EA SPORTS NCAA Football 1993-2013

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We have now reached the second Tuesday of July, the date typically reserved for the release of EA SPORTS NCAA Football. However, multiple lawsuits and the changing landscape of college sports mean the end of the franchise as we know it.

Anyone 21 years of age or younger has grown up with NCAA Football being an annual summer release. The franchise became a tradition for many and as they grew, so did the game. Fans played it against friends and family, it became a battle for bragging rights in college dorms, and the addition of Online Dynasty allowed gamers from across the country to compete against each other.

While plans were in place and the development underway for EA SPORTS College Football 15, its cancellation made it the last college sports franchise to fall, joining the ranks of NCAA Basketball/March Madness, College Hoops, and MVP NCAA Baseball. Between licensing costs and lawsuits over the alleged use of player likenesses, college gaming will likely not return for some time, if ever.

Where do NCAA Football gamers go?

The NCAA Football franchise sold millions of copies each year, so where will those loyal fans turn?

While the Madden NFL franchise continues on its path to become the ultimate simulation of professional football, will it (led by former NCAA higher-ups including Executive Producer Roy Harvey and Senior Producer Sean Graddy, among others) add something - anything - to reach out to NCAA Football gamers? Or will the assumption be that a significant number will purchase Madden NFL regardless of feature set and improvements, being that it is the only football option on the market? Worse yet, did the late cancellation of NCAA Football find Madden NFL 15 already far enough into development, leaving no possibility to cater to this displaced fan base? As we approach the August 26 release of Madden NFL 15, it's worth keeping an eye on how (if at all) the game's marketing and community relations attempt to reach former NCAA purchasers.

Will these passionate fans move on to other sports titles and other game genres or will some of them simply leave gaming in the past? For those who made their console and gaming purchases primarily for NCAA Football, do they fail to make the jump to the PS4 & XB1 with their long-standing motivation no longer in existence?

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The Effects of Cancellation

While longtime fans of the franchise now have a void to fill, the effects of the franchise cancellation are far-reaching.
While some regarded the money paid to schools by EA SPORTS as a small pittance, it was enough for some schools to fund multiple staffers, an important payday as many athletic departments look for creative methods to stay in the black.

GameStop's and other video game chains in college towns will lose the revenue windfall they ensued with their annual midnight releases.

Numerous community and fan websites have either fallen - particularly those who profited by selling roster files or via subscription methodology - or saw their direction change if they wished to stay relevant in the ever-changing cyber-landscape.

More importantly, numerous NCAA Football developers who lost their job were left looking for new employment in a very volatile market. While some members of the dev team moved on to other projects within the company in recent years, those who stayed with the ship to the very end were either moved to Madden NFL or relieved of their duties. In that time, those who were fortunate to find a new job may have been forced to relocated to various locations around the country.

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The Rebirth of NCAA Football

All hope is not lost for the return of college gaming. During the O'Bannon v. NCAA trial, EA Senior Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs Joel Linzner testified that if there was an efficient way for EA to work with college football and men's basketball players as a group and there were no NCAA prohibitions, the company would be "very interested in acquiring the rights" to use their names and images in games.

However, a ruling in the O'Bannon and Kessler antitrust case must occur, along with the fallout and any possible changes in the structure and current policies of the NCAA. EA's Peter Moore has stated that he believes systemic changes must first occur within college sports (the ability to attain a license for use of player likenesses) and that the company will watch and wait to see how the dust settles to determine if and how the company will proceed.

Should the environment allow for video game companies to purchase the rights to use player names and likenesses and EA re-enters the college football gaming market, it could be a lengthy process with major decisions that need to be made.

Updating, acquiring, and creating accurate team details such as stadiums, jerseys, and field art could take years. While a number of Madden NFL staffers would likely be shifted back to NCAA Football, who helms the project and do they attempt to bring back members of the old dev team? The company would also need to determine if the franchise would begin anew with features, pick up where NCAA Football 14 left off, or modify the Connected Careers (Franchise) Mode in Madden NFL for college football.

EA SPORTS would be aided by the fact that the studio is already in the football marketplace with Madden NFL, meaning they would have a gameplay engine in place that would need proper adjustments for the college game versus the lengthy and excruciating process of building from scratch.

