The State of Gaming & NCAA Football in 2010

[xGRIDIRONxGURUx]

some of us are old enough to remember THESE as kids...

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so when graphics are updated, i dont complain... with that being said... the same thing can be spoken about gameplay... how many jukes do you think were pulled off in any of those three systems? how many blitzes? how many real plays for that matter? lol

the point is, development in both graphics and gameplay is vital to the advancement, and playability of the game. neither is more important than the other, as we would just crucify them for one or the other if they pushed the envelop in one area more than the other in one installment...

if the game looked like this:



but played like this:



you would be a liar to say that you wouldnt be flooding these forums, and their forums, with outbursts that demand a better look for your players... and some of the quotes would read, "we can successfully pull off a zone read these days, why cant we get players that dont look like they are made out of legos?"

its all relative, and subjective... so EA and anyone else over time will be the bad guy... always... until (GOD FORBID) the day comes through some twisted fate of events that we may not have a football game to play... then we would rethink our complaints, and our desires for upgrades as consumers...

its not that i "side" with EA, or take up for them, but i just know where we come from as most of you also know, and i see where we are... and its a whole other world from what i ever thought i would see in a video game... and if you look at it through say for example my fathers eyes, who remembers the days of a family owning only one tv set in the household, you will find someone who cant believe what you see in some games, and used to mistake my old PS2 games back in high school as "real games on tv"... and would try to find out who i was watching so he could put it on in the family room...

relative, subjective... all in perception...

i for one am glad for what we have, do i get aggravated? you bet your pants... do i ever want to stop buying the game? you bet your pants... will i ever stop buying the game? if you want to lose your pants, you can try betting them again... b/c with all things being relative, and subjective, even to a tight-knit group of "simulation" guys such as the ones on this site, you are still going to find a different desire for the game based on the individual passion for the game... and at this moment in my nearly 31 years, from what i see in NCAA 11, i see small tweaks, as to how the game could be perfect for me, but i know that some day my son who is now 7, will be playing on a PS5 or XBOX "720" (? lol just something off the top of my head), and the game will be probably be holographic, and be in 3D as it is on the TV screens of today, but will immerse you in the game totally... and i will look back and say... one day we used to push buttons, i used to be on a forum where we traded ideas and rosters over the internet... only to be laughed at and told that only old people use controllers...

ahhh... technology... oh how it dates us, even before we get "old"

"E"

[Rudy]

I'm going to turn 38 in a month and I can remember a lot of those old games. I had an Atari and played crappy looking sprites and I'm not much of a graphics whore but graphics DO matter. It's why we rush out and buy new consoles. Personally I think there are a few too many old farts (not the post above) out there saying, "I played way back when games were simple and fun and I loved it! These young whippersnappers are just spoiled brats!" I honestly don't care how far video games have come in 30 years. Yeah it's great but it doesn't matter how good or bad games were 20 years ago or 2 years ago. All that matters is how good the games are that I'm playing right now.

[JBHuskers]

I'm going to turn 38 in a month and I can remember a lot of those old games. I had an Atari and played crappy looking sprites and I'm not much of a graphics whore but graphics DO matter. It's why we rush out and buy new consoles. Personally I think there are a few too many old farts (not the post above) out there saying, "I played way back when games were simple and fun and I loved it! These young whippersnappers are just spoiled brats!" I honestly don't care how far video games have come in 30 years. Yeah it's great but it doesn't matter how good or bad games were 20 years ago or 2 years ago. All that matters is how good the games are that I'm playing right now.

I think it's all a matter of timing. I'm nearly 31, and when I was a kid, I was fully content with play season after season of Tecmo Bowl. When I first started college at 18, I was more of a NFL Blitz guy than a simulation football guy. I didn't become a simulation football gamer until close to graduating college when I was 21 or 22. So just as the games have evolved, so has my tastes.

