Is there any game ever more anticipated than NCAA football?

[jfsolo]

Its my guess that most of the people who buy NCAA Football are fairly hardcore football fans. This is unlike Madden where a lot of the people who get the game are fans of one or two teams and a few star players.

A lot of the hype for Madden is generated by external means, while NCAA seems to be fueled by the passion and desire of the fans independant of any media.

Although I'm still very hyped up for this game, NBA2k and College Hoops have surpassed it for me personally as far what games I anticipate the most. I feel like those games have made more strides the last couple years in terms of presentation, franchise/Legacy aspects, and most importantly gameplay.

[spankdatazz22]

Quote: Originally Posted by njskillz

Without question for me it was the first year the VC team went full bore with the ESPN license with ESPN NFL Football. I remember watching the video clips in amazement. At that point it was the most realistic looking football game I had ever seen. I would have to say my anticipation for NCAA 2007 (360) is running a very close second. I must have watched the video clips for this game about 100 times.

I would agree. 2K5 was easily my most anticipated sports game. They just brought so much to the table we hadn't seen before with online leagues, halftime show, the graphics, redoing the WR/DB interaction, new juke system, QB evade system, the way RBs would push off lineman to get free... and that's just the stuff off the top of my head - within a year, no less (less than a year). A flawed game but gave us a glimpse of what the future *could've* brought. NCAA 360 looks really good, but outside of the graphics there's nothing they've really added to the gameplay. The jury's out as to whether the gameplay will be up to current gen's standards.

I think Madden 360 will look even better actually. But long as they do nothing about the player interaction, and/or EA/Tiburon continues to think it's cool to see players getting pancaked ridiculously often it'll always be lacking. I can only picture Joey Porter, Shawn Merriman, & crew saying "Wtf?" when they see themselves getting pancaked by fullbacks on the regular

[Cebby]

Quote: Originally Posted by PolishRocket

actually, if you want to get really specific, the most anticipated games have always been the final fantasy series. the anticipation for VII was rediculous. now everyone, including myself, is nutting themselves waiting for XII.

FF doesn't compare to Halo and GTA in popularity.

[SoMiss2000]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

In reviews and people like us who are hardcore but the general public still prefers the pro game.

I think i'm hardcore but I prefer the pro game. I'm not big into college sports. I follow them, I have my favorite teams, but i'm pretty indifferent to college sports. I guess is my alma mater wasn't a midmajor, i'd be more of a fan. I enjoy NCAA football for all the pagentry, recruiting, etc. In the pro game there's only, draft, FA period, back to regular season. That sucks.


All I know is if this game sucks on the 360, I will go out and buy a used, refurb, xbox and the current gen copy of NCAA.

[DoomsDayD1978]

Yes sirrr....if X-mas eve is generally considered the most exciting holiday night of anticipation, then my X-mas eve comes every Monday in July prior to release of NCAA.

I always thought NCAA had the highest level of anticipation as well, but when I couldn't figure out why my local EB never has midnight releases for NCAA but has an annual one for Madden, and I saw the lines outside for Madden on release night, I knew then that the Madden following was just a bit bigger.

[SoMiss2000]

Quote: Originally Posted by DoomsDayD1978

Yes sirrr....if X-mas eve is generally considered the most exciting holiday night of anticipation, then my X-mas eve comes every Monday in July prior to release of NCAA. I always thought NCAA had the highest level of anticipation as well, but when I couldn't figure out why my local EB never has midnight releases for NCAA but has an annual one for Madden, and I saw the lines outside for Madden on release night, I knew then that the Madden following was just a bit bigger.

I think the biggest hangup is the average gamer doesn't know you can edit the name. Even if they do, they don't want to edit 10000 players. The average guy has no clue what a sharkport, action replay, xchange kit is.

[DoomsDayD1978]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoMiss2000

I think the biggest hangup is the average gamer doesn't know you can edit the name. Even if they do, they don't want to edit 10000 players. The average guy has no clue what a sharkport, action replay, xchange kit is.

I agree w/ya on that assessment. There's a wealth of guys in my area who play Madden religiously. Most of those guys log on hours and hours of gameplay, yet if you ever asked any of them about franchise mode or mini drills, they would honestly tell you that they never knew the game had those features. I'm not just making that up either.

[BigDofBA]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jistic

It must be because of the long drought in sports games, or because it's the first football game released. But it seems like NCAA football is way more anticipated than Madden, or 2K in it's day. More than any of the basketball games or baseball games too. Why is that? Or am I wrong?

I used to get really excited but I don't really care that much anymore. People hype up the game so much and then when it is released they pick apart every little detail. Its still a videogame. It will never be as realistic as the real thing. I think people need to grasp that.

It is also funny with all the threads and posts about when the game is coming out and who can get it early.

That being said I will probably end up waiting a few days until after the release before I buy the game. The reason being is that I am considering purchasing an xbox 360 and if NCAA turns out to be a quality first installment on the system then I will probably go ahead and get the 360 with the game. If not I will be fine with playing the current generation.