In sports games, there is a clear split between two different groups. One group of games does their best to simulate a sport, whereas the other group takes the sport and changes it in an obvious manner. This latter group is widely referred to as the arcade-style sports games, and Sega Soccer Slam definitely falls into this category, and for the most part it works. By using fewer players, Sega allows for greater detail being attached to each player, as well as other numerous touches, including almost entirely polygonal crowdsa very welcome sight in a sports game.

Soccer never caught much popularity in the U.S. We tried to like it. During the short span of a few months in the early 1990s, soccer fever hit the States, complete with a McDonald's endorsement. But it proved to be just another passing fad. America went on, largely ignoring the sport.