Slashdot Mirror
Videogames Make Traditional Super Bowl Predictions
Thanks to Reuters for its article discussing videogame-based predictions for this weekend's Super Bowl. The piece explains: "Days before the real football championship is contested, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has beaten the New England Patriots' wide-out Troy Brown 29-21 in a head-to-head video game matchup." The match was played on Sony's NFL GameDay 2004, and it's noted: "In the first eight years of the event, the winner of the electronic showdown went on to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy as the Super Bowl champion." Elsewhere, 1UP has done its own Super Bowl predictions on four different football videogames, and the final results also favor the Panthers.
Never thought I would see Troy Brown's name in a slashdot story....
GO PATS!!!
I suspect the video game companies have rated the patriots players a bit low what with the real life team being on a 14 game winning streak and all. I would guess that the reason the games have been fairly accurate predictors in the past is because they have done a good job capturing the varrying skill levels of the players, but for some reason the patriots I watch on TV seem vastly better then the patriots I control in Madden.
Since the Panthers are a new team, I can't have my yearly pre-game Tecmo Bowl face-off!
Yeah, you head me. Detroit Lions.
--The Last Lions Fan
El riesgo vive siempre!
The following few sentences on the NFL Gameday 2004 page are making my brain hurt:
At the end of the second half, the score is 7 - 6. The Panthers are not content to go into the locker room with the score so close. With less than 3 minutes left, they pull out some play calling that is so pass-friendly you'd think the Colts were on the field.
The end of the second half is the end of the game, and if it really means the end of the second quarter/first half, then why is there all of a sudden three minutes left and both teams score again to make it 14-9? For once I'm sure this isn't a product of my being half asleep, this actually MAKES NO SENSE. ARGH! For the love of god, 1up needs an editor.
So I read the article about the 4 different games they tested with. The problem is that the games really weren't reflective of the real life teams. For example, in two of the games the Panthers were a passing team. Then they somehow conclude the Panthers are a lock? I don't think so. Video games may try to predict football games, but I still trust the predictions from Vegas much more.
Gates' Law: Every 18 months, the speed of software halves.
Zelda the Windwalker will beat out Solid Snake, by a margin of six.
Rock is dead. Long live scissors and paper!
Games don't do well with the decision making aspect. The Patriots win their games at the D-line. Getting solid pressure on everyone while allowing their linebackers a more versitile role. Feeling the heat while trying to see downfield through the outstretched hands of a three man front with the sinking realization you can't account for McGuinest is hard to model. In actuallity probably no team is done right, but on balance every team but the one on the instruction book cover is probably done right enough. Don't worry, the Pats will be a pretty good team to play in 2k4 assuming they don't Bill-it-up. Also, crowd noise doesn't cause a lot of offensive procedural errors in the football games I've played, nore does intimidation by the opposing defense.
That's the great thing about the NFL. Any team can win on any given day. 14 wins is special, but it's not *just* superlative play. Look at the Cardnials, owners of the NFC North. Next year I'd like to see them play a monday night game in Greenbay so I can hear a mic'ed up Boudin proclaim "Where my bitches at?!" as he takes the field.
that as a lifelong and often suffering Seahawks fan, I have made it my mission to find the quirks of whatever football game I get so I can utterly dominate with them. Like racking up so many yards that I'm ranked last because they used signed shorts, the stingy bastards! No need to cheat really. All the games I've ever played had wierd quirks that are easily exploited.
Typically the cycle is go through the list of plays, find your money defensive and offensive plays, possibly designing new ones to enhance the flaws they expose. Practice them to a finely honed edge. Set the most reliable anti-blitz, and most likely to sack versions as audiables. Then go to town. Oh in the case of maddens' it's often helpful to practice against the all madden, or all time, or cheat teams once you've got the idea of what you'd like to do to get your skill up.
The Detroit Lions were my 'Dark-horse' pick this past year. Because when they were getting their asses handed to them the year before, they never were 'ok' with it. They had a lot of speed, but mostly a good attitude. So when I took my friend to the Seahawks game this year, I was like, well there's really no reason we should lose, but the Lions are one of those teams that could take advantage of the open door. Seahawks are kicking ass, skiping names. The crowd of course is cheering, and some people are acting like the game is in the bag. I turn to my buddy and go, the games far from over, Detroit's a deep threat on every down. Lions take their next offensive snap, nine seconds, endzone.
We out here, in Seattle, know you guys are better than your record. We're still happy to kick your ass, but when you're not playing our boys we want the best for you.
As a PATS fan, even I have to admit they just went from being a favorite to an underdog.
This damn video game event is a curse and a half. I used to not give a rats ass, but the winner clearly has a history of good luck in the superbowl.
It's just a repeat of our New England complaint "we don't get no respect".
If the primary way one ingame NFL team differs from another is uniform look and player stats, then Virtual Patriots are probably going to look a lot less good than they do in real life...a video game player as "coach" is no Bill Belichick, and its gotta be hard for a video game designer to model the cleverness that makes the Patriots a standout team.
And I'd wager, if the player models were set before this season, they still underestimate the Pats, given how many injuries they've had, and how many "second string" players have gotten the chance to prove their worth on the field.
SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
How many of these games would have predicted the Patriots would win 14 games in the regular season? Not a one. And if they can't do that, why trust them now?
Dead on - I asked about this prior to purchasing the game (I ended up getting GD2003 - which has the stats of the last Superbowl-winning Pats). It has the stats from the preseason and first couple games... when the Patriots were doing poorly. It doesn't include the stats from their later 14 game winning streak.
-T
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/blog/040129.htm l
Bill "Boston Sports Guy" Simmons did a nice commentary on the game from a gamers/sports addicts perspective.
You have to scroll down to the 12:45 update but its worth the read.
They might not be made by the same company, the graphics for Gameday are pretty damn close...
Why not start broadcasting the game....you could break to show the players reactions but mainly concentrate on the game. There are so many damn cable sports networks that play mostly filler anyway(I think ive seen the same billiards trick shot challenge like 5 times on espn2). Sponsorship for the even is obvious.
:).
Now to the personal stuff. Madden is so much better than gameday, and the New Orleans Saints will crush all next year
The / in
a coin was flipped eight times in a row today, and came up heads every time.
What are the odds?!?!?
These predictions are really pointless because they don't factor in the intangible aspects of a team. One of my friends is from New England so I've watched most of the games that the Patriots have played this season. This is a team that, most of the time, does just what they have to do to win. They've done shootouts (first game against the colts), they've done low scoring defensive bouts (Miami game in the snow) and everything in between. I haven't had the pleasure of watching the panthers so I don't know much about them, I just know that a video game can never capture the essence of a sport. Human will and determination goes a lot farther then you'd think.
Where was it that they had a computer deciding the best way to win?
Oh yeah, when a kid almost destroyed the world
Wouldn't you prefer a nice game of chess?
This (except for the commercial preceding it). Though I'm not sure what to say about it. A little long, a little hit and miss but at least it's not the same old same old.