The GREATEST Era of Sports Games | EA BIG

EA Sports Big made some of the greatest video games of all time. So why don't they even exist anymore? Join me as I play each of their games to find out!
Save 10% OFF GamerSupps Using CODE "EVANH2" At Checkout!: gamersupps.gg/evanh2
Discord: / discord
Patreon: patreon.com/EvanHelbling?utm_...
SSX 3 Video: • SSX 3 Is the BEST SNOW...
SSX Tricky Video: • Is SSX Tricky the GREA...
NFL Street Video: • The GREATEST Football ...
Patreon: / evanhelbling
Time Stamps:
0:00 - Intro
0:34 - SSX
2:20 - NBA Street
3:57 - NFL Street
5:48 - FIFA Street
6:25 - Def Jam Vendetta
7:48 - Other Racing Games
9:18 - Conclusion
9:49 - Outro

[@jamiemiller8047]

All of the characters from Freekstyle are actually real professional freestyle motocross riders, and I met Mike Metzger (from the cover and intro) like 20 years ago at Disneyland. They were doing this action sports thing one summer, so they had a ton of professional athletes doing shows, including a young Shaun White! They held autograph sessions after every show, and Mike Metzger signed my copy of Freekstyle!

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Woah that’s actually really cool, I assumed they were made up like the SSX crew. Ignorance led me to my negative opinion it seems haha, I can’t think of any other game where you can have the actual character sign it for you 🤘

[@DopefriedCheese]

​@@EvanHelblingYT Also, leaning back when hitting a ramp is called preloading your suspension. It's a well known mechanic in most dirt bike games. It was a skill issue. :x no offense, haha. But that game was pretty good for the time. Just subbed. Great videos. I've been binging all day

[@tobiasblackmoar]

Played so much NBA vol 2 that Pete Rock beat is embedded in my memory. S tier game

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Forsure one of the best sounds ever produced

[@steverecht]

I love that you open your video with Rhazel's big booming "EA Sports Big" opening. Lots of mostly great memories came back to me as I watched your video, and although I played a significant role in many of the games and the creation of the brand, the best games got to be amazing because of so many talented, hard-working & passionate Producers, Engineers, Artists, Game Designers, Audio Designers, Testers and a wide variety of important collaborators who really added the spice to an already series of flavorful dishes. In looking back, we had to create the space where members of the team could take outlandish and unreasonable risks in order to deliver the unexpected. This is never an easy task in a big company, because many of the ideas don't work, but that sort of failure is essential on the journey to get to the really, really great stuff. I'm so proud I got to be a part of the BIG journey and was able to work with so many great people, for me, that's the juice. That, and having people that still feel passionately about these games 20 years later :)

[@Rayyy_a]

You’re a legend and pioneer. You should be proud you provided enjoyment to all those people!

[@InhumanBaron]

While I didn't play much of the BIG titles outside of SSX as a kid, they definitely had an impact for the brief time they were being released. EA sadly does have a track record of taking a talented studio and dissolving them however.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

As long as you played one of em that’s all that matters. EA just centers their games around micro transactions and there’s nothing anyone can do about it sadly lol

[@DylanN54]

Bro these games have a special place in my heart forever it’s so amazing seeing someone go into depth on these titles

[@jerredchouseman]

Freakstyle is one of best games ever!!! Really wished they made more. I was addicted to it when it came out

[@bleeflooflah1943]

I consider myself a gaming historian of this era and I didn't know EA Big was responsible for so many games! It's pretty fascinating stuff. The SSX series is also an all-time favorite of mine and those games so clearly had a special kind of love in them. Sometimes you can just tell when a game was made with passion and care, and those 3 main SSX games have it.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Yep I love that they just went all in on the creativity and fun in these games! SSX 3 and NFL street are my all time favorites, it’s great when the developers actually like and play video games.

[@user-ew2hg5ch5k]

0:01 EA Sports BIG!!!

[@starweb9127]

As a retro video game collector, and a kid who grew up in the mid PS2 era/PS3/early PS4 era, I never played theae growing up as I was never a sports fan. While I'm still not into sports, there's an appeal to these games. Finally playing them as an adult, the games are suited for a wider audience. Even though they're technically sports games, they play differently from regular sports games and feel more like an action game. Great video Evan!

[@EvanHelblingYT]

yeah same here, I think these games got me to like sports but I'd definitely still play them if I didn't. The action gameplay and rpg progression can be fun for literally anyone. Thankyou!

