Let’s go back to 2013; it’s a rainy day, and the wind with pelts of water slams up against the windows. It’s cozy inside, with a warm feeling. If sports were an interest, a person may find themselves powering up their Xbox 360, listening to its clicking and beeping. They go over to their disks to pick a game. One game that sticks out is NCAA Football 14. The person pops open the case and is hit with immediate excitement, the best game of the year. The disk is slid in and the trumpets of the theme song flare up to his or her ears; soon, they’re ready to go off into the land of college football with one of the best sports games ever made.
Calling NCAA Football 14 one of the best sports games ever made is no laughing matter, it’s a legitimate statement. EA Sports made easily one of the most successful games ever after releasing it in 2013. Since its release, it has sold over 1.5 million copies. For context, this was the last college football game that EA had put out, and they didn’t disappoint. The in-game smoothness in terms of graphics, gameplay, and experience of the different available features in addition to including game modes are just some of the reasons why this game is the best. The game modes allowed you to either run a college football program and act as the head coach or let you play out your college football career. These were what made NCAA Football 14 one of the greatest sports games ever made by EA, and by far one of their most successful.
However, with looming legal trouble (at the time), from name, image, and likeness, NCAA Football 14 was discontinued, leaving its fans and everybody else disappointed that one of EA’s best creations was going to be taken off shelves. Thus, for ten years it faded away, with the memories of college football fans wishing that EA would bring back their once iconic game. Ten years later now, EA has brought back its iconic game with a release date planned for the summer of 2024. NCAA Football 24 could surpass the buying mark that NCAA Football 14 hit, with its release being even more hyped up than ever before and the addition of a larger number of football and gaming fans.
Rolling back into NIL, the changing landscape of college football has allowed for this game to truly be taken to the next level. Even universities like Notre Dame, who have always been stingy with the idea of giving up their interest in logos and other things to games like this, are going forward with this. It seems that the new era of college football has not only resulted in changes on the field, but off the field as well. This makes it even more exciting as to what is to come from EA, with future editions of the NCAA College Football video game having the potential to change the world of sports for years to come.