These many decisions mean that if/once companies can return to making college video games, it would be years before a final product hits stores shelves. Until then, NCAA Football 14, NCAA Basketball 10, College Hoops 2K8, MVP NCAA Baseball 07 and the memories they provided must hold us over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrEALpSZvI4

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You can view the page at http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/for...ball-1993-2013

Nice tribute video. It brings back great memories. Like many of you I poured 1000's of hours into this series. I don't expect to see CFB return to console gaming but I loved every step of the journey and than the series and developers for all of the good times.

I'm with you, jaymo.

I have invested a serious portion of half of my life playing Bill Walsh College Football/College Football USA/NCAA Football. Thank you to the developers for making that possible. Great memories.

I am fortunate to not feel the huge loss that many of you do as I began to distance myself from the series beginning with NCAA 13. I'm one of those that has filled the void with other games.

For me, I always spent alot of time with the NHL series (minus 13, the only one I've never owned) and that will continue.

I also have found myself playing a TON of FIFA in the last few years and that will continue as well. I can already see that MLB The Show is going to fill my Summer months now, instead of being the occasional purchase it used to be.

As for Madden, it will probably remain an occasional purchase. I haven't seen improvements in key areas (to me) that would change my mind. I'll keep an eye on it though.

I definitely want to thank the NCAA devs who I got to spend time with in 2011. Particularly Ben Haumiller and Russ Kiniry. They are great guys and were very passionate about the series. I got to see, firsthand, how they tried to please an impossible-to-please community (particularly with the resources and restrictions they had). I have a great deal of respect for all of the devs, for that.

I also need to mention Justin Dewiel. That is good guy, right there (even if he's a Clowns fan). He kept those trips entertaining and made sure we were taken care of. Thanks, Justin.

I can't leave out the guys from the community that I had the chance to meet while I was there. All different walks of life, all with different strengths. But all passionate about the series and dedicated to helping make it better. It was really a cool dynamic and something I'll probably never experience again (in any facet of life). Good people and some now-lifelong friends.

Of course, I also have to thank the community here. TGT has been (and hopefully will continue to be) a big part of my daily routine. Thanks to all of you here for making this such a strong community.

Lastly (I feel like I'm giving an Oscar speech or something), Chris, Tommy and JB. You each know what you have meant to me as friends and as the leaders of this site. Thank you.

One thing that I want to mention, when we're feeling sorry for ourselves about the hiatus/death of this series, is to ALWAYS keep in mind that, as fans, the end of the series is just an inconvenience. As Chris mentioned, it has been life altering for the people that worked on the game. Jobs lost, some forced to uproot their families, others perhaps still looking for work or being forced into a career change. Keep your individual loss in perspective, it could be worse.

It was a hell of a ride and I don't regret a bit of it. If we ever see a college game again, I'm not sure it will be the same.

Sad sad month. RIP NCAA series .. 14 was a pretty good game. I still play it from time to time. But when madden 15 comes out I'll be devoting my time to that on the xbox one.

If there were a College Football 15, I would have a PS4 right now.

I'm not getting Madden. I don't need a new game football fix. I'll just play NCAA '14 forever if I have to.

Good stuff there Matt. Thank you!

My NCAA experience goes back to around NCAA 02 or 03. I remember being just out of college and CDJ would host a yearly tournament with friends every year around August I believe. Those were always fun, just a bunch of guys goofing around the entire day trying to win a tournament.

Then somewhere around 2006 to 2008, I would start to get more serious with getting involved on forums and making the game better instead of just playing it for fun. In 2009 I got my first chance to go to EA for feedback with Tiger 10 that year. I remember meeting Will Kinsler (Raczilla) for the first time, and not even five minutes into our conversation he asked if I wanted to come back next month for NCAA 10. My first experiences there at EA definitely opened up my eyes and drove me further to make sure I could help in the process of making these franchises better.

The community managers and devs are some stand-up guys, and it has been a great pleasure working with them and seeing their passion for the games they create. I keep in touch with a lot of the guys on the various teams, most of which have moved on to other areas.

Just about a year after my first experiences at EA, TGT was formed, and the community that has been built here has been a great one. While in May of 2010 when we started this site, NCAA was our focus, today we just focus on gaming in general and the community is still as strong as ever.

Thankfully the servers are still on, and I continue to play in two OD's. Hopefully someday we can once again focus on a new NCAA game here on the site.

