Where Does NCAA Football Go From Here?
by 
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.
August 24, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I agree Pasta, Madden is what happened to NCAA this year. In years past the games have felt somewhat similar except for last year; but this year Madden is overwhelmingly far superior to NCAA.
Where does NCAA go from here, they do what Madden did. Revamp the whole game, work on the details of college football.
Ultimately EA needs to invest more into their online products with leagues, online tournaments seasons, etc. I think they can do a better job making the game more personal to the player which most people like.
August 24, 2009 at 2:33 pm
this game sucked badly and i was so excited about it….. same old gimmicks every year so much hype for nothing. terrible gameplay and having to buy pipeline states and all that other stuff just got me frustrated only played it for about a week what a waste of my 60 bucks, fell for ea's gimmick once again this year and will again next year only because i have no choice just like everybody else
August 24, 2009 at 2:37 pm
ea needs a whole new game engine for madden and ncaa does anyone agree all it is is a bunch of animations put in one game its not fluid like it should be by now for a next gen game
August 24, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Really good article Pasta… I agree with most of what you are saying, but even if you don't, hell of an objective article.
August 24, 2009 at 7:59 pm
DUDE, GET OFF PASTA'S TALLYWHACKER!!
August 24, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I agree Pasta, although I a NCAA guy by default, I think the Madden reviews and hear say is pushing to Madden. The lack of atmosphere in the game is inexcusable in my opinion. What separates the college game from the pros is atmosphere! How in the world do you produce a college football game w/o it????
EA definitely is complacent and needs a push or a loss of $$$$. They are putting out 1/2 product and expecting patches to fix it along the way. Kind of reminds of Microsoft and look how popular they are these days.
August 24, 2009 at 4:39 pm
You mean being responsible for >90% of the operating systems on desktop and laptop PCs? Yeah, they're pretty popular.
August 24, 2009 at 8:01 pm
get off microsofts hard drive, ya pansie
August 24, 2009 at 2:45 pm
It will be a rental for me at best next year , even EA thinks the game is half ass ,thats why if you trade the game in for madden you get 40 bucks off at gamestop, are they telling us that the game is not worth playing more than a month, if you really felt like you made a quality game why would you do that.
August 24, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I strongly urge EA to take a long look at a way to bring a real college campus feeling back to NCAA 11. With almost no college feel, the game seems like a lost football sim, built to tide gamers over until Madden's release.
Gameplay mechanics were so different than Madden's that it's like the two dev teams were intentionally sequestered from public communication.
Great writeup, Pasta.
August 24, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I bought it and I thought it was a pretty decent game at first. As I got to playing more and more though I became frustrated with the shotgun spread option running game. My favorite team is Oregon and since they are one of the top rushing teams in the country I figured that would be how I would move the ball. Unfortunately running out of the shotgun is ridiculously difficult in this game.
After spending some time tweaking sliders and difficulties I got my hands on the Madden demo. I immediately traded NCAA in towards Madden and I am happy I made that decision except for being out the additional $20 difference. Madden feels so much better and I don't have to worry about running out of the shotgun too often!
August 24, 2009 at 7:58 am
I think this is the year we all finally stopped being bullyed by ea, the sales have suffered and it shows that the community finally had enough balls not to give in. This was the 1st year I ever passed on an ncaa game, I decided enough is enough.
Where we go from here: ncaa needs to get back to what makes college football so great, that’s the rivalry, the tradition. The entire presentation needs to be redone, we need teams running onto field during intros, interactive sidelines, a whole new crowd system, and a tv style broadcast. Dynamic commentary etc. The gameplay needs to be slowed down, and the tackling completely redone, noone clothesline tackles, or horse collars on every play. This game needs to get pretty creative and change, otherwise they will continue to lose consumers, they’re already losing the diehards, and the casual fan is not interested in something called a season showdown where you accomplish nothing but bragging rights over some kid in dublin ohio.
August 24, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Ncaa is not that bad of a game as everyone is making it out to be. Lets not forget that Madden has only 32 teams to worry about so everything from gameplay, presentation, graphics, etc should be top-notch. We tend to forget that NCAA has over 100 teams with 70 players on each, 100+ stadiums (that have to be the exact replica), over 50+ fightsongs, and a lot more. Sometimes we tend to forget that these are videogames and it will be awhile before we get a great representation of the actual sport. Even the college baskeball games are easier because you have 15 players max on a team, and 10 players on the court at one time.
August 24, 2009 at 7:19 pm
HAVE YOU SEEN COLLEGE BASKETBALL???? THAT IS A SHIPWRECK ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 24, 2009 at 3:12 pm
And to everyone that wants FCS teams in the game and not through teambuilder, imagine how much space that will take up. They have already said on the Xbox 360 they have pushed the game to its limits with the amount of space that can fit on a 360 disc.
