Where Does NCAA Football Go From Here?

by pastapadre
Posted August 24th, 2009 at 7:03 am

ncaafootball100823

The NCAA Football series has seen its ups and downs over the last few years. Still one of the most fully featured sports games ever, there is definitely reason for gamers to be frustrated. NCAA Football 10 lacked emotion, presentation, and ultimately offered stale gameplay.

A series of gaffes including the issue that found the rosters in disarray plagued the game prior to release. The first patch for the game did nothing to actually improve the overall experience being offered other than fixing aspects of the game that were inexplicably broken. The second patch, which apparently will be rather extensive, has still not been detailed. At this point it is probably too late for it to really change the perception of this year’s offering.

Teambuilder turned out to be a big success and certainly it has been enjoyable creating teams and seeing them materialize for use in the game. Despite that, Teambuilder really isn’t about NCAA Football. It could be used in any game, it could even be utilized on its own to create a game. As much as I liked it I’m not sure how much credit NCAA should actually receive for having it.

Road to Glory did bring in an intriguing element with the video content tracking events in the player’s career. However the mode formerly known as Campus Legend still had on-the-field issues that have been carrying over since it was introduced. Questionable play calling, poor practice mode for gaining attribute points, and an obvious slant towards high-profile positions especially.

Then you have Season Showdown. Alright, I can’t hate on this too much because I understand what they were trying to do with it. But really, resources were put into this and in the end it has not captured anyone’s imagination. The college football season hasn’t even started yet and I can’t imagine anyone getting hooked on Season Showdown especially now. Certainly it is reasonable to question why so much was put into this “feature” as opposed to working on something else that could have been of more benefit to more people.

Rosters are going to be an interesting topic going forward. As I opined a while back it almost seems as though the legal issues has EA working towards more generic rosters that would then leave the responsibility to the community to correct. How the lawsuits play out will have a huge affect on the game going forward.

Online Dynasty continues to be a big coup for NCAA Football, however as seen this year it can’t hold the game up on its own. It did for 09, I played that game more than any other this generation. The pure fun allowed me to overlook the game’s flaws. That feeling just didn’t carry over to 10 though.

Reviews for NCAA Football 10 actually have the exact same Metacritic average as 09, this even despite a suspicious “world exclusive” review from TeamXbox that inexplicably gave it a 9.3 score. That shows that not enough was done even in the eyes of reviewers. The consensus definitely is that nothing drastic was done to the game other than the addition of Teambuilder and the gameplay essentially tweaked. Sales are down for the first time this generation. The only other yearly sports title that has been dropping is the MLB 2K series. EA can not be pleased to be in company with that franchise.

Over at ncaaStrategies they’ve worked up an NCAA Basketball style tournament polling for wishlist items. This is a great initiative and I’d encourage anyone interested in providing input on what NCAA Football should be adding to check it out. Click here to head there and take part in the voting.

The biggest problem for NCAA Football ironically is Madden. This year Madden 10 arrived and essentially blew NCAA out of the water. The game has advanced so much in a single year that it naturally makes you wonder why NCAA has not made, or even attempted, to do the same.

Basically that is what NCAA Football 11 has to go for. It desperately needs a fresh feel. There needs to be that emotional connection to the game that is completely missing right now. Atmosphere and presentation have to be upgraded and adding cheerleaders and bands that everyone skips through does not qualify. Finally the gameplay absolutely has to feel new. Madden was able to do all this in one year. No more excuses for NCAA Football not to do the same.

Tags: latest news

Epizz

First I just wanna warn you guys that I'm just going to write whatever comes to my mind so sorry for the rant.

-I hate to say it during these economic times, but this NCAA team has to go. We need fresh blood. We need a dev team with some fire, hunger, and passion. I post at operationsports and It's great to have devs post and interact with the community, but every time one of the posts I just get a feeling that these guys have no idea what they are doing. Where as being a big fan of Madden and NHL, their teams seem passionate about their craft. I also get the feeling that the team doesn't actually watch college football games. Being a die hard fan, I'll watch college football (no matter the teams) over an NFL game anyday of the week because there is just something about college football that makes it so good. The passion of the players, the atmosphere, the sounds. I could go on and on. I challenge the NCAA team to just sit down and watch a college game.