Unlike most people who loved Madden 05 or 2K5, I was disappointed with both. NCAA Football was not legally sold in Canada until 07 but I read great things about NCAA06 and imported the game to the great white North. I fell in love with the game. I loved the dynasty mode, recruiting and the gameplay. And as someone who followed the NFL much more it taught me about the conferences and traditions. Great memories!

Matt reminded me that I need to give a great big thank you to Chris, JB, and Tommy for their effort and commitment to this site and the NCAA games in general. I have been a contributor to this forum since May 2010 but before that I actively followed/participated at NCAA Strategies/Utopia and loved the podcasts that the guys would put together. This series actually brought me to the internet to find information. For me it all started at OS but all of the other sites I regularly posted at, I have long since stopped. The only forum I actively participate in anymore is TGT. A huge amount of credit needs to go to the founders. Yes, NCAA is dead but it's the awesome moderators and posters of this forum that allow it to go on.

Four years ago I would not have pictured coming to TGT to discuss anything other than NCAA. However, under excellent leadership the site has flourished into a small, yet all encompassing community. Now I can get my video game fix, my political fix, my current events fix, etc. etc. etc. When my subscription comes due in the next little while I will re-up in a heart-beat because it's the great people in this forum that make this my #1 web destination.

I've had an opportunity to interact with people here; play online games; participate in online leagues; watch/stream twitch with posters from this community, etc. Heck I have even won a free copy of Madden 11 AND got a free digital copy on NBA Live 14. It's the people on this forum that make my experience so enjoyable. It's weird because while I have never met any of you face-to-face, I feel like we are all (well almost all... :) friends and if I saw you in a bar I would buy you a drink. Now if we ever did all meet it would have to be Thursday at Steeler's bar. I need to see the legend in action!

So again, a big thank you to Chris, JB and Tommy and their commitment to this wonderful forum!

Nicely put Jaymo!

Well spoken, jaymo. :)

It does seem "odd" for no NCAA game out now. Also with no real "hype" for Madden it just really seems off to me as I got into gaming b/c of sports games.

Thankfully, over the past few years I gained an appreciation for other genres and have enjoyed them every bit as much (if not more) as I enjoyed the NCAA series.

The series is dead unless/until the NCAA collapses and/or changes its mind and allows a company to pay players to use their "likeness" in the game.

I will say that I expect Madden to be more fun on defence this year CLW and very similar on offence. I'll definitely pick it up.

Appreciate it Jaymo!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

BTW - I know that song was used in WWE PPVs in the past but I cannot seem to find the full song anywhere. Is it a real/full song or is that 90 seconds it?

Take everything Jaymo said and add more mushy stuff. That's my speech.

Not sure if I'll end up playing Madden or not.

Interesting write-up, thanks.

Disappointed overall.

Doesn't look like any info on what M15 is doing to reach out to NCAA gamers. Instead, the focus is on getting NCAA fans to move on and buy M15 regardless:

Ouch.

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Originally Posted by cdj

Doesn't look like any info on what M15 is doing to reach out to NCAA gamers. Instead, the focus is on getting NCAA fans to move on and buy M15 regardless:

Ouch.

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Not to talk bad of the dead but part of the problem with the NCAA series was a fundamental understanding and or care about people like myself who may watch pro sports but are not that into them and are PASSIONATE about college athletics. The traditions and multiple different styles of play (in both football and basketball) in college simply make the college game more enjoyable than the professional counterparts.

of course, this will too change when i start hearing/seeing sports center breaking news covering some 17-18 year old high school when he signs a multi-million dollar deal to play at a school.

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Originally Posted by cdj

Doesn't look like any info on what M15 is doing to reach out to NCAA gamers. Instead, the focus is on getting NCAA fans to move on and buy M15 regardless:

Ouch.

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who's the dumb ass that typed that ? most people buy/bought both games to begin with.

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most people buy/bought both games to begin with.

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Define most. I've known quite a few over the years that never bought Madden.

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Originally Posted by ram29jackson

who's the dumb ass that typed that this ?

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You.

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Originally Posted by ram29jackson

who's the dumb ass that typed that ? most people buy/bought both games to begin with.

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False. I remember an EA dev who stated the cross ownership of both games was less than 10%. Surprised me but just the facts.

I was just thinking yesterday that it was the day that NCAA Football normally released. Great memories! I used to take two weeks of vacation in mid-July (back when I had a job that gave me four weeks of vacation). I did it in large part because of the release of NCAA Football. I would go to a midnight release or to Wal-Mart and get the game, then come home and kick the tires a bit. For the next two weeks, I hoped it would rain so I didn't feel TOO guilty about staying inside playing NCAA Football. Great times starting up new dynasties or playing a few familiar rivals online. It feels like a significant part of my life ended when the franchise ended.

