Tag: sports
Score a Hole-In-One in EA Sports PGA Tour Early with EA Play, Plus Even More Rewards
Join IGN’s Pop-Up Party in Atlanta and Announcement of the “Best Sports Video Game Showdown” Winner
Join other sports gaming fans to celebrate the winner of IGN’s Best Sports Video Games Showdown, and Be All You Can Be in Atlanta, GA April 15th! You will also have the chance to play the Best Sports Video Games of All-Time, compete against a special celebrity guest, and win fabulous prizes like T-shirts, IGN water bottles, Xbox Controllers, Consoles, Speakers, IGN Gift Cards and more!
Attendees can also enter three different raffles for even bigger prizes:
- Grand Raffle Prize. Attendees who are at the event from start-to-finish will be eligible for the Grand Prize: a brand-new Xbox Series X and PS5! Make sure to register when you enter the premises.
- Scavenger Hunt Raffle. Attendees who complete the scavenger hunt will enter a raffle for the chance to win awesome prizes. Upon arrival you’ll be given a map. Explore the show floor and collect all the stamps, then redeem your entry into the raffle for a chance to win a set of SteelSeries Arena 7 Speakers, a Meta Quest 2, an Xbox Series S, or a brand-new Steam Deck!
- Stage Competition 1 v 1’s. Each hour, select attendees will be invited on stage to “Be All They Can Be” and compete against our special guest for their chance to win an Xbox Wireless Controller or IGN Store Gift Cards!
Lastly, for those of you just looking to have some laid-back fun and want to try out the games we’ve mentioned on our bracket, have no fear! With dozens of gaming stations spread out across the pop-up, you’ll be able to play to your heart’s content. Just like the bracket, they’ll be split up into four regions so you can follow whatever category you like the most (with a special emphasis on the games featured on-stage for those who want to warm up). There will even be some Oculus stations available for anyone curious about virtual reality! Regardless of whether you want to shred, dribble, or tackle your way through our featured library, there’s options for everyone!
Date: Saturday, April 15th
Time: 2pm- 7pm ET
Where: Skillshot Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
Parking Directions: City Center Parking
1 Magnolia LN NE, Atlanta, GA 30324
Please follow the signs to guide you to the main entrance.
Competition / Raffle Prizes:
- “Best Sports Game Video Games Showdown” Bucket Hat
- “Best Sports Video Games Showdown” T-Shirt
- “Best Sports Video Games Showdown” Water Bottle
- “Best Sports Video Games Showdown” Drawstring Bag
- PlayStation 5 Console
- Xbox Wireless Controller(s)
- Xbox Series S Console
- Xbox Series X Console
- 9. SteelSeries Arena 7 Speakers
- Meta Quest 2
- Steam Deck (64 GB)
- IGN Store Gift Cards
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How to Vote for the Best Sports Game of All Time and Win Prizes!
Sports gamers unite! It’s time to vote in IGN’s Best Sports Video Games Showdown Contest! We’ve created a seeded, elimination tournament featuring the 32 greatest sports video games of all-time across four ultra-competitive regions: Traditional Sports; Arcade Sports; Racing/Fighting; and Wildcard.
Fan Voting: March 29th 10am PT to April 13th 12am PT
Want a chance to win a $100 to the digital games store of your choice? Visit https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ between March 29th 10am PT – April 13th 12am PT and make your predictions on which sports video game will win each bracket matchup. Ten (10) people who enter will win a $100 gift card to the digital games store of their choice. Visit https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ for sweepstakes details.
Relevant Dates:
- Giveaway Entry Period: March 29th 10am PT – April 13th 12am PT
- Round 1 “Round of 32” Fan Voting: March 29th 10am PT to March 30th 10am PT
- Round 2 “Sweet 16” Fan Voting: March 31st 10am PT to April 1st 10am PT
- Round 3 “Elite 8” Fan Voting: April 5th 10am PT to April 6th 10am PT
- Round 4 “Final 4” Fan Voting: April 10th 10am PT to April 11th 10am PT
- Round 5 “Championship” Fan Voting: April 12th 10am PT to April 13th 10am PT
- Winner Revealed: April 15th at 11:59pm PT
Now onto the regions…
REGION 1: TRADITIONAL SPORTS GAME
Region 1 pits traditional sports titles against one another. These simulation-style games aim to replicate their real-life counterparts, and tend to target hardcore sports fans.
Madden 2005 (2004)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1988-Present
IGN Score: 9.5
IGN Review Blurb: “The defensive improvements alone are worth the price of admission.”