[@fulhamfc1998]

I think because your American and not interested in football you don’t understand how big fifa street was in Europe it was loved and a perfect game and at the time was the biggest game

[@ImSoFookinGreat]

I spent a good deal of my PS2’s life playing EA BIG games (mainly SSX, SSX Tricky, FIFA Street and NBA Street) so this video was another blast for me. Keep up the good work. Another entertaining and funny video.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

That’s what I like to hear, SSX 3 and NFL Street 1 were my mains. Thankyou man I appreciate ya :)

[@Xxthebeatdrops94xX]

So much nostalgia in one video. Also those cars do be driving.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Thankyou brotha, they really do 😤

[@arqelf9505]

Man the nostalgia hits with this one, I absolutely loved Fifa Street 2/3 and also played a lot NBA Homecourt.... sports games of my early teenage years

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I wish I played more of Fifa street, it was fun for the short time I tried it!

[@DenjinOni]

I played NBA street 3 into oblivion the Mario characters being there was just pure silliness

[@edwetodd7654]

That fuckin scarface fight still gives me that stereotype "gamer rage" The first 2 Def jam games are like visual adrenaline.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

lmao I never mentioned how angry I was after losing for the 10th time against him. Winning in this game was so rewarding haha

[@UnhealthyKraken]

I finally got around to watching this. Another fantastic video! I said it before and I'll say it again, SSX Tricky is the best out of all of those!

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Hey you’re never too late man, thanks as always! And hey it’s hard to make argument against that!

[@user-ew2hg5ch5k]

Fun Fact: Mario, Luigi & Peach Appeared In The GameCube Version Of SSX On Tour & NBA Street Vol 3.

[@dontplayw_thme595]

Freekstyle was sick asf when I was younger. And the nba and nfl street series are classics

[@robertfreeman1673]

3:48 wdf I thought street home court was street volume 3 😂 been thinkin this for like 16 yrs

[@Nicekid933]

Hey man I’m really glad to see your videos growing in popularity! You definitely deserve it! Keep it up!

[@velo.voyageur]

Totally forgot about sledstorm. Used to rent that one a lot when… renting games was a thing

[@MarcelE80]

"Scarface wasted no time charging me, like I was his Iphone on 1% battery" 😄

[@spencersonnier1]

NFL Street 2 is probably my favorite game of all time. I played it so much as a kid.

[@Killysunt]

Binged your vids recently after one popping in my recommended, keep it up man

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Thanks a lot man, i’m glad ya found me :)

[@johnboy4955]

Subbed just for you shining light on these games nobody talks about anymore

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I appreciate it man, these games need to be talked about wayy more :)

[@apaceofchange94]

The way you edit your videos always gets a couple really good laughs out of me lol

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Haha thankyou im honored

[@Razgriz_01]

I remember playing the SSX demo a lot on one of those demo discs that you can get from gaming magazines back in the day. I still have those discs as well, but they're so badly scratched up now. Don't know why I never got the game back then, I actually enjoyed. Then again, there were too many games to choose from and my parents only get me one game every couple of months so I had to choose.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I never came across those magazines demo disks, just the ps1 ones. I’m with ya, just picked a random game to rent a couple times a month haha

[@BeardTech]

Shox is absolutely MIND blowing. It's speedy, electric and majorly fun. That zone racing bit makes it awesome

[@ScreamoNinja]

NBA Street was my introduction to Playstation 2 and i loved it adding in SSX NFL and DEF JAM games to the same console was like a dream come true that know one even knew they was dreaming, never played the FIFA games but aside from that i would love love LOVE to see a remaster of these AMAZING games! maybe not the last 3 racing games but the others are a needed in my life somehow someway EA!

[@skatedurr]

nba street 2 was my jam, loved that game to death 😍😍

[@EvanHelblingYT]

One of the few games that will hold up for eternity 🤘❤️

[@joshualbarham]

I wore out two copies of SSX On Tour and still listen to the soundtrack

[@MackLochridge]

That's crazy, I saw your first video on SSX when it came out, subbed, and didn't see another video until now. Good video fun video long live SSX3

[@EvanHelblingYT]

That’s kinda funny how it worked out lol. I’m glad you returned, thankyou man :)

[@cjelectronichunter]

I appreciate these videos so much 🙏🏾

[@dameredavis6587]

Ssx3 was my top fav snowboard game

[@RetroGaming_07]

The EaSports Big titles are great games and I still have a few copies of the nba street titles and nfl street games. These games by ea sports big are still classics. Good video man and take care.

[@_thelocalsonly]

Ssx3 was my child hood!!

[@SajiSajSa]

Dude i really like the format you're using for your videos. You give everything a twist of your own presence 👏

[@swingnmeat9529]

Nfl Street 2 was my shiiiiiiitt, good times good times

[@jumpman2326]

The online servers for NFL Street 2 is coming back so be ready to jump off the walls again. 😆

[@Zwazzeh]

I used to love playing Allen iverson and dunking on Shaq and yao Ming from half court

[@user-pp6gx8mq8d]

Love the content, I feel like a video about Wakeboarding Unleashed would fit the style of content you make.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Thankyou! That sounds exactly like something I wanna try out haha

[@dead-enddessie3816]

I remember being a kid at a videogame store trying to decide between NBA Street 2 or American Chopper The Videogame. I chose American Chopper and still think about that decision to this day

[@NomisBbew]

"Scarface wasted no time charging me. Like I was his IPhone at 1%." Bro how are you coming up with this?lmao

[@MarcoGotGame]

Amazing video, my only critique is the lack of Def Jam: Fight For NY being covered. 100% one of the best fighting game ever. There is a reason it goes for $100+ now. Great video though!!

