There are currently three titles on XBLA that have revived the old feeling of pumping quarters into coin-op machines to play a sports title - Madden NFL Arcade (EA), NHL 3-on-3 (EA) and NBA Unrivaled from Tecmo. Each of these games does for their respective sport, the complete opposite of what EA has been doing to all of the franchises over the last decade. That is making them easily accessible to everyone. Giving them a pick up and play feel and mentality and essentially bringing the quick, fast fun back to the titles.

Madden NFL Arcade - This title gave me goosebumps. It is very much NFL football but in a 5-a-side variety that is generally reserved to neighborhood streets and playground pick up games. What it did is took all of the mess out of football and boiled it all down to 4 easy choices for offense and defense and threw in some Mario-like powerups to give the game more variation. In short, it's brilliant. It really brings an NFL title back to the masses instead of continually becoming more and more complex. It's a refreshing look at NFL football and a welcome addition.

NHL 3-on-3 Hockey - I have to admit, I don't particularly like this game. It's cheesy as far as I'm concerned and the sound effects are insanely annoying. However, it is truly pick up and play hockey like we haven't seen in some time. This title allows you again to simply pick up and play. It's easy enough to pick up on passing and shooting. Unfortunately the goalies are terrible in the game. I mean the goals I made shouldn't have gotten past a Pee Wee League goalie let alone an NHL quality goalie. But it's all in the name of quick scoring, fast action and arcade style play.

NBA Unrivaled - TECMO returns to the land of arcade sports, and it's about time! People are either going to love or hate this game. Me? I hate most basketball games because they're too complex, however I love this game and I love TECMO. They did a great job of taking the complexities out of the game and boiling it down to the core fundamentals, heavy on the fun! It's a throw back to the days of NBA Jam.

So what's missing? We need some arcade style soccer and of course a nice, cool, easy MLB branded baseball game. Maybe Gamevil could land that one as their Baseball Superstars is a pretty good arcade baseball title. Beef it up with Madden NFL Arcade like graphics, big names and real teams and locations and you've got yourself a winner.