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[cormack12]

I used to love Top Spin 2



Top Spin 4 was the height of the series for me



Now it seems there are only two choices AO or TWT both of which have pros and cons. Is this like a PGR2 situation where the heyday has come and gone - my nostalgia too attached to Top Spin? Even R* were making mini games years ago in GTA V



And then there is always SMT or ET




IS this an audience thing? Just not enough people want a dedicated tennis game these days?

 

[12Goblins]

Virtua Tennis fan myself ^^

 

[anthraticus]

I like Hot Shots because it doesn't feel so automated and you actually have to line up and time the shots on your own without the cpu 'guiding' you to balls for the sake of LOOKS and trying to appear like real tennis.

Problem is....it's not fun and it doesn't feel good and that's kinda the point of playing games. If I want something that looks just like the real thing....I'll just watch the real thing.

Not that I wouldn't love to play something that looks realistic and also plays amazing, but they obviously still appear to be a ways off from that.

 

[brian0057]

Tennis peaked with Wii Sports.
FACT.

 

[regawdless]

Top Spin 4 is still my favorite. Even had it on PS Vita to play it on the go.

Am close to buying it for PC, but it's only available as a physical copy. And I'm not about that life anymore.

 

[Samrf89]

Mario tennis is like crack.

 

[Joho79]

Played the shit out of top spin 2 with my brother. It was awesom!

 

[EverydayBeast]

Wii sports simplicity made a lot of people happy plus you still get a workout.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Really enjoyed Virtua Tennis 4, wish Sega would come back.

 

[cireza]

Virtua Tennis 3 is the one I spent the most time with. What an awesome game.

Also there was a Prince of Tennis game on PS2 that was fantastic, if an absolutely merciless AI. So much fun with this game.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

The Top Spin games on Xbox were great.

 

[Rbk_3]

I played Mario Tennis on the 64 and a couple of the top spin games on original Xbox but haven't played one in many years.

Oh, and Rockstar Table Tennis.

 

[regawdless]

We need Top Spin 5. Modern skin and material shaders, clothes physics, raytraced GI and shadows.

Sadly, won't happen.

 

[SEGA_2012]

I miss Virtua Tennis

 

[Alright]

Tennis peaked with Virtua Tennis on the DC.

What's that? I'm so good that I can beat you just using the VM?

 

[Ikutachi]

Pro Tennis: World Court on the Turbografx. It comes with Quest mode, playing like an RPG but random encounters are tennis matches. It plays well.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Oh I thought the thread title was a legitimate question. This is secretly another nostalgia thread though. In that case here was one of my favorites of the past:

 

[tillbot8]

Virtua tennis 3 for fun and Top Spin 4 for realism was my games on the PS3, they were great. Had no interest in what was offered this gen. Seen some vids, watched some reviews and they all seem crap. If one pops up for a 90% discount, like a couple of bucks I mite bite

 

[tillbot8]

Oh I thought the thread title was a legitimate question. This is secretly another nostalgia thread though. In that case here was one of my favorites of the past:

4 player tennis for the NES was awesome, seems very few peole have heard of it. Think it was called Ivan Lendl tennis in the US. It really was just pong with a few bells and whistles. Such a simple concept that I would enjoy playing more now then many graphical powerhouses lol

 

[Dr.D00p]

I don't get sports games.

Unless you're physically disabled and can't, in which case, fair enough, then just go outdoors and play the real thing...Assuming you have any friends to return the ball, of course, which can never be taken for granted amongst the gaming crowd.

 

[Fredrik]

I would love a Top Spin 4 remake! Best tennis game I’ve ever played. Add a detailed character creation editor like in Black Desert or something like that and I would never stop playing it.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

I don't get sports games.

Unless you're physically disabled and can't, in which case, fair enough, then just go outdoors and play the real thing...Assuming you have any friends to return the ball, of course, which can never be taken for granted amongst the gaming crowd.

