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Press Row Podcast: NCAA Football Five Years Later
We look back on the NCAA Football franchise five years after the release of the final edition in the series, NCAA Football 14, on this episode of the Press Row Podcast. The discussion includes a recap of what led to the demise of college sports video games, whether a return is possible in the five years ahead and what would need to happen for that to occur, and the various challenges a video game developer faces with college sports beyond just the current legal complications. Finally, there’s some reminiscing over favorite memories playing NCAA Football, from both the panelists and listeners who supplied theirs on Twitter this week.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS, on Android with the Stitcher app, or with Pocket Casts on iOS, Android, and Windows. The show can now also be found on Spotify! Subscribe and give the podcast five star reviews to help support the show! You can also listen with the streaming player below.
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All the finalized player ratings for launch of Madden NFL 19
EA Sports has now revealed the Madden NFL 19 player ratings shipping with the game for the entirety of the league. The earlier-announced 7 players rated 99 Overall are joined by Julio Jones, Khalil Mack, and J.J. Watt at 98 and Bobby Wagner, Harrison Smith, Jalen Ramsey and David Bakhtiari at 97. Check them all out here.
The Philadelphia Eagles have received a significant Super Bowl Champion bump and have by far the most players rated 90+ (9 of them) and 80+ (26 of them). They’re followed by the Saints, Patriots, Falcons, and Jaguars as the strongest teams for the upcoming game. The Jets, Colts, and Cardinals have the weakest rosters.
Additionally the 12 new attribute categories that debut this year have been detailed and all of them affect players based on the offensive side of the ball. Read more
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Rocket League added to Xbox Game Pass
The remarkable success story that is Rocket League began with a unique launch strategy three years ago almost to the day. Rocket League released on PS4 for free to those with PlayStation Plus. Since then the game has grown to incredible heights, has a strong presence in esports, and the developers continue to support the game with compelling new content.
Now Rocket League is again a part of a subscription service but this time on the Xbox One. Rocket League is now available as part of the Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass has become one of the best values in gaming since launching in May of 2017. The library includes over 100 games and will also feature all first party Microsoft games on their release dates. That means upcoming titles like Forza Horizon 4 and Crackdown among others and just wanting one of those alone makes the $60 annual price worth it.
Because all the EA Sports games go to EA Access there will never be a huge supply of major licensed sports games on Xbox Game Pass but Rocket League has joined the likes of Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, NBA Playgrounds, Super Mega Baseball, Laser League, MotoGP 17, Casey Powell Lacrosse 16, and F1 2015.
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Five years have now passed since the last NCAA Football game released
Had the NCAA Football series not been cancelled NCAA Football 19 would have released today. It’s a sad reminder that the saga which began in 2009 with lawsuits from Ed O’Bannon and Sam Keller still hasn’t reached its ultimate resolution. NCAA Football was the big casualty along the way when it was shut down shortly after the release of NCAA Football 14 in 2013.
NCAA Football was cancelled not just due to a loss of NCAA branding and the ongoing legal action but the cold feet of parties such as conferences and universities which had begun to back out of agreements. A college video game without authentic licensing, or a hybrid that has some licensing but glaring omissions, simply wouldn’t have been commercially feasible.
The class action headed by Ed O’Bannon would later prove victorious, with the NCAA being found to have violated antitrust laws. Electronic Arts and the CLC were able to settle their way out of the case before that ruling was found. Unfortunately, despite the judgment, nothing would change in the world of sports video games when an appeals court reversed the decision that would have allowed players to receive limited compensation beyond just education-related expenses and then the Supreme Court passed on hearing the case. Read more
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The Line Drive for July 8
The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, deal alerts, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.
♦NBA 2K believes next season’s Warriors could become the best team of all-time.
♦Meanwhile NBA 2K sees the LeBron struggling to get the Lakers just into the playoffs.
♦EA Sports revealed the top rated rookies at some positions for Madden NFL 19.
♦Giannis Antetokounmpo is featured in the first screenshot released for NBA 2K19.
♦Major changes were made to the game at the mid-season point of the NBA 2K League.
♦Amazon is selling both the physical and digital versions of NBA 2K19 Anniversary Edition.
♦EA Sports previewed the Quai54 streetball location in Paris featured in NBA Live 19.
♦Details on the latest Diamond Dynasty content added to MLB The Show 18.
♦HB Studios previewed hole 16 at TPC Boston in a video for The Golf Club 2019.
♦Philippe Coutinho appears on the standard edition cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 2019.
♦Developer video offers a preview of Career Mode for the upcoming F1 2018.
♦The Press Row Podcast is now also featured on Spotify.
♦Details on the latest console update that just went out for the Xbox One.
♦Blu-ray releases this week are headlined by A Quiet Place. -
Press Row Podcast: World Cup Summer Games Preview
Rich Grisham is joined by Kat Bailey this week to discuss the World Cup (both in real and virtual form) and look ahead to NHL 19, Madden NFL 19, FIFA 19 on Switch, and The Golf Club 2019.
Check out the podcast through iTunes for iOS, on Android with the Stitcher app, or with Pocket Casts on iOS, Android, and Windows. The show can now also be found on Spotify! Subscribe and give the podcast five star reviews to help support the show! You can also listen with the streaming player below.
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EA Sports UFC 3’s final patch is a big one
EA Sports UFC 3 has been well-supported with new content and gameplay improvements since releasing early this year, but that support is coming to a close with the release of a new patch today. The free update does a lot for gameplay, makes Knockout Mode and Stand and Bang Mode playable online, and adds five prominent fighters to the roster in Tito Ortiz, Matt Serra, Kimbo Slice, Mirko Cro Cop, and Wanderlei Silva. Read more
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Mutant Football League physical release with added content gets release date and price
After a long journey that began with a failed Kickstarter, Mutant Football League came out in late 2017 on PC and then followed on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 earlier this year. The game was rough around the edges, somewhat intentionally so, and offered some enjoyment but maybe not the longevity one would hope for. That could change due to additions being made to the game late this summer which were initially announced last month. Read more
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