Behold! The WORST sports video games of all time! But it’s not precisely an ordered list of which games are technically the worst. It’s all about why they’re so damn bad. These are the sports video games that offended my sophisticated sports gaming sensibilities in the most upsetting, sickening, and stupefying ways. Buckle up and get your barf bag ready, my friend.
10. Triple Play 99
PlayStation 1
Released in 1998 by EA Sports
Three years into their 32-bit baseball series, EA Sports was still botching baseball in hideous fashion. This piece of crap looks like ass and it’s got the most awkward gameplay ever. Full review: Triple Play 99
9. NHL Powerplay ’96
PlayStation 1, Sega Saturn
Released in 1996 by Virgin Interactive
Do you like having seizures? Then this game is for you! You’ve never seen a video game that SHAKES as much as this one. Full review: NHL Powerplay ’96
8. NHL Stanley Cup
Super Nintendo
Released in 1993 by Nintendo
Wait, that last game didn’t give you a seizure? Don’t worry, this one will! Its nifty “Mode 7” technology attempts to create a 3D effect but instead wrecks havoc on the senses in this poorly engineered game. Full review: NHL Stanley Cup
7. NBA Jam Extreme
PlayStation 1, Sega Saturn
Released in 1996 by Acclaim
Everyone loved the original NBA Jam, released by Midway and Acclaim. This 32-bit version is released by Acclaim only, and from the looks of it, Acclaim really sucks. It’s bad enough this game has piss-poor presentation, messy control, and players who stop the game to dance, but it also has the longest loading screens ever and a BLIMP flying in front of the camera. Full review: NBA Jam Extreme
6. ESPN Baseball Tonight
Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
Released in 1994 by Sony Imagesoft
Want to see a routine ground ball hop over your shortstop’s head? How do you like fielding without actually seeing your fielders? Would you like to press more buttons just so your catcher can throw the ball back to the pitcher? Play this game! Full review: ESPN Baseball Tonight
5. Street Hoops
PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Released in 2002 by Activision
It’s almost insulting that a company released a game this bad in 2002. The makers of Tony Hawk apparently never watched a game of basketball in their lives. There’s nothing to this game. It feels like it was made in a single afternoon. There’s even a hard-to-see ball and uniforms that you can’t tell apart from each other. Full review: Street Hoops
4. NHL All-Star Hockey 95
Sega Genesis
Released in 1995 by Sega
This is the least intolerable game on this list, but it’s high up there for downright shame. It’s a total copycat of EA’s NHL series, so much so that I think Sega was trying to fool gamers into thinking it was the new EA game. The action is of course lightyears behind, totally awkward and frustrating. Full review: NHL All-Star Hockey 95
3. NHL All-Star Hockey
Sega Saturn
Released in 1995 by Sega
It was Sega’s first shot at hockey on their big bad Saturn console, and well, there’s not much of a “why” to this game being here. It’s just THAT bad. Full review: NHL All-Star Hockey
2. Mike Ditka Power Football
Sega Genesis
Released in 1991 by Ballistic
What if quarterbacks could freeze time? Wouldn’t that make their jobs so much easier? Think again. This sorry ass game proves that it actually makes their jobs impossible! It’s so hard to play offense in this game it’s like Ditka’s famed 85 Bears defensive squad is playing against itself. Full review: Mike Ditka Power Football
1. Super High Impact
Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo
Released in 1992 by Acclaim
You wanna talk about absolute JUNK? This game isn’t fun even for a second. The D-line sacks the QB on almost every play. The passing mechanics are the worst ever in a football game. The movement is all weird. It plays nothing like football. Oh, and how could I forget, it’s got the most cringeworthy attempts at “edginess” ever: low-rent gifs of players brawling, sound effects like “Momma’s boy!” and “You’re toast!”, and a random guy in a suit cackling at every hit. I’ve never been so quickly and thoroughly turned off by a video game. Full review: Super High Impact
Published September 30, 2017
Updated September 28, 2022