Transworld Surf is a sports video game that was developed by Angel Studios and published by Infogrames, Inc. The game was released for Xbox and PlayStation2 between November 2001 and March 2003.
The release of this video game was the first big step in the evolution of surfing games breaking into some what mainstream culture. This games rise and break through in popularity was unfortunately short lived.
With surfing’s increase in popularity over the years, I am also going to be looking into contributing factors as to why the game was forgotten (left behind).
Technology
Much like the rest of the modern world, game media also experienced benefits from the continuous growth in the Software layering (Platforms and Programs) but also within the Content layering (Visual and Sound design) helping to make the playing experience more enjoyable for users. It is within this advancement from both leading console gaming Xbox & PlayStation that resulted into the progression of Xboxone and PlayStation4 which contributed to the demise of Transworld Surfings popularity as users opted for the more updated gaming console versions. Transworlds Surfing technology and software could not advice with it, leading players to play surf gaming that have adapted to that level of console software such as Surf World Series.
Playing preference according to an article released by Deloitte in 2021, states that all users using console gaming priorities the games Content and Software layering when it comes to choosing their gaming experience which is why Transworld Surfing lost its popularity to Kelly Slaters Pro Surfer when released and is no longer as relevant due to the creation and evolution of surfing games such as Surf World Series and True Surf.
Surfing Gamings software progression from 2002 -2018.
Genre
Genres are used within game media to provide categories, that make it easier for players to find more of the games that they enjoy playing. When released in 2002/2003 Transworld Surfing fell into the genre of Esports and the subcategory of action sports.
In 2002, Esports genre was the second most popular behind action adventure according to the website article by Screenrant , making the release of Transworld Surfing Timely. Unfortunately due to the relevance of Esports in the early 2000’s the game also had to face large competition from rival publishers along with the saturation and variety in choices of sports from Rugby, Soccer and Cricket made it harder for the game to stand out for a longer period of time within the Esports genre.
Fandom
Refers to the concept of being a fan of something or someone. With Esports having a large amount of fandom alongside surfing cultural break through into the mainstream lead to the creation Transworld Surfing and other surf video games to be released at the time. The fandom still does exist today but struggles to match the larger cultural following of sports such as Basketball and Football.
Hopefully you found this brief analysis of surf video games and the decline of Transworld Surf interesting. Feel free to listen to the audio version of the article below.
Audio
References
- Baerg, Andrew 2014. ‘Sports’, The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies. Routledge: New York 267 – 274.(Accessed 2nd August 2022)
- Consalvo, Mia 2003 . Zelda 64 and video games fans a walkthrough of games, intertextuality and narrative. (Accessed 2nd August 2022)
- Deloitte Insights. 2021. The games console: Fitter than ever at 50. (Accessed 2nd August 2022)
- ScreenRant, 2022. 10 Greatest Video Games of 2002, According To Metacritic.(Accessed 2nd August 2022)
#Videogames #cultural #contentlayers #softwarelayers #Transworldsurf #Esports #BCM215 #blogpost1
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