-Next thing is the rosters. I think the lawsuit thing is BS. EA just got lazy. If you have one guy that resembles a real life amateur athlete then your fucked regardless. The first thing I look at every year is the rosters. And this year's made me wanna throw up. As bad as the last couple of next gen games were atleast the rosters were good (considering the circumstances). This year was inexcusable. If you can't get rosters right, I don't trust you got anything else right.

- STOP ADDING USELESS FEATURES. We have enough already. I guess this is how you grab the casual fan, but you are wasting precious time that could be used to IMPROVE the game, not just piling shit upon shit.

- The NCAA team needs to go back to the NCAA glory days and see what they did right. I popped in NCAA 2004 the other day and I actually had a smile on my face. No stupid game modes I'll never use. The physics, the perfect game speed, player entrances. The gameplay was just so smooth. I used to play NCAA 2004 for hours upon hours. Much more than Madden. I pray that one day I'll have this same feeling.
Epizz

First I just wanna warn you guys that I'm just going to write whatever comes to my mind so sorry for the rant.

-I hate to say it during these economic times, but this NCAA team has to go. We need fresh blood. We need a dev team with some fire, hunger, and passion. I post at operationsports and It's great to have devs post and interact with the community, but every time one of the posts I just get a feeling that these guys have no idea what they are doing. Where as being a big fan of Madden and NHL, their teams seem passionate about their craft. I also get the feeling that the team doesn't actually watch college football games. Being a die hard fan, I'll watch college football (no matter the teams) over an NFL game anyday of the week because there is just something about college football that makes it so good. The passion of the players, the atmosphere, the sounds. I could go on and on. I challenge the NCAA team to just sit down and watch a college game.

-Next thing is the rosters. I think the lawsuit thing is BS. EA just got lazy. If you have one guy that resembles a real life amateur athlete then your fucked regardless. The first thing I look at every year is the rosters. And this year's made me wanna throw up. As bad as the last couple of next gen games were atleast the rosters were good (considering the circumstances). This year was inexcusable. If you can't get rosters right, I don't trust you got anything else right.

- STOP ADDING USELESS FEATURES. We have enough already. I guess this is how you grab the casual fan, but you are wasting precious time that could be used to IMPROVE the game, not just piling shit upon shit.

- The NCAA team needs to go back to the NCAA glory days and see what they did right. I popped in NCAA 2004 the other day and I actually had a smile on my face. No stupid game modes I'll never use. The physics, the perfect game speed, player entrances. The gameplay was just so smooth. I used to play NCAA 2004 for hours upon hours. Much more than Madden. I pray that one day I'll have this same feeling.
http://intensedebate.com/people/okafor43 okafor43

Pasta here is the problem for NCAA. E.A. sports puts nothing into to the game to begin with. Ncaa is more playable than Madden cause you have 100 something schools to choose from and only 30 something in the NFL. People also actually go to the schools they play with so they can relate more with the team and the game than they could playing with a pro team in madden. The graphics are terrible. ( Why is every teams jersey's soo shiney in the game) They release the game a bit early why cant ncaa have fight for every yard ??? Why cant they have nice helmets??? instead they put dumb ass features like play build up or set up. I'm sick of waiting every year after year hoping they will make a secent college football game. Its time to pull the plug on EA and see if someone else can do better with it.
http://intensedebate.com/people/okafor43 okafor43

Pasta here is the problem for NCAA. E.A. sports puts nothing into to the game to begin with. Ncaa is more playable than Madden cause you have 100 something schools to choose from and only 30 something in the NFL. People also actually go to the schools they play with so they can relate more with the team and the game than they could playing with a pro team in madden. The graphics are terrible. ( Why is every teams jersey's soo shiney in the game) They release the game a bit early why cant ncaa have fight for every yard ??? Why cant they have nice helmets??? instead they put dumb ass features like play build up or set up. I'm sick of waiting every year after year hoping they will make a secent college football game. Its time to pull the plug on EA and see if someone else can do better with it.
allstar2

great article. i've been an NCAA guy every year for the last 10 to 15, only buying Madden about once every 5 or 6 yrs. Madden 10 blows NCAA out of the water this time around. I have both and am only using NCAA to get some draft classes out of; pretty much playing Madden nonstop.

I wish NCAA would've put all the stuff back in they used to have (mentioned over and over again, but different visor options, hair options, team intros). For whatever reason, NCAA thought they could get away with a crap version on the next gen systems (initially 360, then PS3), and now they've slowly gotten around to adding in all of the stuff they used to have (and it's finally caught up to them).
allstar2

great article. i've been an NCAA guy every year for the last 10 to 15, only buying Madden about once every 5 or 6 yrs. Madden 10 blows NCAA out of the water this time around. I have both and am only using NCAA to get some draft classes out of; pretty much playing Madden nonstop.