August 24, 2009 at 4:14 pm
lets not forget that we should get the best product possible. as we pay top dollar for these games. in my opinion i would say ncaa 10 should have been priced at around 30-40 dollars. new
August 24, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Top dollar is $60? If you play it for ten hours (which I believe most people will) then the effective cost of ownership is $6/hour, less than the cost of going to the movies.
Seriously, $60 isn't that much money.
August 24, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Relative to other forms of entertainment. But historically, game pricing has always been required to provide much more value than $6/hour. Typically, I need a game to push $1/hour for me or beyond.
August 24, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I've been making this point for years. Video games are BY FAR the best entertainment value for the money. You get two hours of m ovie for $10. That's it… you're done.
When you start talking about some of RPGs like Oblivion, it gets to mere pennies/per hour.
The greatest value I ever got from a game was the 400 hours I logged on NFL 2k5. I would have easily paid the $60 for that game, but it was only $20. Comes out to 5 cents/hour.
August 24, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I'm pretty sure I played Morrowind (TES 3) about 200 hours after buying it for 20 bucks. That's some good value right there.
August 24, 2009 at 8:05 pm
yeah, to pansies like you who still live with mom, you piece of shit!!
August 24, 2009 at 8:09 pm
sorry mr. moneybags, i forgot that 60 bucks is nothing to a male prostitute like you. on a lighter note please do the rest of us hardworking folk a favor and dont use your photo again.
August 24, 2009 at 9:03 pm
They should get rid of Ben!!!! He is so gay!!! I swear he has been sleeping with Dad for 5 years now (counting) and the next morning my Dad asks me, "John, why is there a big dent in my new bed?" The words tell all.
August 24, 2009 at 3:51 pm
the only thing i wish they would add is the duplicate jersey numbers. it sucks that rosters are always going to be inaccurate due to this flaw,
August 24, 2009 at 3:59 pm
i read that maddens sales are down too this year. Im guessing its not that the gme is bad, its just the economy when it comes to sales.
August 24, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I love NCAA, mostly because I am probably easily amused. The game is still fun to play with my roommates and we enjoy competing.
But Pasta, do you know of an NCAA roster for the PS3 that has updated names and rosters, like Paulus for Syracuse on the game?
August 24, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Ian Cummings is what happened to NCAA this year. NCAA staff need to get off their a– and step up.
August 24, 2009 at 4:12 pm
i think the cheerleaders and the sportsmanship points are a complete waste of time. why not trash this shit and find more authentic entrances, or retro jerseys and helmets. ea you really need to hook up the free number editor for jerseys.
August 24, 2009 at 4:15 pm
It seems like EA has got away from what made a College Football game feel like an actual Football game. Presentation is lackluster and dont get me started on RTG. I have been saying for years since they changed the format from the player having total control to the AI dictating everything that they either needs to change it back to how it was or scrap it. I think they need to start over from the ground up starting with the game engine and go from there.
August 24, 2009 at 4:23 pm
NCAA 10 is still a good game but madden makes it look like crap. i just got madden over the weekend and i cannot stop playing it. in ncaa football or basketball on espn in the morning they always have these pep rallys before the game that night and the students in the background just waiting for an upset or a blowout. I love that feeling. Unfortunately I don't feel that when im playing that big game on both video games. but when im watching the real game it feels like im a student and waiting til the game ends. Hope they fix both ncaa football and basketball to that feeling.
August 24, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I'm tired of this economy BS. The economy has an effect on Car sales, House sales, family travel,Tv and apliance sales, and mostly jobs. The videogame industry is doing pretty well right now because everyone can atleast afford a game or two. People are finding cheaper entertainment in playing and buying videogames.
The game has too many problems and will be a traget for alot of criticism. As people read the reviews and see the problems they are becoming less likely to make the purchase.
August 26, 2009 at 9:57 am
Econmy has actually helped the video game industry cause its a cheap form of family entertainment than having top go out and spen way more money doing other things
August 24, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Simple soulution, stop buying crap from EA Sports, let it show in the sales, maybe by then EA will get off their EXCLUSIVE ass, and actually do something!!
August 26, 2009 at 9:57 am
Easier said than done. Problem is we are all football fans and they have rights to both football games.
August 24, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I'm in the same boat – played the shine off online dynasty last year, but this year it just doesn't seem to have the same luster. NCAA needs to go back to what made them succesful – the atmosphere of college football. Integrate the College Gameday show – you've got 2 of the 3 faces. And ADD NEW AND MORE COMMENTARY!!! We've been listening to the same sayings since PS2. Give us editable coaches!!! And most of all, replace Ben Haumiller.