NFL 2K5 (2004)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1999-2004
IGN Score: 9.3
IGN Review Blurb: “This game rivals Madden in every way and surpasses it in feature set.”
FIFA Soccer 12 (2011)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1993-Present
IGN Score: 9.5
IGN Review Blurb: “Matches unfold with a more authentic tempo, taking it much closer to the real thing.”
PES 2016 (2015)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1995-Present (as eFootball)
IGN Score: 9.5
IGN Review Blurb: “I can’t remember ever being so consistently thrilled, surprised and delighted by a football game before.”
NBA 2K14 (2013)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1999-Present
IGN Score: 9.3
IGN Review Blurb: “A smooth-flowing piece of pro basketball simulation.”
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 (2003)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1990-2015
IGN Score: 9.1
IGN Review Blurb: “One of the best multiplayer titles around.”
MVP Baseball 2005 (2005)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1995-2002 (as Triple Play); 2003-2007
IGN Score: 9.2
IGN Review Blurb: “MVP 2005 delivers the best baseball experience on the market today.”
MLB The Show ’21 (2021)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2006-Present
IGN Score: 8.0
IGN Review Blurb: “The best baseball sim you can play on any platform.“
REGION 2: ARCADE SPORTS GAME
Region 2 is comprised of arcade-style games that tend to put a spin on real sports. They boast a pick-up-and-play style unlike their more traditional counterparts.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1993-2011
IGN Score: 6.5
IGN Review Blurb: “The action is fast paced and intense, and by keeping the court limited to four players, the ball moves around quite a bit. Perhaps the title’s best aspect is its simplicity in game design — just grab that ball and sink it!”
Golden Tee Golf (1989)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1989-Present
IGN Score: N/A
NHL ’94 (1993)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1991-Present
IGN Score: N/A
Tecmo Super Bowl (1991)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1987-2008
IGN Score: N/A
Mario Golf World Tour (2014)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1999-2021
IGN Score: 8.6
IGN Review Blurb: “Mario Golf strikes an excellent balance of risk and reward.”
Mario Tennis Aces (2018)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2000-2018
IGN Score: 7.5
IGN Review Blurb: “Colorful and dazzling to look at and smartly balanced in its back-and-forth play.”
NBA Street Vol. 2 (2003)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2001-2007
IGN Score: 9.4
IGN Review Blurb: “More dunks, more players, more moves, more music and a lot more street.”
NFL Blitz: The League II (2008)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2008-2012
IGN Score: 5.5
IGN Review Blurb: “The League II brings many of the same conventions as the first with Clash and Unleashed moves becoming available for positive yardage and good plays on defense.”
REGION 3: RACING/FIGHTING SPORTS GAME
Region 3 features racing and fighting games. These eight boast white-knuckle, high-octane action on the road or fierce fisticuffs in the ring.
Forza Horizon 5 (2021)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2012-2021
IGN Score: 10
IGN Review Blurb: “A deep and nuanced car nirvana for revheads and auto geeks.”
Forza Motorsport (2005)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2005-Present
IGN Score: 9.2
IGN Review Blurb: “Forza is a force to be reckoned with, out-maneuvering ‘GT4′ in several respects, and beating out everything else in the sim department.”
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1997-Present
IGN Score: 9.8
IGN Review Blurb: “The finest racing, the best cars and the highest-quality automotive audio-visual feast available on any gaming system anywhere.”
F1 2010 (2010)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2000-Present
IGN Score: 8.5
IGN Review Blurb: “As visceral a take on the art of threading 600bhp through less than half a tonnes’ worth of steel, carbon fiber and rubber as a console’s ever seen.”
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2010- Present
IGN Score: 9.0
IGN Review Blurb: “It completely embraces that spirit of adolescent madness and just runs with it.”
UFC Undisputed 3 (2012)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2009-2012
IGN Score: 9.0
IGN Review Blurb: “The sheer amount of new content in UFC Undisputed 3 is staggering.”
Punch-Out!! (2009)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1984-2009
IGN Score: 8.8
IGN Review Blurb: “Little Mac comes out of retirement to give Wii owners something that’s both familiar and fresh.”
Fight Night Round 4 (2009)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2004-2011
IGN Score: 8.8
IGN Review Blurb: “The champ has returned to reclaim the title.”
REGION 4: EXTREME SPORTS / WILDCARD GAME
Region 4 is loaded with games beyond simple categorization. It’s a high-adrenaline grab bag of extreme sports, management sims, and more.
