Say Hello (again) to EA Sports College Football. The Popular Video Game Giant is Back

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In a Michigan basement decorated in maize and blue, a father sat with his son.

They became friends over a soccer video game. One with a story mode that would place the 7-year-old in a college dorm room where letters from fans filled his mailbox, the campus newspaper announced a championship and a list of Heisman candidates adorned his computer screen. If he played well enough, maybe his name would even appear there.

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It wasn’t real. But who could have said that this wasn’t possible?

“You know, we always joked, because he was a big boy, ‘Hey, maybe you’ll be there one day,'” says the father, Bill Swartout.

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Today, more than a decade later, the 7-year-old – Brayden Swartout – is an offensive lineman at Central Michigan and living story mode in real life.

Countless versions of this game that haven’t been made in over a decade are gathering dust in basements next to decommissioned gaming systems. This is the inevitable fate of old discs, gaming cartridges, RCA connector cables and the like. But when you give it a good whack, the dust clears to reveal an enduring cultural phenomenon that’s on its way back in this modern world.

MORE THAN JUST A VIDEO GAME

EA Sports’ college football games fueled the ambitions of a generation of young people in the sport. From the early versions in the 1990s to the immersive experiences in the 2000s that revolutionized player creation modes, the games became must-haves for sports and video game fans.

But as its popularity grew, so did something else: voices saying that the college athletes featured in the game should be paid. It was a notion that seemed absurd in the student-athlete era. But as opinions changed, it started to make sense.

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Prior to 2021, college athletes were not permitted by the NCAA to profit from their trademark, commonly known as their name, image and likeness – or NIL.

The video game developer tried for years to distinguish in-game squads from real players. “Quarterback No. 10” still remembers it clearly.

“I remember when I was in the game. “Obviously in high school and everything you want to be in the game, but then when you get to college, you’re in the game, and I’m No. 10 from Baylor, ahead of NIL, and I’m No. 10.” Robert Griffin III, one of the cover athletes for the 2013 game and a 2011 Heisman winner, told The Associated Press.

“And that’s my name, ‘Quarterback No. 10 from Baylor,’” he says. “But I’m white with a buzz-cut fade and no sleeves on my arm and I’m from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They tried to change the character completely just so they wouldn’t have to pay the guy. Or say, ‘Oh no, that’s not his name, his picture and his likeness, he’s not even the right color.’ But everyone knew who No. 10 from Baylor was.”

Eventually EA Sports gave up. And so the franchise remained dormant for eleven years after its last version in 2013.

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IT’S BACK, FOR REAL THIS TIME

Society has changed a lot since the 2010s. So does Swartout’s basement, now decked out in maroon and gold.

Gamers’ insatiable appetite for immersive sports video games hasn’t changed all that much. And with the NCAA’s decision to allow college athletes to profit from their brand, it was time.

EA Sports announced in 2021 that it would revive the franchise. Three years later, the game is set to release this summer, with the full reveal scheduled for May. There are few details so far, but the players’ names and likenesses will be real.

“I personally believe that NCAA football is the greatest game of all time,” Griffin said. “A lot of kids who grew up playing the game wanted to see themselves grow and develop into the players they created.”

EA Sports has offered Football Bowl Subdivision players a minimum of $600 and a copy of EA Sports College Football 25 to be featured in the game. More than 10,000 players have signed up.

The game will attempt to differentiate itself from other offerings on the market – sports franchises that have had the advantage of evolving. There is one difference, however: None of them have been involved in college football.

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“Video games, as popular as they have been, have just evolved so much based on the evolution of society and with so many different modes and options,” says Nicolette Aduama, senior associate director of operations at Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of the Sports in society.

Get out with the old people

EA’s 2006 college football game was monumental in the sports video game space. It was the first game that allowed players to fully immerse themselves in the life of an athlete. It had a killer soundtrack. Perhaps the only rival in story mode in the early 2000s was the NBA Ballers.

It’s also been problematic, including a feature that – like much entertainment content from recent years – doesn’t stand the test of time well. In the Create Player dorm room, there was a wallet-sized picture of a woman hanging on the corner of the computer screen. The better the player was on the field, the more the display changed through the default settings. The woman’s body type sometimes became thinner; Her chest, hair color and smile changed.

“I remember seeing that as a kid and even then I thought, ‘Why does winning more games make your girlfriend more attractive?'” says Eli Mouser, 21, of Russellville, Alabama. “I thought that didn’t make any sense.”

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EA Sports dropped this feature in later editions. Another was added where players had to choose a major and keep their GPA high in order to compete on the field. The developer has made strides in equity through other games, such as its professional soccer franchise, which now includes female players, and its latest golf game, which asks players for their pronouns when creating players.

“Girls are gamers too,” says Aduama. “We see it now in movies and TV shows where people are breaking these stereotypes, and we talk about it all the time in our training. It’s about exposure.”

EA Sports says it offers female athletes the opportunity to get involved in the game through its ambassador program by paying female athletes to promote it.

“I know one game right now that would definitely take the cake: women’s college basketball,” Griffin said. “Caitlin Clark on the cover. You got all the girls over there with Angel Reese at LSU. This game would wipe the floor.”

Given the game’s ambitious features, it’s easy to wonder: When the new version comes out, which kids will be playing it, getting inspired, and hitting the college football field in a decade? What dreams of 2024 – embedded in what is sure to be the most immersive version of the game ever – will pave the way to sporting success and realize the goals of tomorrow in high definition quality?

Growing up in Alabama as a Tennessee fan was tough for Mouser. EA Sports’ college football games gave him a chance to let some of the orange out in a sea of ​​red. Like Bill and Brayden Swartout, the game also gave him a chance to bond with his father.

“I disturb my friends all the time,” he says, calling the virtual world his “Roman Empire.” “They say, ‘Dude, you’re not a real football coach.’ And I’m like, “This is important to me, okay?”

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AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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