This is the first part of our series looking at the NCAA Football franchise as we enter the seventh year of NCAA Football on the next-gen consoles.


NCAA Football 07 kicked-off the next-gen revolution of college football in the summer of 2006 on the X-Box 360. The game is considered the “lost” next-gen game due to only being available on one console and being released at a time when many were just starting to make the switch to the 360.

The move to next-gen gaming saw both gamers and studios alike place a huge emphasis on the improved visuals that were now possible thanks to the new powerful technology at-hand. The majority of early previews of these consoles and upcoming titles focused on their visual capabilities with screenshots and CG movies touting the possibility that laid ahead in the years to come. Continuing with this trend, visuals would be an aspect that NCAA Football 07 focused heavily on. ...

- The new issues emerging from NCAA Football game update #2 (as well as those not fixed in the update) are now being posted at gaming news sites around the web including Joystiq.

- In a follow-up to the recently announced NCAA Football fellowship, EA looks to former players for more authenticity in games.

- "LeGrand Bowl" takes place this Sunday on the campus of Rutgers University.

- The EA jobs site is currently listing openings at EA Tiburon on the NCAA Football team (Executive Producer and Tools & Pipeline Lead), extensive positions for their NBA (sim) title, and also a large number of openings for a new IP. Any guesses? ...

EA SPORTS is launching EA SPORTS Season Ticket, a new subscription based service that will allow members to download full games early, a discount on DLC, free premium web content, and membership recognition.

Available starting today in the X-Box Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network Store and exclusive North American retail partner GameStop, gamers can purchase a yearly membership for $24.99 (or 2000 MS Points) that will allow them to download full EA SPORTS titles over three days before the full retail release. The games confirmed to be part of the program at launch include: Madden NFL 12, FIFA 12, NHL 12, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13, and NCAA Football 13. More titles may be added at a later date, but NBA Jam: On Fire Edition is confirmed to not be part of the program. ...

In the latest edition of the Madden NFL developers podcast, creative director Ian Cummings & ratings expert Donny Moore were joined by a member of the Central Gameplay team, Larry Richart. Central Gameplay designers help keep a base code & features between the two EA Tiburon football franchises, Madden NFL and NCAA Football.

While remaining vague in discussing the current project(s) Richart is working on, it was disclosed that defense (particularly zone coverage and assignment AI) and eliminating 'suction blocking' are among the focus areas for Central Gameplay, along with other aspects. Fellow Central Gameplay member Mike Scantlebury and designer Kasey Keltner have already been hard at work for months to help get zone coverages & assignment AI at a suitable level.

Click Read More to see more of the topics discussed in the Madden NFL developers podcast, including Real-Time Physics, the move of NBA ELITE to EA Tiburon, questions from the community, assigning player ratings, & more. ...

This morning, the official NCAA Football twitter account posed this question to the community:

"What's the one thing that you'd like to see added to the NCAA Football franchise to make it even better?"

While we all have a list of items we'd like to see added, what 'one thing' would you pick above the rest? After you tweet your response, also share it here with the community.

Don't forget to share your more detailed Wish Lists and Feedback and also share your thoughts in the 2010 NCAA Football Community Wish List Tournament. ...

Today, EA Sports announced Online Pass, an initiative to help encourage gamers to buy the game new while giving the company a way to make money off of used game sales. Currently, they receive nothing from sales of used titles. In 2008, 23% of GameStop's total annual revenue came from used software and hardware sales (over $2 billion), and used sales accounted for 48% of their total profit ($974.5 million). [Source] For comparison's sake, EA Sports reported net annual revenue of $4.2 billion in fiscal year 2008 and a $1.08 billion loss. Needless to say, any revenue from used game sales would be huge for the company.

Starting with June's release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 and continuing through the EA Sports '11 titles (including NCAA Football 11), brand new copies of the game will receive a code allowing the user to play online. Should you buy a used copy of the game, getting the code to play online will cost $10, though gamers can sign up for a free 7-day trial to experience Online Pass. ...