I think we have to realize something here. For the most part, most next-gen devs put their emphasis on great looking graphics, textures, and presentation. It seems that for the most part, devs are spending so much time just figuring out how to run the game at 60 FPS, that they don't have time to really be creative and add interesting and subtle options and control mechanics. This can be seen in the transition to next-gen football by EA. (360 and PS3) The PS3 firmware is constantly being updated. As a console gamer, I don't want to be hearing about firmware updates and worrying about downloading patches. I want to be thinking about playing games. I buy the game, the game should be complete. I think devs are setting the bar too low because there is only so much time, yet they have to release a football game every year and have to spent most programming time figuring out the hardware. If i wanted to worry about capacity, i'd buy a PC. This next-gen era (specifically 360 and PS3) has been the first console with the means to patch games through downloads. I don't like the idea of patching console games. PC games, fine. But, no console games should be bug free in my opinion. For a sports gamer, this is unsettling. This is not what we are getting. We as the consumer have no other choice. We love to play sports games, and there are so few options. For some reason, the Xbox1 version of NCAA '08 doesn't feel like there are glaring issues. The game is simple, but looks great and plays great. The interface is there, there is so much for the user to do pre-snap. The playbooks are deep. The interface is user-friendly. The menus are easy on the eyes and informative at the same time.
For a true simulation sports gamer who wants a responsive game with challenging A.I. with lots of option adjusting and on the fly changes, you don't necessarily need to play a game on a next-gen system. The game just needs to be programmed correctly from a user control standpoint. The game also needs to be complete and fully tested. I think sports gamers too often are left out in the cold. The reason why the PS2 and the Xbox1 are such great systems are they have stood the test of the time. The controller is relatively lightweight, the console is simple. The games don't have incredibly high graphic texture capacity, but there have been some great looking games for both systems. I am more comfortable booting up my ps2 or my xbox1 than a 360 or a ps3. Does anyone else feel this way? There is no Guide menu (like on the 360). In my opinion, EA's version of NCAA Football '08 runs much better on the xbox1 than any other console, both in terms of graphics quality and frame rate.
In my opinion, the animation engine of the xbox1 / ps2 version of ncaa football '08 is much more realistic than the 360 / ps3 version of this game in terms of the appropriate animations loading at the correct time in gameplay. User control has been optimized on this engine. Things like on the fly audibles, camera options, deep playbooks are just not in the next-gen game.
The thing about the ps2 / xbox1 versions of NCAA Football '08, it's convincing. It looks like football, it feels like football. It's not perfect, but it's close.
The next-gen version of the game feels like a tech demo. Sure they have the capacity to make the stadiums look grand and the players look intimidating, but the proper game mechanics to challenge user dexterity and decision making is not there. There aren't the subtleties of the current gen game. The Xbox1 version feels like a complete game (besides the CPU not missing FG's), and the heisman sliders that 'thelasthurtknee' refers to do play a great game.
I just want to encourage you guys to give the xbox1 engine another try with the heisman defensively tilted sliders that 'thelasthurtknee' refers to. You might be surprised at how well the game plays, how clean the interfaces are, and how complete the game feels when compared to the 360 version.