I wish NCAA would've put all the stuff back in they used to have (mentioned over and over again, but different visor options, hair options, team intros). For whatever reason, NCAA thought they could get away with a crap version on the next gen systems (initially 360, then PS3), and now they've slowly gotten around to adding in all of the stuff they used to have (and it's finally caught up to them).
MARCUS

where does NCAA football go from here?? how about in my ass?

vargas

homo alert…homo alert….
jumanji

Please, for your asses sake, lube that son of bitch before you do this.

MARCUS

where does NCAA football go from here?? how about in my ass?

vargas

homo alert…homo alert….
jumanji

Please, for your asses sake, lube that son of bitch before you do this.

http://nickohrn.com/ Nick

Nice name

Seriously, though, Microsoft has great products for the most part, they treat third party developers (like me) great, and their ecosystem is open enough for anyone to get into it. No reason to rag on Microsoft.
http://nickohrn.com Nick

Nice name

Seriously, though, Microsoft has great products for the most part, they treat third party developers (like me) great, and their ecosystem is open enough for anyone to get into it. No reason to rag on Microsoft.
PHM

how can it go anywhere but up from where its at? its now replaced Madden as the most medicore next gen sports game out there. how can it not improve? Well, EA will find a way.

lowg1

What i dont get is how a bunch of fat dudes sit in an office and have a whole year to come up with new ideas and fixes from last years version of ncaa BUT, still come up short with bullshit like sportsmanship and cheerleader cut scenes. someone said it earlier, piling shit on top of shit is what ea is doing.

PHM

how can it go anywhere but up from where its at? its now replaced Madden as the most medicore next gen sports game out there. how can it not improve? Well, EA will find a way.

lowg1

What i dont get is how a bunch of fat dudes sit in an office and have a whole year to come up with new ideas and fixes from last years version of ncaa BUT, still come up short with bullshit like sportsmanship and cheerleader cut scenes. someone said it earlier, piling shit on top of shit is what ea is doing.

Dave

I couldn't agree more with you Pasta. Madden did blow it out of the water and made it feel like a game that was ancient in comparison. They need to do a lot to get me back to buying that series again.
Dave

I couldn't agree more with you Pasta. Madden did blow it out of the water and made it feel like a game that was ancient in comparison. They need to do a lot to get me back to buying that series again.
Gamer

Off Topic Madden 360 Glitch
Pasta, every time I have a DC my losses go up by more than one and my wins go down by more than one (3-4 on average). Also, my DNF and win/lose streak goes WAY out of balance. Can you find out what’s going on please?
Gamer

Off Topic Madden 360 Glitch
Pasta, every time I have a DC my losses go up by more than one and my wins go down by more than one (3-4 on average). Also, my DNF and win/lose streak goes WAY out of balance. Can you find out what’s going on please?
f u all

sales are down pasta? that makes no sense considering how great the US economy is doing. brother the jags haven't sold out one home game yet this year aka 10 home blackouts, and your talkin about ncaa having low sales numbers for the first time in this generation with no mention of the shit shape the economy is in and how most people can barley afford their homes much less some random video games made for kids

http://intensedebate.com/people/pastapadre pastapadre

Other games consistently continue to rise. UFC even broke out huge. Economy can be a factor, but not enough to offset like 10 million new console owners each year.

f u all

sales are down pasta? that makes no sense considering how great the US economy is doing. brother the jags haven't sold out one home game yet this year aka 10 home blackouts, and your talkin about ncaa having low sales numbers for the first time in this generation with no mention of the shit shape the economy is in and how most people can barley afford their homes much less some random video games made for kids

http://intensedebate.com/people/pastapadre pastapadre

Other games consistently continue to rise. UFC even broke out huge. Economy can be a factor, but not enough to offset like 10 million new console owners each year.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=517316323 Gjasi Leite

EA needs to bring back everything past gen had. The first ncaa I played was 05 and I loved it I still haven't played one better than that. Ea needs to bring the best of nest gen and add that to the best of last gen.. Like crowd noise and controller rumble, fix blocking the running game has been crap, and bring back the extras like spring games.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=517316323 Gjasi Leite

