NCAA Football Video Game Series Returns with Exclusive Next-Gen Release
After nearly a decade‘s hiatus, EA Sports is bringing back the iconic NCAA Football franchise with NCAA Football 24 set to launch in July 2024 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles exclusively as confirmed by EA developers in an interview with ESPN this week.
"We couldn‘t be more excited to return this franchise back to the next generation of consoles," said EA Sports Vice President Daryl Holt. "New hardware allows our team to truly innovate and deliver the best college football experience yet with stunning gameplay visuals and features." The Saga of NCAA Football Video Games: A Suspenseful Decade
The NCAA Football series published by EA Sports has long brought the passion and tradition of college football to video game consoles for over two decades. First launched in 1993 on the Sega Genesis, the franchise quickly became a mega-hit through the 1990s and 2000s across Playstation 2, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3.
Key games in the NCAA Football timeline include:
- NCAA Football 2004 – First to introduce Dynasty mode for an extensive career experience
- NCAA Football 06 – Launched on Xbox 360 at the dawn of HD gaming
- NCAA Football 11 – Achieved critical acclaim and record sales figures
The last title, NCAA Football 14, tallied incredible review scores and made history as the 4th best selling game across all consoles in 2013 based on NPD Group figures:
| Year | Best Selling Video Games | Platform | Publisher | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | #1 Grand Theft Auto V | PS3 & Xbox 360 | Rockstar Games | 32.5 million |
| #2 Call of Duty: Ghosts | PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U | Activision | 19 million | |
| #3 Madden NFL 25 | PS3, Xbox 360 | EA Sports | 5.75 million | |
| #4 NCAA Football 14* | PS3, Xbox 360 | EA Sports | 1.24 million |
* Last NCAA Football video game before series was placed on hold in 2014However in mid 2014, after NCAA Football 14‘s release, EA Sports made the announcement that it would not continue the beloved franchise due to high costs from licensing, developing on aging hardware, and ongoing disputes regarding player likeness usage. Fans were dismayed as NCAA Football seemingly was sacked indefinitely just as next generation consoles like Playstation 4 and Xbox One were primed to take gaming innovation to new levels.
But despite passionate outcry from legions of loyal followers on social media, all hope appeared lost for nearly a decade that NCAA Football would never return in the face of complicated legal obstacles between the NCAA, former players, and EA Sports.
Triumphant Return to Next-Gen Consoles Confirmed
After years of anticipation, rumors, and speculation, EA Sports is finally bringing back NCAA Football next year with its first new entry in the series since 2014 – NCAA Football 24.
Slated for launch in July 2024, NCAA Football 24 will harness the power of bleeding edge gaming technology only available on the latest consoles – PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Developers EA Tiburon recently stated that by focusing efforts exclusively on next generation hardware, they can truly innovate the franchise to new heights.
When asked about NCAA Football‘s hiatus since 2014 earlier this year, EA Sports executive Daryl Holt commented:
"New consoles now provide capabilities that were never possible before to fundamentally transform the way our games look, feel, and play...We‘re excited to ensure the next generation of the franchise lives up to the extremely high standards set by previous entries and nostalgia of long-time fans."Based on early interviews with developers working on NCAA Football 24 like the above, expectations are sky-high for stunning visuals never seen before in past iterations or other current sports titles.
Predicting Groundbreaking Features for NCAA 24
While concrete details remain limited at this early stage, some exciting new features for NCAA Football 24 can reasonably be inferred based on the respective power of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X – both technical marvels that far outclass PlayStation 4 & Xbox One specifications.
Visuals: New gaming engines should allow character models with finer details, completely authentic uniforms & gear, true to life stadium environments hosting over 125 college teams, and smooth 60 frames per second action. Ray tracing may even be incorporated to take lighting effects to the next level as seen in recent titles like Madden 23.
Gameplay: Harnessing the latest CPU/GPUs for advanced physics calculations should allow hits, tackles, school mascots like Renegade the Pony to move and feel more realistic than ever before. Significantly reduced load times will also minimize waiting compared to past games.
