For years fans have been upset with the decision to drop the EA Sports video game NCAA Football. The wildly popular console video game’s last release came back in July of 2013. Sure, there’s still Madden NFL Football for those who love the pro game, but there was simply a different feel to playing the collegiate version. Years later, gamers are still craving the simplicity of what used to be one of their favorite games.
Recently there have been rumors of the NCAA Football game returning since college athletes are finally being paid for their likeness. Naturally, it led many to think the game could return. It turns out, they were right.
While the news of a new NCAA Football game is nothing new, this sort of heightens that excitement, with another recent confirmation that the game is still on track. Here’s a much older tweet from June 25 showing more terms of the initial proposal.
Still a year and a half away, it should give gaming enthusiasts plenty of time to line up their new systems to be fully prepared once the long-awaited return of NCAAF makes its way back to consoles. Amazingly, the video game series entirely missed the Sony PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles since both consoles were initially released in November of 2013.
NCAA Football originally started under the title Bill Walsh College Football, until EA Sports acquired further licensing rights for their release of NCAA Football 98, with University of Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel featured on the game’s cover. Over the years football legends such as Charles Woodson, Desmond Howard, Reggie Bush, and Tim Tebow have all appeared on the cover, among many others.
Let the speculation begin for who will be the first collegiate athlete to be on the cover and actually legally be paid for their likeness. Will they go with a former player? Or will they capitalize on the popularity of an up-and-comer? Time will tell.