This was one of the strongest years in terms of quality for sports gaming top to bottom. There may be fewer games than ever before but even the weakest of the bunch could be considered decent. When it comes to Sports Game of the Year however only those which demonstrated real achievement can be considered. The five nominees from 2015 all delivered compelling and complete experiences.

MLB 15: The Show
With MLB 15, SCEA improved not only on the series’ strengths, but also finally on its biggest weaknesses. Online play not just functioned but performed fairly well. Gameplay improvements, the rebuild of Diamond Dynasty, carry-over saves from MLB 14, and faster loading times all made a huge difference in terms of value and enjoyment.

Rocket League
No sports game has been played by more people than Rocket League, which burst onto the scene with appeal to a wide audience and addictive qualities that have kept them playing ever since. With few unique sports titles released these days, Rocket League and its cars playing soccer (or now hockey) really stands out from the crowd. Superb post-release support has meant creative new ways to play for free while the paid DLC has been limited to cosmetic elements ensuring the fantastic gameplay balance remains in place.

NBA 2K16
With an unrivaled feature set no game offers more to consumers than NBA 2K16. From its best-in-class gameplay and presentation, to a story mode with high production values, great Career mode (after the movie ends), two different Franchise modes including an online connected one, and several different ways to play online, there’s something for everyone in the product.

PES 2016
As the highest rated sports game on Metacritic since 2013, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 managed to surpass the much higher-selling FIFA franchise in the eyes of many. Generally touted most for its gameplay, PES 2016 offered a strong suite of modes and will be adding in exclusive UEFA Euro 2016 content for free this spring.

Madden NFL 16
The dynamic moments of football showed up more in Madden NFL 16 thanks to the work done to receiver-defender interactions, while penalties and quarterback accuracy made the gameplay more realistic and strategic. The new Draft Champions mode proved to have widespread appeal, made online matches more interesting, received a ranked mode and ability to play friends with post-release patches, and will be utilized as the method of play in eSports going forward.

Other Categories Open for Voting: Best Gameplay – Best Presentation – Best Post-Release Support – Best Career Mode – Best Team-Building Mode – Best Online Play – Best Franchise Mode – Best New Feature – Best New or Non-Yearly Sports Game

The voting for various categories in the Pastapadre Community Awards continues with Best New or Non-Yearly Sports Game. This is a category that has become increasingly difficult to populate with worthy nominees as developers have almost entirely ceased production of the traditional non-league licensed games that dictate annual releases. Previous winners have included The Golf Club, UFC Undisputed 3, Forza 4, and EA Sports MMA.

Now Open for Voting: Best Gameplay – Best Presentation – Best Post-Release Support –Best Career Mode – Best Team-Building Mode – Best Online Play – Best Franchise Mode – Best New Feature – Best New or Non-Yearly Sports Game

In 2015 there were only two games that really rose to the level of recognition to be considered for the award. Rocket League became one of the most popular games in 2015, reaching a broad audience that exceeds the number of people who played any one traditional sports game this year, and it has only continued to get better with superb post-release support. Forza 6 was an incredibly impressive sim racer, excelling in gameplay, graphics, sound, and its various modes. Both games received 5/5 reviews (Rocket League – Forza 6).

The voting for various categories in the Pastapadre Community Awards continues with Best New Feature. This category has produced winners from the MLB: The Show, Madden, and NBA 2K franchises. All three have at least one feature nominated this year as well.

Now Open for Voting: Best Gameplay – Best Presentation – Best Post-Release Support –Best Career Mode – Best Team-Building Mode – Best Online Play – Best Franchise Mode – Best New Feature

Year-to-Year Saves (MLB 15: The Show)
Save migration allowed for Franchise, Road to the Show, or Season saves to be continued from MLB 14 in MLB 15.

Draft Champions (Madden NFL 16)
Introduced as a short-term alternative to Ultimate Team, involving the strategy of “drafting” 15 players for the roster and playing up to four games with the team before redrafting, post-release patches have added a ranked mode and ability to play friends. This feature represents EA Sports’ road into the eSports scene.

2K Pro-Am (NBA 2K16)
Spinning off last year’s Jordan Rec Center which featured up to 10 users in NBA-style online games, the 2K Pro-Am brought in leaderboards, removed the despised “Got Next” spots, and introduced the ability to play in created arenas with created uniforms.

Team Creation/Relocation (NBA 2K16)
The method of creating those uniforms and arenas for Pro-Am, the new feature also allowed for teams to be rebranded with or without relocation in MyLeague (only single player not MyLeague Online) and MyGM. It was easy to use and turned out some fantastic results.

EA Sports Hockey League (NHL 16)
The popular EASHL returned after a one year hiatus and with a new design. No longer were players reliant on ratings buildup, as instead there were nine different player classes to choose from for use in the online team-up mode, which resulted in a far more balanced and strategic gameplay experience.