I won't be getting a PS4, because NCAA is the only game I played with any regularity. I would pick up Madden most years, but often it would just collect dust. I played a few series of last year's Madden after buying it for the Sunday Ticket option. If I need my Madden fix, I may just bust out that game. I will be playing NCAA '14 for the foreseeable future. It was a pretty tight game, a nice send-off. I just hope they keep up the servers so we can play online or (more important for me) upload and retrieve our in-game screenshots. I didn't play a lot this year because real life was happening (in a good way), but I still plan on working my current dynasty for a long time, and I'm only year Year 5.

One good thing: No more posts badgering roster makers for a timetable! :)

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Originally Posted by BDawg35

I was just thinking yesterday that it was the day that NCAA Football normally released. Great memories! I used to take two weeks of vacation in mid-July (back when I had a job that gave me four weeks of vacation). I did it in large part because of the release of NCAA Football. I would go to a midnight release or to Wal-Mart and get the game, then come home and kick the tires a bit. For the next two weeks, I hoped it would rain so I didn't feel TOO guilty about staying inside playing NCAA Football. Great times starting up new dynasties or playing a few familiar rivals online. It feels like a significant part of my life ended when the franchise ended.

I won't be getting a PS4, because NCAA is the only game I played with any regularity. I would pick up Madden most years, but often it would just collect dust. I played a few series of last year's Madden after buying it for the Sunday Ticket option. If I need my Madden fix, I may just bust out that game. I will be playing NCAA '14 for the foreseeable future. It was a pretty tight game, a nice send-off. I just hope they keep up the servers so we can play online or (more important for me) upload and retrieve our in-game screenshots. I didn't play a lot this year because real life was happening (in a good way), but I still plan on working my current dynasty for a long time, and I'm only year Year 5.

One good thing: No more posts badgering roster makers for a timetable! :)

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BDizzle 4 shizzle! Glad to see you here. I still be wantin' my RASTAHS!

My history with this game goes back since I've been playing EA's version of College Football since Bill Walsh back on Sega. My goodness I loved that game. I also have been playing Madden since I could remember, but was more into the College Football series then the NCAA Football series in 98 (when Randy Moss was at Marshall and was uber unstoppable on a fly route. I remember playing those games and even at my age thinking of things that could help improve it. Of course I don't remember any of those ideas now but I just compared it to the things I was seeing on TV and thinking "that would be neat if it were in the game". It's also the reason I dreamed of getting into the video game industry. I planned on working for EA Sports lol.

My cousins and I would play against one another and have tournaments all night. Once the series featured Dynasty/season mode we would each take our team then whoever was scheduled to play the CPU..one of us would play as the CPU so every game would be tough and against another user. Between us 4 we played all night and every game sure enough was competitive since we knew what each other was doing. I can remember before online gaming came we would mail a memory card back and forth in order to play a season together as well.


I use to play both NCAA and Madden religiously up until 2007-2008 (Reggie Bush cover). The game started to decline after moving to next-gen (Xbox, which is the version I had) IMO and the way I grew up playing it wasn't there either which moreso changed it as well, as my time to dedicate to both games did also. Was never a big online play randoms fan since the version prior (Desmond Howard) so that wasn't going to keep me playing. I still purchased both games typically every year from 2007 to now, but my attention span never lasted long with the NCAA series once Madden came out the following month. Being in sim NCAA leagues kept me playing more than I would have. I know when I met CLW om '07 and he was running the NNCCS league (which I'll add I won the National Championship in hahaha) that kept me into the NCAA series more. Another league on Tradition Sports kept me playing as well back then. After that I've been geared toward Madden once I found a sim Community in 2008 that is based primarily for Madden. The past several versions I've purchased NCAA almost solely from the feedback and information from CDJ, JB and G as far back as prior to TGT forming. Those guys can get you hyped and ready for anything once they start posting reams and streams of information :D. Appreciate the direct and honest answers you guys would give me over PM's so many times.