EA needs to bring back everything past gen had. The first ncaa I played was 05 and I loved it I still haven't played one better than that. Ea needs to bring the best of nest gen and add that to the best of last gen.. Like crowd noise and controller rumble, fix blocking the running game has been crap, and bring back the extras like spring games.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Pharrell1 Pharrell1

put a fork in em and let 2k have the college license.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Pharrell1 Pharrell1

put a fork in em and let 2k have the college license.
http://www.mathewballard.com/ Mathew Ballard

I have to be honest, overall I'm very pleased with 2010. I've logged over 20 hrs of gameplay and have come across very few bugs, now yes these bugs are annoying, but I've had a lot of fun playing the game so far. Road to Glory mode has been great, except for the season schedules not being done to my liking.

http://intensedebate.com/people/okafor43 okafor43

You say you have come across very few bugs then you contradict yourself in the same sentence and paragragh.

http://www.mathewballard.com/ Mathew Ballard

I did not contradict myself. If I had said, "There are only a few bugs" and then said "There are a ton of bugs" that would have been contradiction. But, I didn't say that, I said, "…have come across very few bugs, now yes these bugs are annoying, but I've had a lot of fun playing the game so far."

Meaning, I have only seen a few bugs, but that doesn't mean that the bugs I have seen haven't been annoying and shouldn't be there in the first place.

http://www.mathewballard.com Mathew Ballard

I have to be honest, overall I'm very pleased with 2010. I've logged over 20 hrs of gameplay and have come across very few bugs, now yes these bugs are annoying, but I've had a lot of fun playing the game so far. Road to Glory mode has been great, except for the season schedules not being done to my liking.

http://intensedebate.com/people/okafor43 okafor43

You say you have come across very few bugs then you contradict yourself in the same sentence and paragragh.

http://www.mathewballard.com Mathew Ballard

I did not contradict myself. If I had said, "There are only a few bugs" and then said "There are a ton of bugs" that would have been contradiction. But, I didn't say that, I said, "…have come across very few bugs, now yes these bugs are annoying, but I've had a lot of fun playing the game so far."

Meaning, I have only seen a few bugs, but that doesn't mean that the bugs I have seen haven't been annoying and shouldn't be there in the first place.

http://www.knoxanimal.com/ Knox Animal

I agree that the biggest problem for NCAA is Madden 10. I was okay with this year's NCAA game until Madden came out, now it's painful to play. Next year's game just needs to step its game up like they did with Madden this year and it will be fine.
http://www.knoxanimal.com Knox Animal

I agree that the biggest problem for NCAA is Madden 10. I was okay with this year's NCAA game until Madden came out, now it's painful to play. Next year's game just needs to step its game up like they did with Madden this year and it will be fine.
Badgerboy 21

Having ALOT of fun playing online dynasty with buddies, NCAA is a VERY fun game this year, it isnt without flaws tho-

Presentation is a big to do for next year, team specific entrances, etc.
Gameplay to me is fine, they can tweak a cpl things tho. love the uniform dynamic.
The fact that progressive lighting was back in was a big boost to realism to me.
ZERO interest in team builder or season showdown, think they could do a better job making the big dynasty games seem bigger, IE gameday in one location a week, better drama to end of games.

I do believe some of that will be in for next year. No madden for me, NCaa, and nhl coming out soon will suffice.
Badgerboy 21

Having ALOT of fun playing online dynasty with buddies, NCAA is a VERY fun game this year, it isnt without flaws tho-

Presentation is a big to do for next year, team specific entrances, etc.
Gameplay to me is fine, they can tweak a cpl things tho. love the uniform dynamic.
The fact that progressive lighting was back in was a big boost to realism to me.
ZERO interest in team builder or season showdown, think they could do a better job making the big dynasty games seem bigger, IE gameday in one location a week, better drama to end of games.