[xGRIDIRONxGURUx]

I'm going to turn 38 in a month and I can remember a lot of those old games. I had an Atari and played crappy looking sprites and I'm not much of a graphics whore but graphics DO matter. It's why we rush out and buy new consoles. Personally I think there are a few too many old farts (not the post above) out there saying, "I played way back when games were simple and fun and I loved it! These young whippersnappers are just spoiled brats!" I honestly don't care how far video games have come in 30 years. Yeah it's great but it doesn't matter how good or bad games were 20 years ago or 2 years ago. All that matters is how good the games are that I'm playing right now.

i dont take offense to that... and they do matter... thats not my point... my point is, is that regardless of what they advance, its never going to be satisfying to the extent that ALL of us would like... this year, is kind of an exception, and i hope becomes the rule for EA as the graphics have been tricked out with the new lighting, new skins, new... well... just about everything... ON TOP OF THE GAME PLAY OVERHAUL!!!! are you serious!!!??? =) the point is this... (and you kind of missed my point) is that all through those years, just as JB said, we were only worried about the current game, and none of us were mailing Tecmo with boycott threats b.c they only added 4 addition play choices to the play call screen...

this:
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compared to this:
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i totally understand that you think there are too many "old farts" that talk about games of old, but all technology progresses, and the things you complain about today, will fail in comparison to what you will get in 5-10 years worth of advancement in technology... thats why i just play, enjoy, and stay easy-going... theres no need for me to complain about anything in the game even on most failed "first-year" installs of features that we get, aka run commit... but i will have to be the first i guess to say that i dont buy this game b/c of the features, graphics, updates, but purely out of passion for a game i played 21 straight years of my life... and now coach... like i said... its not about age, the differences come due to the personal "passion" that you have for the game... some love eye candy, some are feature fiends, some are simulation suckers, and some just play because they suck at shooter games lol...(aka my best friend the COD noob who will snap on 10 year old kids over comms b/c they trash talk him after owning him round after round after round after round... quite funny)

"E"

[JBHuskers]

I almost didn't know what to do when the playbook doubled in Tecmo

[morsdraconis]

I almost didn't know what to do when the playbook doubled in Tecmo

I actually didn't play Tecmo Bowl until after I had played Tecmo Super Bowl (LOVE playing with my '91 Skins and just bombing the ball down the field) so I never noticed the additional plays.

The coolest thing to me about Tecmo Super Bowl was the ability to customize the playbook. That shit was off the chain.

[I OU a Beatn]

I was too young for the original Tecmo Bowl, but I'm enjoying the hell out of the remake they released on PSN.

I think my first ever football game was NCAA Football 98 for the PS1. I'm not sure of the year, but it had Danny Wuerffel on the cover. I do remember having a blast on it which was unequaled until NCAA '04 came out, and no game has been able to surpass the amount of fun I had playing that game online. It was like crack.

So yeah, I've been playing football games since I was 8 years old. Kind of scary.

[Jayrah]

"E" I'm with you brotha. I mean I remember playing and for the entire 90's period, I was saying "Oh man, if they could ever just get logos on the helmets, that would make my playing experience the best ever!" And I played Walsh when it first came out, but my uncle and I had a madden rivalry going (I was just a kid of course), and I ate that up. So I fell more in love with madden. And then as I upgraded with the N64 and it's multidimensional Roll playing games, and Mario and Madden in high school, college football as a game was no longer available to me (or I just couldn't find it). I started really getting into the college football scene from a fan standpoint, but couldn't play it. Me and C (my brother) would just pick a team that was 'close' to a college color, and call them that team. I would run with Arizona and be WSU, and I'd play Minnesota as Washington for the apple cup. LOL, it's stupid now, but that was the game! And since the 64 madden didn't have logos, it didn't mess anything up I think that's when I became a graphics whore!

I remember me and C sneaking an Xbox into our room after renting it for the first time and just sitting and playing ncaa football when it first came out, because our mom wanted us to be cleaning or doing homework and other stuff. And if she would've ever found out! And there were some close calls my friends. Like door opening, pressing the click-in button and diving into bed type close calls. You remember the click-ins right, the ones on the tv that pulled out and did volume? Those were high tech man, hi-tech-digi-status! Settings were minimal contrast, brightness, color. Now we got this flat-screen, hi definition, adjust width, adjust height, zoom in/out, and clarify the picture . We've come quite a far ways.

But anyway, I just remember those days, and when I first saw NCAA on xbox, I was just like "WOW, my life is changed, gaming will never be the same". And then I thought that was gonna happen for 360, and while there were some cool games out there (I can't remember all the first ones, but I played perfect dark forever, and then HALO was the Mother Beast), I didn't get the same "WOW" moment with football as before. I did get the graphics POP, but the gameplay glitches after a while dull that a bit. Still, I have found a way to enjoy every iteration of the game, including the crappy ones, because we would normally trade in to save some money.

