For many Virtual Soccer is a fun way to enjoy a bet on soccer without the hassle of having to wait 
until a real-life game has finished. However, within that there are some limitations and of course, the animations for the game, although good, are nowhere near as convincing as the real thing.
Of course, Virtual Soccer is not the only computer simulation to suffer with this. Even top-rated software that sells millions of copies per year, such as the much-heralded Football Manager series of games, all include a 3D match engine which while being technically brilliant, still does not have the realism or quality of real life soccer match footage.
As technology has advanced, so has the quality of these simulations and now Virtual Soccer and games like Football Manager do offer a very good approximation of football games but the pedants would argue that they are still far from perfect.
So how can you actually make a Virtual Soccer game that when the highlights are played through, it actually looks like the real thing? It seems impossible, but Highlight Games think they may have found a solution with their new Virtual Soccer software, SOCCERBET.
What is SOCCERBET?
SOCCERBET is a new platform for Virtual Football which has taken a different approach to the game highlights part of the software. In terms of the different types of bets available on the Virtual Soccer game, SOCCERBET have included all the key markets that you would find on any top Virtual Soccer product such as those you would find at Betway or 10Bet or similar.
However, when it comes to the highlights for the game, what SOCCERBET have done is compile a comprehensive database of stock soccer footage from real life games that have taken place over the last few decades.
Each of the thousands of highlights that have been compiled from a wide range of games are processed so that each is 10 seconds long. The SOCCERBET highlights package will then select at random six highlights from the chosen game and compile them into a single one minute long highlights package which can produce different results based on the highlights selected for that game.
The package is then played in place of the computerised graphics interpretation of the match and the results of the match will then determine whether the bets placed on it were successful or not.
The Chief Executive Office of Highlight Games, who have produced the SOCCERBET product, Tim Green, spoke at length about how this new product differs from other Virtual Soccer games currently available online.
“SOCCERBET is a revolutionary take on virtual sports that combines real stars, with real goals and real match action. There is nothing else like it on the market,” he stated.
“Virtual Sports has exploded in popularity over recent years, but this product represents the next step in its evolution, combining traditional betting markets with our unique product and patent-protected display of archived action.
“Football is a language spoken by people all over the world, and we are delighted to debut a game that speaks to the universal enjoyment of the game across the globe.”
Will the SOCCERBET virtual games have any context or will they be just single one-off games?
Interestingly, it seems as though SOCCERBET have realised that one of the most negative aspects of Virtual Soccer, the fact that none of the games take place within the boundaries of a competition or league of some form, is something that needs to be addressed. As such, while the company is offering a standalone package where matches are simply played at random as occurs in Virtual Soccer now, there is an alternative.
That is a League Format which will see teams play matches against other teams in a specified League and this will in turn build up different form for each team and will also ensure that each game is played within a certain context.
When and where will SOCCERBET be available?
Currently, Highlight Games are said to be in active discussions with a number of Virtual Sports betting operators and sites around the world with a view to SOCCERBET going live on these sites perhaps in the final month of 2017, if not then in early 2018.
At the moment, there is no indication of the companies that SOCCERBET are working with in order to get their product onto sites, but we would hope that all the top betting companies would at least investigate this service to see if it offers a better option than their current Virtual Soccer betting service.
What are the implications if SOCCERBET takes off?
If the SOCCERBET service takes off in sports betting sites around the world then the implications for betting on Virtual Soccer are huge.
Firstly, if companies adopt a League format alongside or in place of standalone fixtures, then this will give each Virtual Soccer game added context. It will also generate data for each of the teams which users can peruse in order to help try and decide what are the best bets for them. This much more accurately reflects how people bet on sports in the modern day and could reduce the random element of the game.
Furthermore, by using real life teams and real-life players in particular, this opens up avenues for plenty of new betting markets including some hugely popular ones in real life soccer betting, such as betting on the First or Last Goalscorer in a match, or the Anytime Goalscorer, or betting on which player will finish as the Top Scorer in the Virtual League at the end of the season. This also assumes that the SOCCERBET software can track the data for individual players as well as individual teams and this as yet has not been ascertained.
However, even if this is not available in the version set to be released shortly, then it would be hugely likely that this would be one of the first upgrades to the software that the company make.
SOCCERBET does sound like it has great potential for use in the Virtual Sports market and it would certainly add more realism to the sport, while retaining its simple betting format and speedy resolution of results which makes these sports so popular. As soon as we hear any more about where players can experience SOCCERBET in action, we will bring it to you here.
