The NCAA is Investigating Whether or Not It’s Time to Bring NCAA Football Back

[canes21]

Quote: Originally Posted by ndfan1993

I just think we are looking at this with rose colored glasses. The fact is the game didn't sell GREAT overall and what % of those people that purchased it would even be interesting in spending more on ultimate team transactions? EA knew what they were doing and got away with it as long as possible. Casual fans wanted to download rosters and go online and play for a couple months before Madden came out and trade it in.

The fact that the game didn't sell well is exactly why I think an Ultimate Team mode is our best hope at the moment. It would potentially bring the series millions extra in revenue it otherwise would never get. Would it be as popular as FUT or MUT? I am not sure, but based off current trends in gaming I would imagine that the UT mode in a new NCAA game would not be a flop and would potentially bring EA more than enough money to justify bringing the series back.



EA would need to find ways to differentiate MUT from NCAA's UT(NUT) and give users incentives to play it or even both. If they can get even a slimmer of the MUT crowd to start double dipping and grow that base year after year then the potential revenue the series would bring in would make NCAA worth it to return.


I just don't see EA bringing the game back anytime soon because of it not selling well before unless EA does see that a NUT done properly is going to boost their revenue from the series a decent amount. I think it needs to be realized that these "casual fans" we are talking about are the same ones that make MUT, FUT, and HUT as profitable as they are. When I was working while in college everyone I worked with played Madden. They all played MUT because franchise mode was so bland and boring to them. Some of these guys hardly watched the NFL. They didn't even know who Sean Taylor was, they didn't know who half the starting QB's in the NFL were. They pumped 100's of hours + $10-$100 into the ultimate team modes and had fun playing H2H with their teams while learning current and former players.



Ultimate team modes are designed exactly for the casual crowd and setting up one more game, NCAAF, to get a slice of that pie may not be as farfetched as you all believe. I know it is anecdotal and may not represent the whole casual population, but those guys I used to work with were all 100% interested in NCAAF returning if it had an ultimate team mode in it. They wanted another game with ultimate team to build up a roster with. They wanted collegiate uniforms, sounds and sights, open gameplay along with the other alluring aspects of ultimate team.

[mpklub]

I have a couple general comments on some of the discussion here.

I am not a fan of microtransactions and loot boxes, but I do agree with the sentiment that if you could get former players like Tim Tebow, Tommie Frazier, J.T. Barrett, Darren McFadden, Kijana Carter, or a John David Booty in some sort of UT mode there could very well be an appetite for that. The potential revenue stream that could create could be too lucrative to pass up. I have no idea if there is a market for that, but I tend to think there is.

I also think the landscape of sports has changed over the past several years. Certainly since the last NCAA football game. College football has seen an increase in popularity, really for the past 10 years, but it seems like with TV deals and overall exposure and marketing you see on ESPN that the sport has grown in popularity. Maybe that translates to an NCAA football video game (combined with microtransactions for the casual fans) that has more appeal than it did previously.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Operation Sports mobile app

[illwill10]

Quote: Originally Posted by mpklub

I have a couple general comments on some of the discussion here. I am not a fan of microtransactions and loot boxes, but I do agree with the sentiment that if you could get former players like Tim Tebow, Tommie Frazier, J.T. Barrett, Darren McFadden, Kijana Carter, or a John David Booty in some sort of UT mode there could very well be an appetite for that. The potential revenue stream that could create could be too lucrative to pass up. I have no idea if there is a market for that, but I tend to think there is. I also think the landscape of sports has changed over the past several years. Certainly since the last NCAA football game. College football has seen an increase in popularity, really for the past 10 years, but it seems like with TV deals and overall exposure and marketing you see on ESPN that the sport has grown in popularity. Maybe that translates to an NCAA football video game (combined with microtransactions for the casual fans) that has more appeal than it did previously. Sent from my SM-N960U using Operation Sports mobile app

I do think the long absence, increasing popularity, possible endorsements, could add more appeal. One thing they could do to help that is really take advantage of the ESPN license. They should pay to promote the hell out of NCAA during College Gameday and during games. If players can start being endorsed, it can add more exposure to the game. Especially if they can get current transcendent college players on covers.