August 24, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Not to turn this into a wishlist but:
First and foremost, amp up the presentation:
Get rid of cheerleaders
1) College Gameday show with previews of top games, polls, and post game highlights
2) Madden visuals
3) Improved sound to create immersion — NHL 10's demo has some of the best crowd chants I have heard in any sports game
4) Agree that fresh commentary is needed but hard to get on the audio, at least they sound natural, not robotic like Madden
5) Pre-game presentation needs improvement — Show conference standings, team history versus one another, last week's results, something to keep it fresh
6) Dynamic weather where the weather can change during the game
7) Cut scenes of tailgating
9) Have more bands doing school-specific marches (too few this year)
10) Give the user options of bowl end zones or allow user-created bowl end zones to keep them fresh
11) Team-specific entrances (where did these go)
12) Classic teams and jerseys (where did these go)
13) Get rid of Road to Glory — I know some people like it but I would rather see EA put this on the bench to fix other things
14) Release the game in August — Usually, I don't play a season until the actual season starts
15) Chain-gangs
16) Better presentation during bowls like a trophy presentation after the game
17) User gets a vote in top 25
I know a lot of people are hating on NCAA but the game has a boat load of features. I was thinking the other day how hard it must be for developers to top themselves each year and basically make the same game seem fresh and new. I know where video games used to be in terms of gameplay and visuals and I would not trade anything about any games released over the past two years.
I appreciate the work these guys do and it really is amazing how sweet these games look and play. Yes, not perfect but it is easy to point out what games should have. The trick for developers is to implement these "wishes" and get them to work correctly….
I actually love the gameplay. I think in terms of realism it is a touch better than Madden in that the QB's don't go all "robo" on you. If anything, I would like to see the AI running game improved a bit and the FG kick power toned down.
I also think another option to keep the game fresh is to release it in August instead of July. Most people play the crap out of it, it gets stale then what?
August 24, 2009 at 7:15 pm
cheerleaders are part of college football…..I like the rest of the suggestions though and they need some player model revamping i think soo also
August 24, 2009 at 8:10 pm
yeah ur a fuckin homo for not wanting cheerleaders. go suck on timothy's dick..i saw you guys have some chemistry on another forum.
August 24, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Okay Mr. "I need to whack off to virtual cheerleaders". Of course, I am guessing you will miss the male cheerleaders the most you pediphile….
August 24, 2009 at 8:42 pm
i was going to write and say..what can they do? it's just football and they can't change the game,football is football..you can't kill aliens or race cars or get to the next level..so other than better graphics and a new roster..what could they do?….but thank you sir…your the first person that did have ways to improve it and you do have some great ideas…EA should see what you wrote…good job.
August 24, 2009 at 5:47 pm
why would a roster glitch before the game was out matter to anyone when rating the game, and how would the roster be heading to a more generic form if demps and holliday, two top ncaa, sprinters have 99 speed
bottom line is that ncaa just takes what madden did the year before and puts it into their game and pass it off as new, if you dont like it then dont buy it but they have been doin it the same way for years
August 26, 2009 at 9:59 am
roster's is main part of the game!!! Would you buy a car that hasnt been painted yet???
August 24, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I like ncaa football, it's a great game, but i feel it strayed away from what it used to be. I liked that fact that if you played in Death Valley, the crowd is so loud it's really hard to audible your plays and gets your players confused. Home Field doesn't feel like home field anymore. crowd noise doesn't affect your players as much anymore, just the composure thing where their plays goes all messed up funny. it needs to go back to the roots of collage football and it's High scoring, fan fueled, Tides can turn feel again!!
August 24, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Just do what you have done in the past, make ncaa the previous version of madden. Send all that code to EA NCAA and put it in the game. One thing i would like to see, is for online matches, make every monday a download of the updated rankings during the season. That way it feels more authentic and your not stuck with the same rankings all throughout. So when Ole miss beats FL again, FL is not still #1
August 24, 2009 at 6:50 pm
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.
August 24, 2009 at 7:13 pm
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.
August 24, 2009 at 7:21 pm
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).
August 24, 2009 at 7:56 pm
where does NCAA football go from here?? how about in my ass?
August 24, 2009 at 8:14 pm
homo alert…homo alert….
August 24, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Please, for your asses sake, lube that son of bitch before you do this.
August 24, 2009 at 8:03 pm
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.
August 24, 2009 at 8:18 pm
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.
August 24, 2009 at 9:15 pm
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.
August 24, 2009 at 9:47 pm
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.
August 24, 2009 at 10:12 pm
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?
August 24, 2009 at 10:52 pm
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
August 27, 2009 at 4:59 am
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.
August 25, 2009 at 4:14 am
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.
August 25, 2009 at 5:29 am
put a fork in em and let 2k have the college license.
August 25, 2009 at 8:04 pm
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.
August 26, 2009 at 10:02 am
You say you have come across very few bugs then you contradict yourself in the same sentence and paragragh.
August 26, 2009 at 3:44 pm
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.
August 26, 2009 at 7:02 pm
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.
August 27, 2009 at 1:25 am
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.
August 29, 2009 at 6:10 pm
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.
September 13, 2009 at 8:07 pm
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
October 8, 2009 at 9:37 pm
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.
October 27, 2009 at 7:53 pm
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…