Operation Sports - Press Row Podcast: Episode 22 - NCAA Ultimate Team Mode Interview

[Lawdawg25]

Quote: Originally Posted by BA2929

I've came to the realization that EA just isn't going to just have a year where they just improve/perfect the game, and that we'll always be stuck with some mode I'll play once then never fire it up again. Which will probably be the case with UT. It's a shame they feel the need to add a gimmick mode like UT every year, actually. But, we have nobody to blame but ourselves and fellow gamers. Making statements about not spending "my $60" on a repeat of a yearly game has gotten us to the point where EA thinks "we have to put a new feature into the game EVERY YEAR or nobody will buy it!" I'm sure 85% of the people on OS would, but I'm talking about the average gamer here.

If implemented correctly, I wouldn't call this a gimmick. It's a very popular mode in FIFA and has been around for a few years. One thing that could hurt it, however, is the fact that it's not current players so they can't be "in form" like FIFA.

[MsuGaige]

I'm personally excited for it. It's a nice change up from the other various stupid modes they have put in the game the last few years. It's worth a shot. Not to mention the next gen consoles are coming out so I would not be shocked if it lacked the major areas that needed fixing.

[smack23011]

Quote: Originally Posted by jello1717

CFB is certainly a team game, but you definitely think about the stars. You think of the 97 Wolverines and you think of Charles Woodson. For the '05 Longhorns it's all about Vince Young. While the '10 Tigers had a great defense, it's still all about Cam Newton.

But that's STILL a great team!

[BV11]

I really think they should have done something different for the uniforms and had the players wear their own individual college helmets, and let the user have the choice to create their own jerseys/pants ala team teambuilder.

I guess I will just have to try and find the team with the most generic looking jerseys. It will just take away from the mode having Tim Tebow and Calvin Johnson in Oregon jerseys to me.

[JerseySuave4]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lawdawg25

If implemented correctly, I wouldn't call this a gimmick. It's a very popular mode in FIFA and has been around for a few years. One thing that could hurt it, however, is the fact that it's not current players so they can't be "in form" like FIFA.

Its popular in Fifa because Fifa is a worldwide popular game and soccer is a worldwide sports with many different leagues in many different countries. So you can take a guy who plays in the MLS and put him on an English league team. You can pair Messi & Ronaldo with Donovan and Balotelli.

When you play or played a season/franchise in Madden did you do a fantasy draft before you started or did you just play as the regular rosters? Most don't do a fantasy draft.

People might think i'm just bashing this to bash it but i'm bashing it because I think it is one of the furthest priorities they could have went with and the only reason it seems they did is because they think in order for a game to be considered a top tier sports game, this mode needs to be included. Ben's own words.

If instead of this they decided to come out with classic TEAMS then i'd be more excited. I'd rather play with the 97 Michigan TEAM not take Charles Woodson and place him on Florida State to play in Oregon uniforms in USC's stadium. I'd rather have some of the mid 90s FSU teams go against the 02 Buckeyes or Hurricanes teams.

Classic TEAMS are something that makes sense for an NCAA Football game and would get a lot more people to be interested in playing with different classic TEAMS, instead of creating an All Star team of legends all mixed.

[Ice_Cold345]

Quote: Originally Posted by JerseySuave4

Its popular in Fifa because Fifa is a worldwide popular game and soccer is a worldwide sports with many different leagues in many different countries. So you can take a guy who plays in the MLS and put him on an English league team. You can pair Messi & Ronaldo with Donovan and Balotelli. When you play or played a season/franchise in Madden did you do a fantasy draft before you started or did you just play as the regular rosters? Most don't do a fantasy draft. People might think i'm just bashing this to bash it but i'm bashing it because I think it is one of the furthest priorities they could have went with and the only reason it seems they did is because they think in order for a game to be considered a top tier sports game, this mode needs to be included. Ben's own words. If instead of this they decided to come out with classic TEAMS then i'd be more excited. I'd rather play with the 97 Michigan TEAM not take Charles Woodson and place him on Florida State to play in Oregon uniforms in USC's stadium. I'd rather have some of the mid 90s FSU teams go against the 02 Buckeyes or Hurricanes teams. Classic TEAMS are something that makes sense for an NCAA Football game and would get a lot more people to be interested in playing with different classic TEAMS, instead of creating an All Star team of legends all mixed.

I basically feel like you do, but I don't really mind Ultimate Team that much, as I might play here or there, but it's a mode that gets dull rather quickly. EA thinking this needs to be in the game is quite dumb, when there are other things they could fix or add (like making RTG actually fun and not boring or other gameplay mechanics.) It would've been fun to play with Vince Young's Texas squad and face up against one of the dominant Miami teams or other matchups. The one thing that Ultimate Team does provide is coverage for everyone because not every school has a classic team, where in Ultimate Team, every single team will have a player being represented.

[BA2929]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lawdawg25

If implemented correctly, I wouldn't call this a gimmick. It's a very popular mode in FIFA and has been around for a few years. One thing that could hurt it, however, is the fact that it's not current players so they can't be "in form" like FIFA.

FIFA also has a world-wide appeal and numerous widely known athletes. For example: Not many NCAA fans are going to want Rashaan Salaam (example of a lesser known guy that they might get) as their RB unless they're a fan of Colorado (or the Bears). Heck, half the people who buy this aren't even going to know who Rashaan Salaam is. In my mind, it's basically Madden UT but with college teams (and lesser known players) and that's why I think it's a gimmick.