Somewhat, actually finding Utopia and now this site and tradition football, has changed the game again for me. Now it's kind of more than a game. It's a game, and it's a community bond, and it's football in another realm, outside of real world, and outside of game world. It's my chance to be a coach, and my chance to pick other "coaches" brains. And to have a chance to give input to the developers themselves? And they'll listen? Really? That is SO COOL I can't even explain it. It's a connection that we never could've dreamed about as kids. Really fun stuff. But it all ties back into the ncaa tradition, which is now carried on by EA. So EA is not the enemy to me, they are the friend, and while they don't get everything right, they are getting better. And I never would have dreamed they would take the game to the level that it's at now. And for that, I can't even complain. I can however give suggestion on how I think it could be better . But only because it matters! And I am thankful to the guys that put in the time on sites like this, to make it fun to be a part of that game, which is my favorite, in a deeper sense.

We get so caught up sometimes with the real mentality of our boards, that we forget when it's all said and done, it's just a game, and really nothing more. Just like the college season. When your team sucks, do you still buy tickets to go see em play? I do. Do you cheer them on? I do. I've gone to five 50 pt losses in the past 2 years for my Cougs. But guess what, I also saw them win the only game last season! This football game's the same way. But we get so caught up in the hype of what could be theoretically, that we forget what is, and what has been. We could get better, sure, but.....

As Yoda would say, in his little Yoda voice: "Yes. Yes. Always, this game enjoy, do I!"

[JBHuskers]

I was too young for the original Tecmo Bowl, but I'm enjoying the hell out of the remake they released on PSN.

I think my first ever football game was NCAA Football 98 for the PS1. I'm not sure of the year, but it had Danny Wuerffel on the cover. I do remember having a blast on it which was unequaled until NCAA '04 came out, and no game has been able to surpass the amount of fun I had playing that game online. It was like crack.

So yeah, I've been playing football games since I was 8 years old. Kind of scary.

The remake did a VERY good job of bringing things back. I was really pleased on how well the game played. I just hope I can find the roster file for PS3 (doesn't look like it's possible on the 360).

[JeffHCross]

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I'm only 26 and I still remember that. I owned one. Actually I think it's still in my parents house somewhere.

[Flav]

I'm only 26 and I still remember that. I owned one. Actually I think it's still in my parents house somewhere.

What is that? :p

[JeffHCross]

Interesting. Apparently attachments are in-line images but can't be quoted.

It's the second image from GURU's post at the top of this page.

I take it back. I didn't have Collco, I had Mattel:

[Rudy]

I remember that old LED football game. Had a lot of fun with that as a kid. That one was missing the toggle switch to kick - must have been the upgraded one lol.

[Jayrah]

Interesting. Apparently attachments are in-line images but can't be quoted.

It's the second image from GURU's post at the top of this page.

I take it back. I didn't have Collco, I had Mattel:

LOL I had one of those. That was my car ride favorite toy!

[steelerfan]

I had that one. I also had the green updated one that added passing. That was the best!

I had head-to-head football and baseball, Mattel's baseball and basketball and some other one that was a four player game that had cartidges. It came with football (which is all I had) but there were cartidges for baseball, basketball and hockey I think. I think it was called Total Control Four, but I may be mistaken.

[jaymo76]

Interesting. Apparently attachments are in-line images but can't be quoted.

It's the second image from GURU's post at the top of this page.

I take it back. I didn't have Collco, I had Mattel:

Ah you were sooo lucky. You had the fancy one. Mine was the first gen and it was green and it didn't have the "stadium" in the game. I still remember "running" back my first TD. What a game!

[JeffHCross]

I also had a ton of Tiger's LCD games as a kid. Tecmo Bowl was the most played, of course.

[steelerfan]

I also had a ton of Tiger's LCD games as a kid. Tecmo Bowl was the most played, of course.

Wow, there was a Tecmo LCD?

The only Tiger game I had was Talking Football. If you ever played it you'd remember this: "Great day for football. The Tigers won the toss and will receive. The Sharks will kick off."

Ha! That game was terrible but I played the heck out of it.

[JeffHCross]

It's really amazing when you look around out there and see what all Tiger made LCD games for. Freaking Stargate (the movie), for goodness sake.

[steelerfan]

OK, yeah. I vaguely remember that game now that I see it. I never had that one or even played it that I remember. Thanks JHC.