Every sport has moments in the spotlight. Contemporary society has developed environments so that this is possible, even if the moment doesn’t fundamentally alter its perception or standing, if people only show interest for an hour. Every spot has chances for moments in the spotlight, then: a wonderful piece of play, a funny incident, a remarkable story. It isn’t always necessary to build from these moments. It’s not always possible to. Cricket had the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup. The tournament was competitive through the league stage and into the knockouts, with some teams, including Australia, performing above expectations and causing scares, but it is the final that many remember.
England vs. New Zealand will go down as one of the best, most nerve-wracking, and controversial finals in the history of the sport. A final between two sides who couldn’t be separated through regulation time nor Super Over, for it to be decided by a contentious rule. It was utterly thrilling, with a dramatic pay-off. The English won their first Cricket World Cup as hosts and tournament favourites and the New Zealanders never gave up and helped produce a spectacle.
Has the sport capitalised on this surge of interest which caused even those in the US to take note? England’s interest at a general level grew, at a time when English youth cricket took a dip. Jofra Archer’s heroics and profile will likely continue to be where the ECB focuses its efforts to spearhead its presence, much like what Formula 1 does with Lewis Hamilton, to a degree.
On a global scale, though, not much has been done. Video games are a simple and effective area, in lieu of generating documentaries (see Formula 1: Drive to Survive as an example) or other such content, which can help increase and capitalise on exposure. Club Cricket and The Final Overs, VR video games, could achieve what console ones have failed to.
How Tech Changes Video Games
Technology liberates. It’s important to remember that a product could work in one context and fail in another and while the difference seems minimal, it isn’t. One-to-two-percent difference is radical. AI solutions, VR/AR, or device improvements – new technology enables this one-to-two-percent change which can have a significant impact.
Let’s take online casinos as an example. Through their early life during the late 90s and 00s they were accessed through desktops and laptops. They could be, then, played as on-to-go as laptops allow. It was important that, once smartphone technology improved, this mobility was emphasised because one of the perks of choosing an online betting site is that they are convenient. There’ll be breakdowns of odds and functionality on mobile and desktop on review and comparison sites like OLBG for gamers to consider when picking an online casino, as well as free spin offers and bonuses. And so the promising industry ballooned because of the one-to-two-percent difference between laptops and smartphones which resulted in significant change.
Having a good product in this kind of situation enables it to benefit from other changes too. Online casinos will further improve with 5G’s widespread rollout, as latency times decrease and connection speeds increase, meaning in-play markets will see more action in real time. There are also self-directed improvements, such as their live casino, in which they use live streaming and chatrooms to create the look and feel of being at a blackjack table with other players while sitting at home. It’s about creating your own luck too, then, and being in a position to capitalise.
History of Cricket Games
Cricket video games have a mixed success rate. Firstly, releases of these kinds of games are infrequent. In the early-to-mid-00s, Codemasters and EA looked like they’d be battling it out for a few years over the cricket video game market as both released titles. Codemasters had the experience with their Brian Lara series existing for over a decade by this point and EA only about half that time. However, by the end of the decade both would drop out of the market.
Since then, no major studio has released a game. Australian-based Big Ant Studios have taken over since the mid-10 with their Don Bradman series, which skirted licencing issues by relying on player creation, and then their Ashes Cricket and Cricket 19. These last two received favourable reviews, but they are entirely dependent on a loyal following for the niche gaming which these games offer.
Where cricket games have done well is as a web browser and mobile games. The simplicity of these games is what endeared them to fans, and these were the pick-up-and-play games, unsurprisingly, which people outside of cricket’s loyal following caught on to.
Scope of Sports Games
The issue of reducing cricket to browser and mobile games is that it reduces the sport to its basics and translates it into a party-style game. It’s like using Rocket League as a representation of soccer. While games like Rocket League are successful in their own right, even going so far as to have a thriving competitive esports – which received airtime on the BBC in the UK – they don’t necessarily reflect on the sport which the game is based upon. It’s important, then, that cricket gets a standardised version of the game which appeals to those outside its usual fans.
Could VR be a way of doing this? Games like Club Cricket and The Final Overs may offer casual fans a way to enjoy and access cricket in a meaningful normal way. Having access to simple licencing agreements like using New Zealand’s Basin Reserve provides enough realism outside of the gameplay – it’s a convincing context which can translate to real-world knowledge. The issue these games will have is that they are batting experiences. There is no bowling or fielding involved. Now this is this way for obvious reasons: batting is perennially the fun part of the sport. But these games don’t allow for expansive gameplay. They’re not multiplayer, for instance.
Cricket video games still have a way to go before they become appealing to a wider audience. VR will give it a chance to be more immersive and involved and cricket is one sport which can benefit from this activity. While consoles and PCs, without VR headsets, are conventionally where efforts should be placed to be commercially successful – they might have to take some risks and mark out new ground from themselves.