Mario Kart 8 (2014)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1992-Present
IGN Score: 9.3
IGN Review Blurb: “The best kart racing game Nintendo has made in a long time.”
Wii Sports (2006)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2006-Present
IGN Score: 8.4
IGN Review Blurb: “It’s probably the most fun you and a bunch of friends are going to have around a console”
Rocket League (2015)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2015-Present
IGN Score: 8.0
IGN Review Blurb: “A rare example where the execution of a simple, absurd idea is so strong and so engaging that it doesn’t need a ton of extra features around it.”
Football Manager ’23 (2022)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2004-Present
IGN Score: N/A
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (2000)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1999-2020
IGN Score: 9.3
IGN Review Blurb: “One of the best games to ever grace this or any console.”
WWE No Mercy (2000)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 1999-2012
IGN Score: 9.0
IGN Review Blurb: “A terrific game from top to bottom.”
Skate 3 (2010)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2007-2010
IGN Score: 8.0
IGN Review Blurb: “Still the most impressive virtual representation of skateboarding around.”
SSX Tricky (2001)
Franchise’s Lifespan: 2000-2012
IGN Score: 9.0
IGN Review Blurb: “Tricky’s stylized distortion of reality for the sake of fun is what videogames are supposed to be about.”
Adverstisement by The U.S. ARMY
Apple News App Gains Sports Tab in First iOS 16.5 Beta
Apple has positioned the Sports tab in Apple News right in the middle of the bottom navigation bar, putting it between Today and News+ on the left, and Audio and Following on the right. To make room for the Sports tab, Apple has combined the Following and Search tabs into one tab rather than making them separate actions.
The Sports tab facilitates the picking of favorite teams for personalized news, a feature that was already available in the prior version of Apple News without a dedicated tab.
A tab specifically for sports content comes as Apple is aiming to lure sports enthusiasts to its ecosystem and Apple TV+. Apple has inked deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer for exclusive content, and sports content has been more deeply integrated with the iPhone through features like Live Activities for following games in real time from the iPhone Lock Screen.
This article, “Apple News App Gains Sports Tab in First iOS 16.5 Beta” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
MLB The Show’s celebration of Black baseball is the best thing in sports video games this year
The heroes of the great Black baseball leagues get their long-overdue moment in the sun
Want to Win $2,000 in Prizes? Join IGN’s Ultimate Sports Gaming Showdown Contest, Pick the Winners and Take Home Prizes
When it comes to debating the Greatest of All Time, no one’s more spirited than sports fans. And when it comes to naming the G.O.A.T. of sports video games you won’t find a more passionate, opinionated audience than sports gamers.
That’s why IGN partnered with the U.S. Army for the Best Sports Video Games Showdown that kicks off with an epic bracket featuring 32 sports video games divided into four ultra-competitive brackets.
Between March 24th and March 28th, we’ll invite IGN fans to select their guesses for each phase of the bracket with the hopes of correctly selecting the greatest sports video game.
The best part? You can walk away as the grand prize winner if you manage to correctly predict how the fan-voted bracket unfolds. Be All You Can Be and put your prediction skills to the test.
To make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to win big – keep reading for details on how to enter. And if you want to know why we chose the games featured in this bracket, tune into ign.com and youtube.com/ign to watch our bracket livestream on March 27th at 10:00am PT.
Sign Up for the Contest and Win Big
Be All You Can Be and visit the https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ between Friday, March 24th and Tuesday, March 28th, and submit your 30 predictions for the bracket. Then starting March 29th, we’ll kick off 5 rounds of fan voted polls across IGN platforms. Each poll will put the bracket matchups head-to-head, determining whether or not your submitted predictions are correct. You’ll score points for each game you guess correctly during each of the 5 rounds of the IGN fan vote. Check your scores on the leaderboard at https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/
One (1) contest winner will receive an Xbox Series X, a PS5, 32 sports game titles and a one-of-a-kind IGN champion’s jersey to strut around in while bragging about your victory. And if you miss out on the top prize, don’t fret! The top ten runners-up will receive a $100 gift card to the digital video game store of their choice.
FILL OUT YOUR BRACKET: Head to https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ between March 24th (at 12am PT) and March 28th (11:59pm PT) and follow these four easy steps:
- Click the “Submit Your Predictions” button.
- Make your predictions (you must make predictions across all 60 match-ups to qualify).
