I was wondering if I could make a basketball game where you are the coach of a college basketball team. Now I don’t care if you like sports are not, I want and honest opinion, as this is my first big project. If any of you are Familar with Football Manager, then it would be like that but basketball. Who thinks is a good idea and would sell? Be honest and give me as many tips as possible.
Your target market will have to be people who like basketball, who also like to play video games, who also like to play sim/manager games. Now assume you will reach 10% of that market (incredibly generous for an indie developer). If you’re very good, and very lucky, half of those people will like the game and buy it.
The end result, in my opinion, is no, I don’t think it will sell. If EA Sports made it (with millions invested in marketing)… then maybe, but I doubt it’d be a big hit.
Do this project.
(unless you’re just looking to make a game to sell it)
Your first big project, in all likelihood, will not sell well. Who cares? Don’t do it for the money.
Do it for the passion and love of making the best basketball manager that you’ve ever made.
Do it for the experience and portfolio development.
Do it so that you never have to ask “what if I had done that?”
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I agree, except…
Why are you asking us?
Go out there and Google, find out if there is a demand for a basketball management sim and do some market research.
Go visit gamer forums and basketball forums or Google “Basketball Manager” and see what comes up.
Is there an existing game?
Is there a large demand on forums across the internet for such a game?
If there is an existing game, what are it’s shortcomings, and what do people like or don’t like about it…
We are one forum of many across the internet, that is why he is asking us.
I still think he shouldn’t worry if it will sell well. It’s a good idea as long as he thinks it is and will help him stay motivated in making it.
As I said above though, any first big thing on Unity will most likely not sell well, if at all. So whatever idea OP has to do first, should not be done to sell, but to learn and enjoy building.
If you want to make it then start somewhere. I’m sure you would need a lot of statistics from real people if you’re wanting it to be realistic. There’s no way I could make such a game because I have absolutely no interest in making a sports manager (ew gross, so boring). I understand why other people like it though. In my opinion, you should do something different with it besides making yet another sports manager that uses a bunch of real people. Use other characters that haven’t been seen before. Maybe use actors or something funny. Just my opinion though, do whatever makes you happy 
+1
If you are thinking about money, i think you need to do a background search about basketball fans (i’m not one of them), but even if you don’t find many fans it wont stop you doing this game. But if you are going to do this just for fun, do it, will increase your experience and give you nice new skills and alot of questions about how to make it better.
Best of luck
just make a prototype of the game
With this little information there is just no way to guess if this game could be interesting or not. Actually a game consists of hundreds of little ideas merged together.
I personally don’t like basketball, but if this game is for example like some teen tv show it could be interesting ( maybe you also have to manage a team of cheer leaders )
Well, football manager sells well over here in the UK (that’s soccer to you guys in the US).
Would it sell?
Yes.
Should you make it?
Emphatically no.
- You are obviously new and this is a colossal undertaking for what I’m guessing will be your first game.
- The only way that game would work is if you had real world stats with real world players and real world teams. Do you have the explicit consent of the NBA and their affiliates?