5 Things We Are Looking Forward to Learning About EA College Football
As we’ve passed the second Tuesday in July, it has now been nine long years since the release of NCAA Football 14 on July 9, 2013. However, should EA SPORTS College Football follow the same release schedule and rumors of a 2023 release prove true, we are now within one year of the title being launched.
While game info is still likely a ways off from being publicly known, here are five aspects that we’re looking forward to learning about in EA SPORTS College Football:
- What will be the first official game information released – and when? If anyone doubted the desire for a college football game to return, one only needs to look at the official EA SPORTS College Football Twitter page. The account has over 160,000 followers despite only having two tweets on February 2, 2021. The announcement tweet disclosing the development of EA CFB garnered over 28,000 retweets and almost 91,000 likes. What type of engagement will the first in-game screenshot(s) or teaser video have?
Some diehard fans have been tweeting every day since the game announcement tweet, asking for a release date, game info, trailer…..anything; but when could the first info arrive and in what form?
If the July 2023 release date is correct, game info could arrive at any point between now and then. However, it is not likely that EA will be willing to strongly promote a college football title coming next year during the heart this year’s Madden cycle. This would mean that marketing and promotion for College Football is more likely to begin towards the later stages of the upcoming season throughout the spring season.
The first info could come via social media, but any long-form coverage may arrive via ESPN.com, who were granted interviews and coverage for the game development announcement along with the Washington Post, or perhaps a large gaming media site such as Game Informer.
- Seeing the College Football Playoff in-game: NCAA Football 14 released before the College Football Playoff structure was determined and a year before the inaugural CFP, so it could not be added post-release.
Undoubtedly, the College Football Playoff will be a priority and focus within Dynasty Mode. College football fans have already seen how it might look in-game after seeing the CFP included as part of Madden NFL’s Face of the Franchise mode. Its inclusion into Madden was a drawing card for college football fans, but fans will expect it to be bigger and better in College Football.
However, also important to the playoff is how the field is determined and presented during the season to the user. The weekly CFP rankings release show has become a staple for college football fans and a point of discussion, if not controversy, during the season. How will the weekly playoff ranking reveal be reflected in-game?
- How similar and different will the game be compared to Madden NFL? The existence and success of Madden NFL will be a benefit for EA SPORTS College Football. Having an existing established football title gives EA a solid base on which to start game development. For better or worse, EA SPORTS College Football is likely to play very similar to Madden NFL.
In recent years, Madden NFL has seen record setting sales and engagement, proving that their formula is successful. However, that success has not come without some fans believing that Madden has become too focused on Ultimate Team while falling short in cultivating an engaging Franchise Mode.
At times, the NCAA Football franchise had plenty of fans who felt that the title was treated by EA as “Madden’s little brother.” This most frequently came at stages during the PS2/XBOX generation when NCAA would lack features found in Madden NFL.
While the base of Madden will give College Football a strong start, a lack of depth in certain modes (namely, Dynasty) and lack of differentiation from the professional game on the field could put a dent in user enjoyment for year one.
- How will the game utilize new technology? EA SPORTS titles on new console generations have always benefitted from increased computing power and technology, especially as it relates to visuals. For example, stadiums in NCAA Football on PS2/Xbox consisted of 2,500 polygons and ½ MB of texture space. The PS3/360 version of NCAA Football saw stadiums with 125,000 polygons and 17 MB. The then ‘next-gen’ version utilized satellites to capture the exact sun position for every stadium for accurate dynamic lighting for each venue.
Given that the franchise skipped an entire console generation (PS4/XB1), it’s a reasonable assumption that EA SPORTS College Football will take a significant leap visually over NCAA Football 14. Meanwhile, this increased computing power should translate to wide-ranging game aspects, such as (but not limited to) faster menus, which would be a benefit during recruiting, for example. What new and/or improved feature(s) will be part of College Football in year one, thanks to the leap in technology?
- The New Landscape of College Football: Since 2013, the conference carousel and realignment have continued and will seemingly do so for years to come. For example, Idaho, a fan favorite for Dynasty Mode rebuilds, has left for the FCS. In 2024, UCLA and USC join the Big Ten. The following year, Oklahoma and Texas head to the SEC. Could these conference changes have forced EA’s hand to include and expand the Custom Conferences feature for year one of EA CFB?
Since NCAA Football 14, players can redshirt and play in up to four games, market their NIL rights, enter the transfer portal, and it’s become commonplace for top players to sit out non-major bowl games. On the field, kickoffs and overtimes have seen their rules/formats change in the name of player safety. Needless to say, college football has had plenty of changes in the last ten years. How will the bevy of changes be implemented into Dynasty Mode and gameplay within EA SPORTS College Football?
Let us know what you think of our five aspects we are looking forward to finding out about EA SPORTS College Football. Then let us know what you hope to find out more about.