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Thankyou bro! I agree with ya haha, that game deserves it’s own video - the roster alone crazy i’m lookin forward to playin it. I appreciate that!

[@NostalgicRush]

More like $200+

[@RaymanMArenaCommunity]

Nice vid dude! I had never heard of EA sports big, but this was an interesting story indeed. SSX is one of the best franchises imo

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Hey thanks dude, good to see ya! I understand it, the only game I ever discovered myself was SSX, the others I luckily saw a friend/babysitter playing

[@RaymanMArenaCommunity]

@@EvanHelblingYT good to see you too bro! And damn, you were lucky indeed!

[@WackyJay9]

Your game taste is epic! Instantly subbed

[@videolookertube]

nice detective Conan music in the background. Great video idea looking foword to your next video

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I actually used the Taiyou ni Hoero Adventure theme for that part but it sounds almost identical, i’m glad you mentioned that haha. Thankyou dude!

[@mendeleyev1790]

FIFA street was like my child hood in Argentina it had d tier teams from my hometown

[@johnboy4955]

Home court and v3 were so fun but not as good as the first 2!

[@EL-LUNCHBOX]

Def Jam games were great would love to see a modern take with some old school artists and characters as well.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

They could definitely make an amazing version with an unlimited roster of artists

[@redhunnid5142]

Wouldn’t happen in todays world the licensing would be insanely expensive because take video games seriously now so they know the profit it would generate and everyone would want a million or more labels would become involved it would just be a insane cash grab of mess we truly we’re blessed to get a game series like def jam it will never be duplicated again because EA will not pay for it

[@nofreehooks]

I have 1/3 of these games even with no system to play them. Just like to keep ‘em around.

[@ElMachoMucho]

NFL Street to this day is the only NFL game id ever play

[@EvanHelblingYT]

The only one you need 🤝

[@jumpman2326]

The 2000s was truly the golden era of video games.

[@dxfifa]

It's sad that FIFA hadn't taken off in USA by this point, cos fifa street 2 was the best of all these games

[@BolognaSkinBandit]

It wasn't from EA BIG, but the NHL Hitz series was amazing too and i always lumped it in with these.

[@ShutUpBubi]

EA Big were great but IMO nothing comes close to Midway in that era.. Between basically inventing arcade sports with NBA Jam and then NFL Blitz and then solidifying those titles with amazing follow ups. NHL Hitz 2002 is probably the best 3 player sports game ever made and I will die by that.

[@jamesraphaelL]

DefJam fight for NY is also one of the best games in playstation history

[@TxVIKINGxT]

I remember downhill domination had the same feel, and man.. these games from that era just wow!

[@retrokbm3004]

SSX Tricky was such a good game

[@RawLmax]

Algo did me justice today. Awesome vid

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Love to hear that. Thankyou!

[@vincentlacaca]

I don’t think I ever won a game against my cousin in street vol. 2 😂

[@jerrellyoung3473]

This video speaks to my soul

[@Ceejmm]

Thanks for giving these games attention

[@ohfrickitsphil]

Interesting timing, I just watched a video before this that was about EA sports and the SSX games. Spoopy.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Yeah I think I saw the same one as I was researching stuff for this video lol the timing is def spoopy lad

[@theghostofchillhop]

I can't tell you how many hours I put into NFL Street 2. I was all about sports AND Xzibit at this time. They just don't make em like they used to.

[@cpl_dixon2051]

I just discovered your channel and I can't seem to stop watching! Anyways, you seem like a fan of extreme sports games, have you ever played Downhill Domination? It's a mountain biking game made by the same studio that did Twisted Metal. It's a lot of fun and I think it'd be right up your alley.

[@waalex11]

Not incredibly detailed, but decently good quick summary of all the games of EA Sports BIG.

[@Thesloppiestjoseph]

Ssx on tour is an s tier game. I have to say that

[@SMGxEnWHYc46]

Imagine if EA was like you know what boom!!!! Remastered EA Sports BIG games, no microtransactions just fun $30 games

[@Inhereflackin]

They NEED to revive EA Big to make a new/remastered entry in basically all of their titles

[@skoldmo762]

When the timesplitter soundeffects play. We are reaching godly endorphine levels ❤❤ Also there was a earlier sledstorm game by EA on ps1 😊

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Let us rejoice in R109 pain 1 sound effect ❤️ No way I need to look that up 🤘🤘

[@PhilGrayrock]

Ah, the last crop of the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era… truly a peak gaming era That content we need but don't deserve

[@waalex11]

I'm still hoping we get the SSX, NFL and NBA franchise remastered. They're easy money grabs and actually more fun than today's disappointments. It's frustrating and shocking how EA hasn't started yet.