Career/Dynasty: Given large SSD storage on new consoles, expect the career mode allowing you to control a customized player or full college program over multiple seasons to have tremendous depth with vastly improved logic, stats tracking, and progression systems that stay true to real college football.
Online: Fiber internet capability integrated into new consoles will provide lower latency and lag for head-to-head online matchups vs. rival college squads controlled by friends across the country. Esports events around NCAA 24 could easily develop thanks to faster connectivity.
While mere predictions for now, come July 2024 the above features may seem quaint compared to whatever boundary pushing experience the passionate NCAA Football developers have cooking behind closed doors as they take advantage of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S to revive this legendary franchise.
The Business Case for Next-Gen Exclusivity
While some fans on last generation consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One may be initially disappointed to miss out, EA Sports‘ strategic decision from a business standpoint makes sound financial sense and allows the highest potential ROI while minimizing risks.
Releasing only on leading edge gaming hardware circumvents the difficult proposition of making a title work across old & new platforms. Based on 2022 year-to-date figures below, the install base of next-gen consoles also now presents a sizable market on par with the tail end of prior generations. Supporting only PS5 and Xbox Series X/S provides simplicity for developers to focus innovation on powerful uniform architecture.
US Console Install Base Estimates:
PlayStation 5: 21+ million units
Xbox Series X/S: 15+ million units
Total Addressable Next-Gen Market: 36+ million units
For reference, estimated US install bases for aging PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms only measure around 30-35 million units presently.
Sources: [VentureBeat](https://venturebeat.com/games/june-2022-npd-stray-elden-ring/), [Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1101880/unit-sales-xbox-one/#:~:text=As%20of%20June%202022%2C%20over,mark%20of%20roughly%2050%20million.)The figures above indicate focusing exclusively on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S now opens NCAA Football 24 to an immense audience primed for groundbreaking sports gaming more than comparable to legacy platforms – without design concessions. And over the signature 5-7 year life cycle of consoles, next generation install bases will eclipse PS4/Xbox One rapidly.
Broadcasting simulated college football action in 4K HDR visuals only possible on latest hardware also better supports eventual expansion into the booming esports scene. The NFL has invested heavily into competitive Madden and captured strong viewership – the NCAA may aim likewise with live entertainment around NCAA Football 24 tournaments someday.
Investing in a next-generation only title that redefines interfaces, gameplay, mechanics based on new technology just makes prudent business sense for EA Sports instead of trying to bridge console generations. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S offer a compelling cross-section of sports gamers ready for innovation who grew up with memories of the NCAA Football glory days to meaningfully invest in.
The Fan Experience of a Lifetime Arrives July 2024
Come July 2024, a perfect storm of the long awaited revival of the NCAA Football franchise after years away meeting the groundbreaking capabilities of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S could produce one of the most spectacular, viscerally exciting, content rich sports gaming experiences ever witnessed.
Especially for devoted college football fans and previous series followers, the sheer joy and wonder of finally getting hands-on again with what‘s practically an entirely new, built exclusively to harness today‘s hardware entry in the franchise after endless anticipation is a moment sure to stay etched as an all-time memory for many.
The development team at EA Sports certainly recognizes the sky high expectations fans old and new alike will bring once the finished product is unleashed next summer. But behind closed doors, early looks at NCAA Football 24 built leveraging industry leading technology suggest the reality may still blow even seasoned gamers away as the long hiatus built demand to fever pitch levels.
Indeed once the familiar College Football logo finally fades into view next July and the sights, sounds, and atmosphere of all the pageantry fans know and love floods across the screen in next generation glory, it may quickly become apparent this rebirth was worth every bit of the wait. And a whole new era of interactive college football magic more sensational than ever imagined kicks off thanks to a serendipitous convergence of perfect timing meeting the perfect hardware.
So ready those pre-orders and mark the calendars maize and blue for July 2024 – as for starved college football gaming fans, a dream decade in the making is about to come true bigger and bolder than anyone dared dream thanks to the power unleashed exclusively for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
