world have an IGN page?’ by Abe Stein on Kill Screen Oct. 17, 2012.

Millions of North Americans identify as gamers. Millions more play everyday and do not even realize it. Fantasy sports have an estimated “32 million active users in the United States and Canada alone.” Many of these people are avid gamers: spending hours a day managing their fantasy sports teams. The time is right for the video game industry to exploit this potential market.

In the United Kingdom sports management simulation games are very popular. Sega’s ‘Football Manager 2012’ has sold over a million copies and boasts an impressive aggregate Metacritic score of 84. At its heart ‘Football Manager’ is nothing more than a fantasy sports simulator. You play no actual football; instead the heart of the game is made up of buying and selling players and managing your stadium to maximize profits for your team.

This is much the same as what users do on fantasy sports websites like Sports.Yahoo.com/Fantasy.  Users will create avatars, draft and trade players, manage salary caps and attempt to deal with suspended and injured players. All of this is done through and interactive user interface that anyone experienced in perusing videogames many menus would be instantly comfortable with. Many fantasy sports websites are monetized as well offering users better experiences for a nominal fee.

Now it is time for the games industry to start getting in on some of that money. Playstation already offers NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB.tv and NHL Centre Ice packages so owners can watch professional sports right on their home console. Fantasy sports could be integrated into these experiences. Live fantasy sports updates made available on screen while you are watching the game much the same as notifications appear during videogames.  If a partnership with Yahoo or ESPN fantasy sports could be made whoever chooses to develop this would have a market of millions on day one.

Avid fantasy sports users currently have to keep one eye on their TV and the other on the computer screen. Integrating these two into a customizable television interface could revolutionize fantasy sports. Friends could chat and trash talk over Xbox live while watching the game no matter how far apart they live. When the game is over people can access their fantasy teams on their television, which means their console is on longer and more likely for them to think about purchasing or playing other games.

The games industry needs to start expanding its horizons. Fantasy sports have millions of people ready to play. It’s just a matter of who is going to draft them first.