- Enter a username (which will be shared on bestsportsgame.ign.com’s public leaderboard), your full legal name, and a valid email address.
- Click “Submit Your Predictions” (note: predictions can’t be changed once submitted).
SCORING:
- Round 1: 16 possible correct answers worth 30 points each (480 points max)
- Round 2: 8 possible correct answers worth 60 points each (480 points max)
- Round 3: 4 possible correct answers worth 120 points each (480 points max)
- Round 4: 2 possible correct answers worth 240 points each (480 points max)
- Round 5: 1 possible correct answer worth 480 points (480 points max)
Tie Breaker: In the event of a tie, the user who most closely predicts the ratio of fan votes between the two final game titles will be declared the winner. In the event users make a guess that is equidistant from the actual percentage split, the user whose guess is under will qualify as the winner.
Secondary Tie Breaker: If multiple users are tied after the initial Tie Breaker, the winner will be determined by who was the first to submit their bracket selection on the IGN site.
Track Your Score: Contest entrants can track their score on the public leaderboard at bestsportsgame.ign.com. The bracket and public leaderboard will be updated approximately 24 hours after fan voting closes on each round of voting.
Relevant Contest Dates:
- Entry Period: March 24th 12am PT to March 28th 11:59pm PT
- Round 1 “Round of 32” Fan Voting: March 29th 10am PT to March 30th 10am PT
- Round 2 “Sweet 16” Fan Voting: March 31st 10am PT to April 1st 10am PT
- Round 3 “Elite 8” Fan Voting: April 5th 10am PT to April 6th 10am PT
- Round 4 “Final 4” Fan Voting: April 10th 10am PT to April 11th 10am PT
- Round 5 “Championship” Fan Voting: April 12th 10am PT to April 13th 10am PT
- Winner Revealed: April 15th at 11:59pm PT
- In the event a winner can not be verified by April 15th, the winner reveal will be delayed.
Remember, you can’t win if you don’t play! So head to https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ between March 24th (at 12am PT) and March 28th (11:59pm PT) to submit your 32 sports video game predictions!
How the Brackets Were Created
When it comes to picking the top 32 sports games of all time, there’s a treasure trove of titles to choose from, and the debate can get heated real fast. So we turned to an assortment of IGN staffers including our publisher, our Head of Features, and our Head of Social Media (to name a few), to select and seed the games competing for G.O.A.T. status.
We took into account critical consensus, IGN staff favorites, and a game or franchise’s overall popularity, dividing them into four talent-rich brackets: Traditional Sports, Arcade Sports, Racing/Fighting, and Wildcard.
To keep it balanced and varied, franchises can only have one representative — so each selection serves as the face of that series. So, if MVP Baseball 2005 makes the cut, it will represent the entire Triple Play/MVP series. Lastly, no mobile sports games are included in the bracket.
How to Watch IGN’s Best Sports Video Games Showdown Bracket Announcement Live Stream
If you’re fired up to watch the 32 game deliberations in our Best Sports Game of All Time livestream, join our hosts Alan Wheeler and Ben Watts on Monday, March 27th at 10:00 AM PST on IGN’s YouTube, Twitch, IGN.com, Twitter or Facebook. They’ll be joined by members of the U.S. Army esports Team who will discuss the brackets and which noteworthy sports games didn’t make the cut.
Remember, you can’t win if you don’t play! So Be All You Can Be and head to https://bestsportsgame.ign.com/ between Friday, March 24th and Tuesday, March 28th to submit your 32 picks/predictions.
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Actor Steven Krueger Relies on Sports to Stay Competitive in Hollywood
The best 4K TVs for movies, gamers, sports — and everyone else
Best deals on TVs this week
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65″ Samsung S95B Series 4K OLED HDR Smart TV (2022 Model)
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65″ Sony Bravia X80K Series 4K HDR Smart TV (2022 Model)
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$678.00(List Price $999.99)
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48″ LG C2 Evo OLED 4K HDR 120Hz Native TV (2022 Model)
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75″ Hisense U8H 4K Mini LED Quantum ULED TV (2022 Model)
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$1,399.99(List Price $1,499.99)
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65″ Amazon Omni Series 4K HDR Smart Fire TV
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$539.99(List Price $759.99)
4K TVs are more of a mainstay buy than a luxury purchase these days. They’re so much the norm, in fact, that it’s unlikely to find more than a few non-4K options in stock at any given store. If you’re looking to buy a 4K TV to catch up on all those Oscar nominees, you’re in the right place.