But I don't know how the ESPN license situation will go. EA has been very private about renewing license. We don't even have a concrete year when the NFL license is up for renewal. EA signed a 15 year deal with ESPN in 2005. So it should be up for renewal next year. I don't see why they wouldn't renew it. But EA many just uses it for advertising. I don't think NBA Live will make the jump to next generation. EA hasn't taken advantage of ESPN as we hoped. I think 2k can jump back to get the ESPN license

[authentic]

It's so hard to believe that it didn't sell well in the past. All of my friends went crazy when the new NCAA games came out and all of us played it. I remember the store I worked at sold a lot of copies and it wasn't a very big city. Maybe it's because we were a college town, but I would've guessed the game sold well.

[canes21]

Quote: Originally Posted by authentic

It's so hard to believe that it didn't sell well in the past. All of my friends went crazy when the new NCAA games came out and all of us played it. I remember the store I worked at sold a lot of copies and it wasn't a very big city. Maybe it's because we were a college town, but I would've guessed the game sold well.

It surprised me to find that out as well. I don't live in a college town exactly, Tennessee and Virginia Tech are about equal distance away, but everyone I knew growing up and even when working through smaller jobs before graduation everyone I worked with was all about NCAA. Some guys played Madden, too, but they also always got NCAA.

[illwill10]

Quote: Originally Posted by authentic

It's so hard to believe that it didn't sell well in the past. All of my friends went crazy when the new NCAA games came out and all of us played it. I remember the store I worked at sold a lot of copies and it wasn't a very big city. Maybe it's because we were a college town, but I would've guessed the game sold well.

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

It surprised me to find that out as well. I don't live in a college town exactly, Tennessee and Virginia Tech are about equal distance away, but everyone I knew growing up and even when working through smaller jobs before graduation everyone I worked with was all about NCAA. Some guys played Madden, too, but they also always got NCAA.

I checked past game sales for sports games. I was suprised to see how NCAA games sold. The latter years NCAA Football was only selling 1-2+ million a year. But both college basketball series was only selling a few hundred thousand copies a year, so no surprise both series pulled the plug. Madden has been selling an average of 5-7 million past decade. NBA 2k has gotten to the 5-7 million range since 2k11. MLB the Show doesn't sell that great of numbers either, but thats due to it only being a Sony exclusive. NHL barely sells over a million a year. Live barely reaches 500K past couple years. But no one truly competes with Fifa because of the global allure of soccer. Fifa has been selling at least 10 mill a year for over past decade. They have double career sales than Madden.

In summary, outside of Fifa, Madden, 2k, sports games don't really sell great numbers. So, I'm not surprised college sports game not selling over 2 million. I do think interest for CFB has risen past 6 years. Where I can see that number up to 3+ million if NCAA come back

[canes21]

I think 3 million is very feasible with how college football has grown. It does make me think with how NHL sales that an NCAAFB game is something EA is eyeing and the delay is more on the side of the schools being scared. Of course, NHL has HUT that brings in even more money after sales are made. I just hope we get an NCAA game again and hopefully very soon.

[illwill10]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

I think 3 million is very feasible with how college football has grown. It does make me think with how NHL sales that an NCAAFB game is something EA is eyeing and the delay is more on the side of the schools being scared. Of course, NHL has HUT that brings in even more money after sales are made. I just hope we get an NCAA game again and hopefully very soon.

I agree. 3-5 million copies is a good number for sports games. Besides Fifa, Madden, and 2k, most sports games don't sell high numbers. So If they can get around to 3 million, I think that'll be worth making the game annually again.
Yeah, the schools are afraid of any legal issue. EA has shown they want to bring it back. CFB is a big enough sport where you feel If the game is good it'll do solid numbers. Even though EA hasn't done themselves any services with the whole lootbox issue(calling it "surprise mechanics" and comparing it to toys for kids), UT for NCAA would generate good revenue especially If you can get the classic CFB legends.

I'm just keeping an eye out on the working group news. We essentially have 4 months until the report has to be submitted. Even If positive news come from this, it doesn't guarantee that a new game will be release in 18 months from then..