When the return of NCAA Football to the EA Sports library was announced, in the form of the retitled EA Sports College Football, fans quite literally went wild. People who had been pining for a college football game for years on the Xbox One and PS4 are finally getting their wish. Even better is the realization that the game is going to be coming to the next-generation PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. It’s been a very long time since any kind of officially licensed NCAA Football game made an appearance on consoles.
It was all the way back in 2013 that Electronic Arts first announced it was ending one of the most popular sports game series. At the time, the company claimed they were ending its successful run because it was embroiled in a battle over name and likeness rights with several players depicted in-game. Now that it’s officially back, even if it’s going to look and likely feel a little different, the franchise’s return timed this news perfectly. Not only does absence make the heart grow fonder, but this franchise coming back in the era of the most powerful consoles players have seen yet, is going to be huge for the franchise and the fans.
One of the biggest changes from NCAA Football to EA Sports College Football is just how much the college football landscape itself has changed. Keep in mind the last time there was a new college football game on consoles, Nebraska was winning nine or 10 games a year. These days, the Cornhuskers are suffering through one of the darkest periods in the franchise’s history, posting losing seasons for three consecutive years for the first time since the 1950s.
Similarly, Florida State was on top of the college football world in 2013. These days, the Seminoles are struggling to win as many as six games in a full season. They finished 13th in an expanded, 15-team ACC in 2020. However, it’s not just the fact that some teams previously on top of the college football world are now near the bottom. It’s the experience that Electronic Arts has built up over the last several years with Madden that should transfer well into a new NCAA Football game. The developers should be able to make EA Sports College Football better than even the best entries of the much-beloved, and formerly retired, series.
The company’s flagship football franchise has long been Madden, and while there is a lot of frustration over what some see as just a rehash, there are reasons to be optimistic about the direction of Madden after taking a look at Madden NFL 21. Incremental progress was made in the way the latest installment plays, and even more improvement was made with the game’s PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades.
There’s very little doubt that if done right, EA Sports College Football could not only boast a stunning appearance, but it could be the only realistic college football game on the market by a long shot. Electronic Arts did quite well back in the day making sure that if it was “in the game,” then it was “in the game.”
Whether or not the company can capture the pomp and circumstance surrounding college football with a third-party licensing deal, rather than the NCAA, is a question that won’t be answered for a while. What’s clear already is the jump over the last generation of consoles, right to the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, truly does mean that players can throw away their Xbox 360s and PS3s. It’s almost a certainty the way this upcoming title looks and plays, it may put all other entries in the franchise to shame.
EA Sports College Football is in development for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
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