I do believe some of that will be in for next year. No madden for me, NCaa, and nhl coming out soon will suffice.
Brad

Speak for yourself Pasta. I don't skip through the bands or the cheerleaders and the gameplay is fun, not stale.
What the game does need is real FCS teams and not generic ones as well as team specific presentation elements.
Brad

Speak for yourself Pasta. I don't skip through the bands or the cheerleaders and the gameplay is fun, not stale.
What the game does need is real FCS teams and not generic ones as well as team specific presentation elements.
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UT_Longhorns

the disc space for 360 is really low and i dont think they will make exclusive modes and shit for ps3 so we probably have to wait for ps4 and the new xbox in a couple of years which fucking sucks but still the games for those systems probably get a huge license with getting all of the fcs teams in and having players license which I dont think they will ever get because players currently playing have to be payed which is against the NCAA rules
UT_Longhorns

the disc space for 360 is really low and i dont think they will make exclusive modes and shit for ps3 so we probably have to wait for ps4 and the new xbox in a couple of years which fucking sucks but still the games for those systems probably get a huge license with getting all of the fcs teams in and having players license which I dont think they will ever get because players currently playing have to be payed which is against the NCAA rules
http://twitter.com/concity06 @concity06

I decided not to buy NCAA 10 at the last second. I just bought NCAA Football 09 brand new and sealed on ebay for 8 bucks!!! Heck yeah. I figured 10 wasn't much different so I went with a cheap 09. It's a decent game, the physics are lacking a lot though Just something to have fun with. I still like the gameplay better on PS2 though.
http://twitter.com/concity06 @concity06

I decided not to buy NCAA 10 at the last second. I just bought NCAA Football 09 brand new and sealed on ebay for 8 bucks!!! Heck yeah. I figured 10 wasn't much different so I went with a cheap 09. It's a decent game, the physics are lacking a lot though Just something to have fun with. I still like the gameplay better on PS2 though.
http://intensedebate.com/people/hurgues101 hurgues101

umm how bout they let u download the commitment list afta the season like the real ones it wud b wayy more realistic……and the prerssure omg u cnt even get 1 sack vs cpu in that game and the whole miami team has dreads wheres dat in the game? pass defense sucks pass offense wayyy to easy the game juss sucks period n im a fan of college football it actusallly got worse to me madden is wayyyy better thought ya was tryna compete deres no wayy id pay 60 for that game…
http://intensedebate.com/people/hurgues101 hurgues101

umm how bout they let u download the commitment list afta the season like the real ones it wud b wayy more realistic……and the prerssure omg u cnt even get 1 sack vs cpu in that game and the whole miami team has dreads wheres dat in the game? pass defense sucks pass offense wayyy to easy the game juss sucks period n im a fan of college football it actusallly got worse to me madden is wayyyy better thought ya was tryna compete deres no wayy id pay 60 for that game…
TJp

If u can only get one sack u suck i play on heisman and get like 5 to 6 sacks a game. Learn 2 spell hurgues. ROLL TIDE ROLL
TJp

If u can only get one sack u suck i play on heisman and get like 5 to 6 sacks a game. Learn 2 spell hurgues. ROLL TIDE ROLL
Zach

I’ll agree completely.. since when did EA decide to scrap their near perfect NCAA football 00-07 game engine for this slow playered, constipated looking, cob up there butts engine we have now? The players look like they all have have to take a shit… they all run horrendously slow.. even turbo in the game doesnt = the normal speed of the 00-07 games. Maddens engine had the same engine as the 00-07 ncaa’s until 07 i believe also.. then the next gen engines cahnged even more… and so ea decided to use the same engine for ncaa… lame… This was why i didn’t buy madden games anymore.. and now it looks i wont be buying any ncaa games for awhile either til they recreate the older faster ps2 engine they used.
Zach

I’ll agree completely.. since when did EA decide to scrap their near perfect NCAA football 00-07 game engine for this slow playered, constipated looking, cob up there butts engine we have now? The players look like they all have have to take a shit… they all run horrendously slow.. even turbo in the game doesnt = the normal speed of the 00-07 games. Maddens engine had the same engine as the 00-07 ncaa’s until 07 i believe also.. then the next gen engines cahnged even more… and so ea decided to use the same engine for ncaa… lame… This was why i didn’t buy madden games anymore.. and now it looks i wont be buying any ncaa games for awhile either til they recreate the older faster ps2 engine they used.
http://intensedebate.com/people/kofi52 kofi52

They need to add the senior bowl game at the end of the road to victory career mode! that would be so sick if you could play in the senior bowl at the end of your career, also more options to make your player look like you! and just do what madden did!! make the whole game better!!!!!!
http://intensedebate.com/people/kofi52 kofi52

They need to add the senior bowl game at the end of the road to victory career mode! that would be so sick if you could play in the senior bowl at the end of your career, also more options to make your player look like you! and just do what madden did!! make the whole game better!!!!!!