I still don't play randoms online in either of the games much if at all so now the only way I play NCAA is in the OD's here. Actually the reason I purchased '14 again recently was to play in the Powerhouse OD. I got YouTube'd watching G's and OB's Dynasty videos and caught a flash back...this one did it

http://youtu.be/zqL2Q3QJ4xI


Hate to see the end of the series because although I played it rarely after Madden, still enjoyed it when played with the right group of guys. Waiting for a good roster set was like a drug it seemed. I've already been playing Madden more so there won't be any change for me. One reason I stopped playing both games at the same time was because the button configurations started to change from NCAA to Madden. So everytime I played NCAA, I would go back and mess up while playing Madden and vice versa. I forget when that changed, but in the past I know it had an "old style" configuration that you could set.

I'll still be playing NCAA 14 until the servers are turned off or as long as the Powerhouse OD is going. Good thing about it being on PS3 and Madden on PS4, the controllers are different so my adjustment from playing both will be better.

Would have loved to have made the trip down to the studio just to experience the design, creative process of a video game in general. However my application must have not went through haha.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...ps0be36b1a.gif

:(

Any one wanna start up a fresh OD? I'd be down but I couldn't play daily because of work but could a couple games a week in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8TflIIfuhs

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Originally Posted by Rudy

False. I remember an EA dev who stated the cross ownership of both games was less than 10%. Surprised me but just the facts.

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I think I've bought 1-2 Maddens in the last 15+ years.

I've bought both every year except NCAA 2000 Weinke. I didn't have a PS2 yet.

If most people bought both, Madden wouldn't have millions of more copies sold each year. Some bought one, some bought the other, some bought both.

:ram?:

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Originally Posted by CLW

BDizzle 4 shizzle! Glad to see you here. I still be wantin' my RASTAHS!

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I saw a Facebook post from TGT. I vaguely remembered having a log-in here. I'm not ballin' much these days. I think it's been about two months since I picked up the sticks. My dynasty is heading into the bowl game in Year 5. By now, I'd have about 15-17 seasons knocked down back in the day. You know, back in the day when I was married to someone who didn't make it worth my while to come to bed early.

But any-who ...

You're in H-town now? You posting up with Yragha?

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Originally Posted by BDawg35

I saw a Facebook post from TGT. I vaguely remembered having a log-in here. I'm not ballin' much these days. I think it's been about two months since I picked up the sticks. My dynasty is heading into the bowl game in Year 5. By now, I'd have about 15-17 seasons knocked down back in the day. You know, back in the day when I was married to someone who didn't make it worth my while to come to bed early.

But any-who ...

You're in H-town now? You posting up with Yragha?

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FROSTY!

Nah man I haven't heard from Rags in ages. Unfortunately, once the GBN was layed to rest everyone went their separate ways.

NNCCS!!

I appreciate the game, still have NCAA 09, 11, 13, and 14 all on PS3. I don't currently own a copy of Madden, the pro game just isn't for me, I enjoyed being able to play different schools and different styles of play, the pro game was all too much the same.

I agree 100% with the statement, "If NCAA 15 came out I'd be first in line to purchase a PS4". This is where I think they are losing money, for me it would not only be a no brainier to purchase the latest installment of NCAA but I'd then start buying the new PGA game, FIFA, etc...on the PS4...

Thanks to all those that have made this site possible. This is one of the few forum-type sites that I've been to that has mature people, or somehow seems to weed the kids out. All the other sites seem to have multiple posts that turn into arguments and bashing and all sorts of stuff that I just don't have time for in my life. It's nice to come here and talk football, video games, PC games all sorts of stuff and not get some idiot responding or whatever they call it "trolling" I think those troll type people should have their own forum, let them eat each other like on Lord of the Flies.

Anyways, thanks again I still enjoy NCAA on PS3. If a college football game comes out for PS4 I'm there dude!

Gig 'Em AGGIES!

Gus '99

It's the traditional weekend before release, right? This is where the EA Access people would be giving impressions and JB, G, and CDJ would be playing early copies.

:fdown:

I think release was usually the second Tuesday of July/first full week of July, but we're pretty close to that time of year. :(

It's funny. If it wasn't brought up here, I wouldn't have even thought about it.

NCAA and it's release were HUGE for me for many, many years. It was the most anticipated day of the year for me, the day my gaming calendar began. NCAA in July, Madden in August, NHL in September. For years I barely played anything else (except for a baseball title every few years).

However, after never getting NCAA 14 and being 2 years removed from its release (3 years from the last NCAA I have) I just don't have any thoughts about it any more. I'd love to see it come back but life has gone on without it.