Volleyball as an Esport: A Work in Progress

Believe it or not, there's actually a game you can play on the PlayStation 4 (PS4) where you can spike the volleyball as one of the best spikers in the world of volleyball. That game is called, "Spike Volleyball".

With both casual and professional gamers alike gearing up for the upcoming release of the National Basketball Association (NBA) 2K21 which features the great Kobe Bryant as one of its cover athletes, Spike Volleyball, which was released back in February 2019, remains the best volleyball-centered video game and the reviews aren't all bad.  Released to be played on the PS4, Xbox One, and on the PC, Spike Volleyball gives volleyball fans an indoor volleyball console game that allows them to play as one of the 50 men's and women's national teams. While there have been many, many volleyball-centered video games that never really hit the mark with the gamers and fans of the sport itself, Spike Volleyball may have been the closest volleyball games come in comparison with NBA 2K and even Maiden franchise (baseball) despite the bad reviews it received primarily because of the game being a low-budget game. The game's publisher, Bigben Interactive, has been known as a game publisher that funds games that are based on underground sports. 

Gameplay-wise, it's not bad as PS4 owners need to only tap the "X" button when the ball is about to reach one of their players for that player to push the ball upwards before one can set it up for an attack. It's almost like an alley-oop play in basketball. Defensively, players can select the necessary formation of the blockers then command them to block incoming spikes of opponents. And while some gamers found some imprecision in some of the plays in the game, most fans find fun in playing the game because it's the closest thing volleyball can get to basketball's NBA 2K. For now.

Now, NBA 2K has been rocking the Esports world as it has been used as an Esport tournament with the most recent one being the 2020 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Esports Open where the Philippines dominated the tournament. And while volleyball games are generally still not in the norm in the console games, games such as Spike Volleyball can make a good Esport venue for volleyball gamers. And while.e Spike Volleyball isn't the ideal game to serve as volleyball e-tournaments, who knows? Electronic Arts (EA) or even Sony Computer Entertainment can come up with a better volleyball game that will feed the need of gamers for a great volleyball game. After all, the gaming world already has a ton of great and interactive basketball games to the point that it has become a global competition. 

Volleyball has become a popular sport globally and in terms of popularity, it can be said that it has already been standing toe-to-toe to the popularity that basketball has been enjoying. One way or another, a volleyball video game- perhaps better than Spike Volleyball, can help furthermore boost the sport's popularity and hopefully, it can be an Esport too.

Photo is from GamesHedge