Hat tip (or is that trick?) to Quinn Schmidt, who is repping USA Lacrosse. A recent conversation with him veered into video game territory, where he dropped some knowledge (groundshaking to my kids) that a lacrosse game is not only in development but launched Friday for PlayStation and Xbox (additional hat tip to Mike Straw at Insider Gaming). Lacrosse 26 is from Crosse Studios, which has a legacy of making games for the sport for console and mobile platforms (its last big game was in 2018). This recalls a conversation I had with a former EA Sports bigwig who told me a couple of years ago — one of the biggest requests from players was for a lacrosse game. My kids (the oldest is a high school midfielder, while my youngest will be a freshman goalie next season) are going to find quite the surprise on our PlayStation when they get home from school Friday.
The video game industry is bracing for Grand Theft Auto VI’s launch. A few folks have been asking me if sports gaming should feel threatened. I don’t see GTA’s launch hurting sports gaming too much. It’s coming out Nov. 19, some weeks after the College Football, Madden NFL, NBA 2K, FC and NHL series launch. Could it carve into their sales tails? Maybe. But sports gamers are a loyal lot; even those who wait to buy the annual releases on discount still buy it. I’d be more concerned about GTA gobbling up playing time in November and December than sales.
The strong sales of the Switch 2 tell me two things: One, more sports gaming publishers should be releasing games on that console. Right now, it’s the one platform showing any real growth, especially with economic and industry headwinds making hardware development far more expensive than ever. And two, Nintendo should publish more of its Mario family of fun sports games. These come out in dribs and drabs. Also: Is it time for Mario to get a football game? I’d be considering this if I were Nintendo. (And an aside: We need more futuristic football takes, like the ol’ Cyberball series. Robots playing football — who wouldn’t love it?)