I can't do super shots and I don't have a super meter in real life. I can't remove my snowboard in midair and do a 1080 no look spin then attach the snowboard back to my feet before hitting the ground. I can't jump 50 feet in the air, do a ton of tricks, slam the ball down while it sets ablaze and someone says "He's on fire!". I can't do a homing Omega beam kick from across the soccer field while the ball knocks everyone over and it hits the goal exploding into fireworks. I can't morph myself into a giant pink ball in order to launch myself around a polygonal golf course with enemies and deadly obstacles in order to get a hole in one. And lastly, I'm not Tony Hawk.

 

[synchronicity]

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Huge Tennis fan myself (and yes....all the Mario tennis games are ace) but it seems the sport has lost quite a bit of it popularity in the last 5 years or so. None of the players seem to have great personality on or off the court. I was a frequent US Open attendee but the past few years I just have not bothered (not counting 2020 since everything was closed) and don't even watch many of the other opens when they are happening.

Just me?!?

 

[anthraticus]

I don't get sports games.

Unless you're physically disabled and can't, in which case, fair enough, then just go outdoors and play the real thing...Assuming you have any friends to return the ball, of course, which can never be taken for granted amongst the gaming crowd.

Apples & oranges.

I never got posts like this. And this coming from someone who grew up playing and been around sports their whole life.

 

[tillbot8]

Huge Tennis fan myself (and yes....all the Mario tennis games are ace) but it seems the sport has lost quite a bit of it popularity in the last 5 years or so. None of the players seem to have great personality on or off the court. I was a frequent US Open attendee but the past few years I just have not bothered (not counting 2020 since everything was closed) and don't even watch many of the other opens when they are happening.

Just me?!?

Federer to tennis is like Woods to golf. Regardless how they are performing, but if they are not there (injury, age etc) the casuals are just not interested!

 

[NickFire]

If you aren't focused on a sim you cannot go wrong with Mario Tennis.

 

[kiryani]

Virtua Tennis was the don.

Tennis world tour is ok, AO Tennis 2 is hot balls.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Federer to tennis is like Woods to golf. Regardless how they are performing, but if they are not there (injury, age etc) the casuals are just not interested!

Federer, while a great player, was never someone I favored when they played.
Sampras had a very aloof nature about him as well but I felt he was far more approachable off the court.
Many people say Federer is just a shy person and that's why he was so rough around the edges but after meeting them....nah, just extremely arrogant (and might be deservedly so depending on your opinion).

IMO even the presentation of the sport has declined over recent years. Commentators lack deep knowledge (or....lack the ability to convey that knowledge) of the game and present very poor perspectives of the action taking place on the court.
Hopefully we will get some fresh new folks coming out of this lock down and they will spark some renewed interest (at least from me).

In the mean time there is always Racket Attack...

 

[FoundryMusic]

I don't get sports games.

Unless you're physically disabled and can't, in which case, fair enough, then just go outdoors and play the real thing...Assuming you have any friends to return the ball, of course, which can never be taken for granted amongst the gaming crowd.

I don't get listening to music. Why not just write your own songs and sing them to yourself?

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Smash Tennis on Super Nintendo. Awesome

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

Once, back in the DOS days, I played a tennis game that was quite alright.

It had these stringy characters, and you could play world league or something. You had to work your way up to become champ.
Can't find it though, all dos tennis games I can find do not ring a bell.

 

[sainraja]

You can buy AO Tennis and Tennis World Tour for both the PS/Xbox systems.

 

[StormCell]

I used to love Top Spin 2



Top Spin 4 was the height of the series for me



Now it seems there are only two choices AO or TWT both of which have pros and cons. Is this like a PGR2 situation where the heyday has come and gone - my nostalgia too attached to Top Spin? Even R* were making mini games years ago in GTA V



And then there is always SMT or ET




IS this an audience thing? Just not enough people want a dedicated tennis game these days?

Nah, this has been the industry trend. You get one or, maybe, two options for your sport, and that's it. There's no longer enough money in the market, I guess, for several publishers to invest in making these games. It's sad. The market has hit some sort of saturation point where the cost of creating a game is just too great. I, too, miss the days when there were a half dozen options for each sport and always lots of cool ideas and such.