Here is an NBA 2K8 video that shows some signature moves in reality and in the game. The graphics are incredibly realistic! if they fix the animation, the game would be indistinguishable from reality...

It's pretty cool looking, but way their feet slide on the floor really takes you out of it. It's pretty obvious that the characters aren't being moved by their feet and that they're just moving along the ground with canned animations playing. You're right, if they could fix that then it would be really amazing looking, but I don't think that's a trivial problem to fix.

Those feet issues are really horrible actually. Nice otherwise (I'm not a fan of sports games though).

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Gliding and floating feet show up in every sports game. It looks the worst when you watch replays in slow motion. It's especially noticeable on sideline plays where the player is stepping out of bounds and the visuals don't match the call.

Basketball games ought to look good since there are only ten players with all of them being relatively the same shape. (Contrast to American Football where you have twenty-two guys from 180 to 350 pounds...) But the quick-jerk animations (usually due to lack of transitions) give basketball games a very unrealistic feel.

I think the next revolution in game graphics will be (or need be) the physics and the animation. Image-wise, games can already be realistic in a high degree, but physics-wise, they have a lot of ground to cover.

Basketball games are a good example of this, because they show humans at a very close range. Football and soccer games do not need to show so many close up details.

Madden games generally have good physics, except when a ball is tipped. It tends to flutter around like a balloon, yet nobody can catch it.

But the hardest part to get right for an American football game is AI, especially in regard to how the defense reacts to the offense. If the defense can get burned consistently on any single type of play, then that's the only play the offense will call. Also, if the game is too realistic, it will just be boring...

Of course, basketball games can suffer from the same problem. If it's too easy to run a fast pace offense, driving to the hoop for a layup, then that's all people will do.

If I want to play a basketball game with realistic looking and realistic physics then I'll play real basketball.

I never understood this quest for "the most real game ever". Real Life^tm is real enough for me.

Pretty much my feelings. I've never gotten the point of sports game video games ...

I recently just broke my all time 10 pin bowling high score on Wii Sports. That includes real life bowling. I've never broken 200 irl, I usually don't get too close, but on the wii? 230. boo yah.

It's no different from playing any other video game. The goal isn't to recreate reality. It's just to have another form of entertainment. There are a wide variety of sports games... from straight-up sims to fast paced arcade action.

But it is kind of funny that you think that somebody can go into his backyard and start up an 11-on-11 full contact football game at any time of the day.

And TF has a point: what if you suck at organized sports? Catching a football in real life might be as likely as storming a castle for some people.

I guess you can do all the spectacular things NBA players can do??? :-)

If that's going to be the counter-argument, let's all go play Mario Hoops ... probably more fun anyway.

Any time of day? No. But how hard is it to join a local sports league?

Amateur NFL style football leagues are not really feasible.

Ugh, for being good graphics they really sucks.. might look good in screenshots but so what.

Graphics still look like shit. The only real next revolution is when games focus on becoming fun again.

If you sit all day in a chair, you might need a full year of training before being considered for the starting lineup.

If you sit all day in a chair, you probably aren't all that interested in sports.