American football by nature is a stop-start type game. One that IRL has time off for strategy, selecting plays and picking defenses. Once there is a tackle made, or any stoppage, the IRL game stops as well. This is perfect for a video game. The fast paced action stops the moment of stoppage and you need to input your selected strategy.Originally Posted by Jan
Football, or soccer, is different. The game is constantly flowing, but the nature in which that flow happens IRL makes it easy to simulate in a video game. The less complex nature of soccer makes the implementation of a real feel into the game possible.
Rugby Union is both free flowing and has stoppages. It also has a huge amount of rules. The problem is these rules are implemented and played out IRL very quickly, too quickly for any game to simulate accurately. So the video game has to compensate for this by slowing down the flow, and extending the stoppages. This you get clearly when playing through your first ruck in any rugby game. The game grinds to a halt in these instances. It is enough of a break in the game to not have that same feel as IRL rugby. I'm not even sure how this can be overcome.
Other elements like the scrum, which IRL is a mystery on good days, is an absolute lottery in any rugby game, and you might as well not participate at all.
I think rugby union is just too complex to any successful simulation. Funny enough the rugby league games actually feel really damn good. The fact that rugby league doesn't have competitive scrums, have clear stoppage with little to no input, and much less rules than union, makes for a much easier, and therefor better simulation experience in game.
