EA Sports’ Dave Littman – producer on NHL at EA Canada – has told us that “The average EA SPORTS gamer spends 200 to 300 hours playing their favourite sports game each year”. That figure is a combination of both online and offline play. And is for just one game.
Sounds absolutely bonkers, I know, but as someone who probably sinks 50-100 hours or so into FIFA each year (amidst having to play pretty much everything else as well), it also sounds entirely plausible. It might be a stretch saying the “average” gamer spends that long, but with many sports games fans picking up one game and one game only (they’re a Madden guy, or an NBA guy, etc), then playing that game for nearly 12 months, there’d still be a sizeable number of people out there racking up hundreds of hours on a single game.
David
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 5:46 PMI played nearly 400 hours of Fifa 06 during its release year (and the year after since I skipped 07). I roughly worked it out since my ‘recorded stats’ (which often missed games in which i didnt save afterwards) listed me as having completed 12-1300 matches on 7 minutes halves, which works out to be at least 300 and something hours of Fifa. Though at the time I had pleeeenty of spare time…
APK
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 5:51 PMI commit 200+ hrs on a single game, but not on freaking sport games..
Michael Pannunzio
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 5:55 PMDefinitely the case.
I don’t have online, and have spent probably 200 hours playing FIFA 09.
Blah2
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 6:01 PMIf you found out how much WoW player play each year, it would no doubt demoralize the general public.
Ben Routledge
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 6:52 PMYoshi’s Island DS; while not a sports game, I would have racked up 200hours playing that game working towards 100% completion. Getting all the Stars and Red Coins, was fricken hard, I got all 100% in the main levels then 90% or higher in each of the bonus rounds. I’m a platformer nut though.
Julz
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 8:28 PMomg yes i love that game
Anon
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 7:12 PMI put a good few thousand hours into Morrowind. Probably in the tens of thousdands.
Arthur McChesney
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 7:13 PMEasily 500 hours + /year playing Gran Turismo for ~10 years?
Thats just how it is…
Dean Longmore
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 8:05 PMYeah, you can sink hours into time trial laps.
I’ll just jump in for a couple of laps.. next thing you know, you looks up.. it’s lap 50 (and you still haven’t smashed your mates time).
annonie
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 7:25 PMwho the hell would play a sports game let alone pay that much each year to buy a new one. people are dumb.
Dean Longmore
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 8:05 PMannonie is dumb.
Julz
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 7:28 PMI played nearly 400 hourd of fallout :D and that dosent include all the time modding it and making vids of it or just mucking around and not saving (records play time when you save) I still play it to this day all though not as much, my main fallout focus at the moment is modding!
Anon delivers
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 7:32 PMAsk Monster Hunter players. Easily 500hours++
Cosign
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 8:44 PMAnd the most obvious comparison that dwarves any sports games or even RPG games… I’m talking about World of Warcraft. My account said 52days but I can easily identify others I know who play the game with between the 100-365 day playtime mark.
Savin Wangtal
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 11:08 PMI burned through 3 copies of campaign discs on GT2 (on top of 2 Arcade discs). Do you know how hard it is to wreak a PS disc just by playing them? Yeah, I played it that much.
My first PS also died mainly because of GT.
I’m also a jRPG fan, with a passion for grinding. I would expect to spend at least 100 hours on each game, without going through the side quest. Then start over and try to get 100% completion–that generally takes double the time. So 2-300 hours is the norm for me.
The only problem is I only get to play for 2 to 3 hours a week, max. Which means that as of right now, I am still trying to finish up some PS1 games, let alone games from last generation.
Paul Hudson
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 2:57 AMDota~h
pk
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 11:36 AMI’ve sunk about 850 hours into COD4 MP. However, I did play competitively.
TheMoth
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 11:43 PMRemember everyone.
SPorts games are ment to be played wth other people and because sports are more widely viewd in the world. It would be foolish to say that a group of grown men(and maybe woman, i dont know) dontsit aroudn for 12 hours at a time playing game after game of Fifa 09 and what not.