After an eight year hiatus, NCAA Football video games are making their long awaited return. As it is still in the early stages, we don’t know much, but here’s what we do know:
1. It Will Only Be Available on Next-Gen Consoles
After the games return was announced, it was said that the game would only be coming out on next-gen consoles. As it stands now, most places are sold out of next-gen consoles, which is bad news to the majority of people who were unable to get their hands on an Xbox One X or PlayStation 5. The good news is, we won’t have to worry about this because we still have a while before the game makes its return.
2. There Will Be a Name Change
The game will no longer be called NCAA Football. According to ESPN, the game will be called EA Sports College Football.
“EA Sports College Football gives us a name and a brand to kind of work around for some things that might evolve as well as what we’re focusing on really out of the gate, which is really the FBS Division I school and the road to the College Football Playoff and College Football Championship.”
– Daryl Holt, EA Sports Vice President
I think the change is meant to stay as far away from the NCAA and work around the many rules and regulations the NCAA put in place.
3. There Is Still a Lot to Be Determined
There is still a lot riding on how the legal side of things play out. For example, my favorite part of NCAA Football was playing with my favorite players in-game. If the NCAA doesn’t find a way for players to be represented as a group, we may be stuck playing with random players with random numbers. Now this sounds easier than it is. In the pros, the league’s union make an agreement with EA on a price for the NIL right of the players. The league then takes that money and makes sure each player is paid for use of their name and likeness.
What Do We Have to Look Forward To?
I could make a list about all of the things I’m excited for, but we would be here all day. I’ll save you the time. First off, the graphics are going to be excellent compared to NCAA 14. The game will be skipping a whole generation of consoles as NCAA 14 was only available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so expect a big upgrade in graphics.
The part I am most excited about is Road to Glory. Road to Glory was everyone’s favorite mode in NCAA 14. You get to make your own player, and starting from high school, play your way all the way to the NFL. The game will feature the College Football Playoffs for the first time, so I’m excited to be able to play my way through the playoffs. With EA running College Football and Madden, I think we will see something in the future where you can take your player from high school, all the way to the pros on Madden.
Lastly, I am excited to see all of the updated jerseys and stadiums coming to the game. I am a big fan of the details, so I am excited to see what EA does with the teams new alternate jerseys.
Future in eSports?
With the growing world of eSports, it is entirely possible that we will see NCAA College Football on a competitive scene. I think this will be great for content creators and professional players alike. Professional eSports has always been somethings that has peaked my interest. I can’t wait to see if EA hosts something competitively like they do with the Madden Club Championships.