[@benjiewoods4865]

def jam vendetta Fight for NY was a litteral God game

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I gotta play that, the roster looks crazy

[@RealOneRadio]

You got the sub from me keep up the great work

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I appreciate that a lot thankyou!

[@irishshadowlord8967]

I wonder if the non EA Big employees at regular EA just felt like they were EA Small or Medium. Gosh that must have been tough.

[@baphometazrael1892]

Can attest to sledstorm being freaking good! Or at least like 6 year old me can when this came out. It was weird because before that I had played sledstorm on PS1 and their very different games.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

It felt really good to be honest, I would’ve forsure played it back in the day!

[@WankenZeFurious]

Incredible that EA sometimes makes good games. Shame they can, but refuse to do often

[@NorthWestPvPlolrektnoob]

the only ssx game I played was on tour and I loved it

[@NorthWestPvPlolrektnoob]

and I played street 1 only and loved it😭😭

[@limer.6355]

like the vids keepit up

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Appreciate it bro

[@gradycooper7416]

nfl street was sooo goood

[@mikedawolf95]

1:28 GTA:SA Orange 12 Ped

[@waalex11]

I didn't play all of the EA BIG games either. Although, as a teenager I mainly grew with two that I still adore, with a few others. For me those were NFL Street 1-2 and SSX 3. I also played both Def Jam's but I've never been a great player or huge fan of fighting games. SSX I originally started playing both the first and Tricky in McDonald's for a bit, until I later bought SSX 3 on GameCube a few years after. On the PlayStattion 2, I played all of the NFl Street. I tried Fifa 3, liked it, but not great, and also NBA Street V3 mostly after trying out the second. I just assumed V3 was improved, but idk, I like it. Ultimately though, I'm 29 today, and fucking loved SSX 3 and NFL Street 1-2. I played them again a few years ago and still cannot wait with hope that these franchises get remastered. Every other sports games pale in comparison. I've barely tried any since. SSX on Xbox 360 sucks. Steep and whatever next gen sucks. It's a damn shame.

[@daveswitch22]

Did you make you patreon as a creator or supporter?

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Oh wait I never published the page haha it’s up now, thanks for mentioning that :)

[@trinkie]

great video very entertaining

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Thankyou much man!

[@newjackgaming88]

i got all them games running on my xbox series s the whole series from fifa,nba,nfl,ssx, and def jam series using a ps2 emulator in dev mode

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Bro that’s crazy, I gotta look into that

[@NoRestEffect]

Not explaining FFny for a second agitated me

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Yeah i know man, It’s not ea sports big

[@user-oe2bn4ve4w]

Got my first ps2 with ssx it was so fucking amazing back then it slapped cheeks like no other

[@Sco3000]

NBA Vol 2 definitely had the most heart, but volume 3 was pretty good and had some fun additional stuff.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Most definitely

[@xman777b]

Vol 1 was pretty damm good too

[@dreamshakejones4878]

Brooo do a video on Blitz The League . Classic football game

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I bought that one haha, I really want to

[@steviehdgamer3063]

def jam fight for new york is a all time great, i completed over 10 times when i was younger

[@seanwilliams5848]

They really need to bring EA BIIIIIG back, absolute bangers, SSX is one of the best franchises ever

[@gagogoga]

NBA street vol 3 had the Beastie boys as playable characters

[@EvanHelblingYT]

That’s a solid crossover I didn’t expect

[@BeardTech]

As soon as you said you'd dive in head first, I was hoping you'd do what you did

[@forgettable8300]

I loved def jam fight for newyork i remember i got so good at it i had a match that was only like 30 seconds and as a kid that made me feel like a g xD

[@ronaldedge3317]

You should do a category of all the games from EA games. P.S. challenge everything.

[@F4aXxZ]

I need a new SSX in my life

[@bobkraft4364]

My friends and I would play nfl street for hours

[@EvanHelblingYT]

I’m right with ya on that one

[@samhepworthmusic]

The first Fifa street is absolute god tier

[@IAmKillEveryone]

@5:54 you made my best friend nick mullen

[@Uiabird]

NFL Street 3 was just kinda meh… Had a cool soundtrack though.

[@EvanHelblingYT]

Yeah it just seemed uninspired. The Korn x Lean Wit It Rock Wit it remix was crazy

[@dudeguy7812]

7:22 lmao

[@EvanHelblingYT]

😏