With more options than ever, it’s important to understand the features you will want to focus on in order to narrow down the best TVs for you.
Wait, I thought 4K TVs were super expensive
They used to be, but not anymore. The saturated 4K TV market that we now find ourselves in has led to a more palatable price range, with most brands focusing on their budget-friendly lines just as much as they are on premium ones. $1,000 is hardly an accurate marker for the level of affordability that 4K has reached — at this point, it’s easy to find a decent 4K TV under $500.
There is still some variation in price within the category, of course, depending on whether you’re outfitting a full-on home theater or just looking for an affordable mid-sized option for your apartment. Things like size and the TV’s lighting panel (LED versus QLED versus OLED) will be the biggest determining factors of a price point. If you’re lost on the lighting thing, we’re diving into the basics below.
What does 4K actually mean?
The term “4K” refers to the screen’s resolution: Televisions that support 4K will have a horizontal resolution of 4,096 pixels. Most retailers use the terms “4K” and “UHD” (ultra high definition) interchangeably, but UHD TVs are technically a little different — they generally have a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160.
The difference comes down to the terms’ separate origins. “4K” originated with the Digital Cinema Initiatives, which establishes content and spec requirements for major film studios, and was intended to describe films that would be screened in a theater. “UHD” originated as a term for consumer TVs. (If you’d like to learn more about the terms’ history, ExtremeTech has a very detailed explainer on the subject.)
If you simply want a good TV and aren’t about to get finicky over that difference, however, you’ll be fine with anything labeled “4K,” “UHD,” or “4K UHD.” Yes, “4K UHD” is technically an impossibility, but we imagine you’ll be too busy watching movies to get caught up in semantics.
What’s the difference between LED, QLED, and OLED?
The jargon around 4K TVs gets more confusing when you get to the LED, QLED, or OLED part of the title. These refer to the TV’s backlighting, which ultimately determines things like color saturation, the intensity of contrast, and whether the content is legible in both dark and bright rooms. Each of these displays is 4K compatible, so there’s nothing mutually exclusive about 4K and the LED categorization.
Read on for a super basic breakdown of a TV shopper’s most frequently-encountered terms:
Here’s what LED means
An “LED TV” is an LCD TV with LED (light-emitting diode) backlights, which illuminate the screen and help you see the picture. These TVs are extremely commonplace and the most affordable kind. Some LED TVs are better than others, mostly depending on whether they utilize full-array local dimming — a collection of zones that adjust independently across the entire screen — rather than less-powerful edge-lit dimming.
Mini LEDs, which are about half the size of regular LEDs, allow manufacturers to pack more LEDs into the same size panel, allowing for more local dimming zones and more precise tweaking of brightness in each area.
A quick QLED explainer
“QLED” is a twist on LED that was actually developed by Samsung to describe its own TVs. The “Q” stands for “quantum,” which refers to an extra layer of quantum dots in between the LED panel and the screen to accommodate a wider range of colors, enhance brightness, and make each hue juicier and more precise. (This doesn’t mean that Samsung’s TVs are the only ones that use this color-boosting technology. TCL makes QLEDs, and brands like Sony and Hisense use similar technology marketed under different names.)
Unpacking OLED
“OLED” is a completely different technology and the least likely to have a budget-friendly counterpart. Unlike LED and QLED, OLED doesn’t require an external backlight. Instead, they use organic light-emitting diodes, or pixels that emit their own light. These pixels are individually controlled by the TV itself based on the content and lighting of the room. OLED is known for dark blacks, stark contrast, and generally better picture quality, but often lose out to QLED on the brightness front. Because OLEDs are self-lit, the dimming conversation doesn’t apply to them.
I’ve heard of 8K, too. Is an 8K TV worth it?
For most people, no. Though 8K TVs have become more prevalent since they originally hit the market, they’re mostly as pointless in 2023 as they were in 2018. In most cases, that quadrupled resolution (over 30 million pixels compared to 4K’s eight million pixels) is overkill — there’s just not enough 8K content out there to make them worth the splurge at this time. They could be soon, but you definitely have time to upgrade to a nice 4K model before they cross into obsolete territory.
Here are our picks for the best 4K TVs:
Man Who Ran a Website that Illegally Streamed Major League Sports Gets 3 Years Behind Bars
A Minnesota man was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday for illegally streaming major league sports content to outside third parties. Joshua Streit, also known as Joshua Brody, was arrested in 2021 after an investigation found he had hacked into a Major League Baseball system and attempted to extort…