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More on Dynasty Mode for NCAA Football 14
Yesterday EA Sports revealed the two central changes coming to Dynasty mode in NCAA Football 14 with a streamlined recruiting process and new “Coach Skills”. Today the company has followed up with a blog post that also details some other improvements to expect.
Skill trees for coaches (18 potential skills for head coaches and 9 for coordinators) present benefits that can be taken advantage of in recruiting or on-field performance adding an element of strategy in choosing which skills to target, “point” distribution replaces the “phone calls” in recruiting, and offseason recruiting has been trimmed down to just one “stage”. Presentation enhancements relating to Dynasty hadn’t been mentioned prior and include new loading screens, updated pre-game commentary, and better focused Studio Updates.
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Connected Franchise News Resonates With Fans; Ignite Engine Encouraging Despite Justifiable Skepticism
After stumbling with promotion of Madden NFL 25 – the first gameplay news was viewed in a distinctly negative fashion with an earlier poll showing only 14% enthused by the details – EA Sports appears to have gotten back on the right track by detailing the additions and improvements for Connected Franchise mode. In the poll posted earlier this week 45% of the over 2800 voters stated they are more likely to buy the game now. The return of Owner mode and other desired features clearly hit the mark.
In the other news of the week the voters expressed cautious optimism regarding the next-gen EA Sports Ignite engine. 50% went with the “Sounds Good But Too Early To Say” option. Considering similar promises were made eight years ago and didn’t materialize that is a fair approach to take. EA will apparently show off actual Xbox One/PS4 gameplay footage at E3 in two weeks and then it will be better evaluated.
Things aren’t nearly as positive regarding the Xbox One following Microsoft’s reveal event. 48% are either leaning or definite “no buy” at this point but obviously there is still a lot to learn about the console so that could change in the coming weeks and months. 31% combine as leaning or definite “buy”.
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Real Boxing Headed to Vita
VividGames today announced that they will be bringing Real Boxing to the PlayStation Vita with release set for August.  Real Boxing first hit late last year for iOS devices and landed on Android a few months ago. Reviews have generally been good with four star ratings on both. Read more
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NCAA Football 14 Dynasty Changes Recruiting Process and Adds Coach Skills
EA Sports today released a trailer outlining the changes and improvements coming to Dynasty mode in NCAA Football 14. The mode will feature “Power Recruiting” which streamlines the process by replacing phone calls with a point distribution system and “Coach Skills” which can be used for advantages in recruiting and maximizing player performance. Continue on to check out the video and leave your thoughts in the comments! Read more
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Eight Features for EA Sports UFC Being Revealed at E3
With E3 now less than two weeks away EA Sports is already revving up the hype with a series of teases for the UFC franchise to be made over the next eight days. Given that the first entry in the series from the company, which acquired the license last March, is still about a year away from release the spotlight it is being given suggests a high level of confidence in development and high hopes for it becoming a powerful franchise. EA is looking to generate excitement about the series far in advance and potentially take on the role that the Fight Night series held in the early months of the current console generation. Read more
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Your Thoughts on the EA Sports Ignite Engine, Connected Franchise, and Xbox One Reveals
Last week was understandably dominated by the next-gen reveals from Microsoft (Xbox One console) and EA Sports (Ignite Engine). Reaction to the former has been largely negative in the press and with consumers while the latter is more difficult to evaluate because nothing much of substance was shown. Still, early announcements such as these can shape perception for an extended period of time, so it’s interesting to get a feel for the current temperature and follow how that may fluctuate as new developments occur. Read more
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The Line Drive for May 26
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦MLB 13: The Show has received a price drop down to $40 for the PS3 version.
♦EA Sports has released a blog going deeper into Owner mode in Madden NFL 25.
♦EA Sports has released a blog going deeper into M25 Connected Franchise features.
♦The Score details the 17 cities eligible to relocate to in Madden NFL 25.
♦Considering FIFA 14 on PC comes out in late September it won’t feature the Ignite engine.
♦EA has released the first teaser trailer for the Xbox One/PS4 Need for Speed Rivals.
♦Some early impressions from T3 of next-gen FIFA 14 and UFC featuring Ignite engine.
♦EA now says they’re developing Wii U games but may just be arguing over semantics.
♦Special Press Row Podcasts talking with EA development members: 1 – 2 – 3
♦The Press Row Podcast is now available through the Stitcher app on Android.
♦A former Tiburon developer is attempting to KickStart a new college football game.
♦A new partnership between Microsoft and MLS has been announced.
♦The NFL deal with Microsoft cost $400 million over five years.News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.
♦DVD/Blu-ray Releases This Week. Headlined by Dark Skies and The Numbers Station.
♦Arrested Development Season 4 is Here. All 15 episodes now on Netflix.
♦Trailer for Delivery Man. Comedy starring Vince Vaughn.
♦Trailer for We’re The Millers. Comedy starring Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston.
♦Trailer for The Worlds End. First theatrical trailer for the Edgar Wright comedy.
♦Universal Rebooting Timecop. Jean-Claude Van Damme won’t be involved. -
FIFA 14 Pre-Order Bonus Retailer Wide Involving Ultimate Team
When the first pre-order bonus emerged for current-gen versions of FIFA 14 it seemed likely to be what was offered regardless of retailer rather than tying different something different to each. That has turned out to be the case at least in the US. Various retailers including Amazon, Gamestop, Best Buy, Walmart, and EA’s own Origin all will be including 24 Ultimate Team “Gold” packs to be distributed over a 24 week period.
In pushing Ultimate Team mode through pre-order incentives – and they’re utilizing this tactic in some form with all their titles now – EA Sports is attempting to both draw new players in and extend the period of time spent in the mode. It’s beneficial for the company to have consumers hang on to their games as long as possible keeping used copies off the market and increasing the opportunity for them to spend additional cash on any of the revenue-generating initiatives.
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