History of Sports Video Games

Lu Zhouxiang is an associate professor within the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland.

“From Tennis for Two to contemporary esports, Lu’s work provides a much needed contribution to sports video game research and the genre's vital, but oft-neglected, place in digital game history. His astonishingly comprehensive survey of sports video games across nearly eight decades will undoubtedly trigger fond memories of childhood for many readers. But more importantly, his book should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding how the sports game genre has developed and subsequently influenced the digital game industry.”Prof. Andrew Baerg, University of Houston-Victoria“Sports games have long been overlooked by game historians. A History of Sports Video Games takes a step towards addressing this omission by offering an introductory chronicle of their history, from games running on computers of the 1950s to the present. It provides a foundation for researchers and others interested in an accessible yet detailed overview of this topic.”Dr. Henry Lowood, Stanford University

• 1. Introduction 2. The Pioneers 3. The Post-Crash Era 4. The 1990s 5. The New Millennium