The Return of College Football Video Games—What We Know and Expect
The internet exploded with joy this past Tuesday when EA Sports announced that they will be rebooting their NCAA Football series, which has been dormant for over 7 years now. The series was extremely popular among football fans due to its gameplay and immersion that felt different from Madden, their NFL football game series, and many fans still play NCAA Football 14 to this day for those reasons. While the targeted release date in 2023 is disappointing, fans can look at this news as a sign that the series will not be a rebranded version of Madden, which is what all fans can agree would be a disaster.
As a fan who still plays NCAA 14, I think I can speak for most of the community when it comes to what we want from the new game. The ideal gameplay would be very similar to 14’s, but with slight updates to animations and general improvements. The dynasty mode must be prioritized and include control over as many details as possible, including your own coaching staff, spring football, and further improvements to recruiting, most notably the transfer portal. The road to glory mode should be updated with further immersion into life as a recruit and student-athlete, but not made into Madden’s ‘face of the franchise’ mode which is filled with awkward cutscenes. The controversial topic among the game’s hardcore community is the ultimate team mode, which first made an appearance in NCAA 14. While many enjoyed the gamemode back then, some are now worried about the impact ultimate team, which EA prioritizes due to the amount of microtransactions in the mode, could have on the quality of dynasty and road to glory.
Football fans are excited to see what EA is able to produce in the next two years. I, for one, am optimistic that the game will live up to our expectations.