NCAA Football 09: Reason to Hope

Feature Article

Submitted on: 03/28/2008 by Patrick Williams

Although NCAA Football 09 won't be out for a few more months, there is a bit of hope surrounding this season's release.

This is now the third installment for the series on the Xbox 360 and second for Playstation 3. It is about time for EA Tiburon to show us what they’ve got up their sleeve. Development problems should be tackled by now as well as graphics and frame rate issues. This is perhaps the year we should see the full power of “Next Gen” come to fruition.

What we know so far:

With little info being available for NCAA Football 2009 currently, we mostly have last year to go on when looking ahead to this year. However, most of us have seen the video of cover boy Darren McFadden giving the shimmy shake in his Arkansas uniform. This tells us that stick play is going to be focal point once again and with that news, stick jockeys everywhere should rejoice.

We also have seen that player models have been slightly improved from the screenshots recently released by EA Sports. The way the pads fit under the jersey looks refined. Things have also been touched up a little, giving everything a more polished look.

Finally, EA has stated that they are committed to bringing more atmosphere to this year’s game. One can only guess at this time what that might include, but the consensus is that it will be a welcome addition.

What we should be looking for:

After the patch was released for NCAA Football 2008, the game play was vastly improved. This is a trend that should continue in the same direction with the upcoming title. We are talking everything from touch passing to better blocking and defensive back play should be touched.

The menus last year were certainly an area that lacked pop to many. The dynasty menu mostly was the culprit to these complaints. That shouldn’t be too hard to revamp and jazz up a little for aesthetics and functionality.

The inclusion of discipline and medical redshirts are features that are highly requested, and their additions may finally pop up in next gen this July. This would only help to improve a pretty decent dynasty mode, and make the game replay factor last a bit longer.

Downloadable content disappeared last year for the 360, causing a step back with no alternate unis at all to use. One of the hopes across the community for this season is that alternate and throwback jerseys return to the NCAA franchise in some form or fashion. It does not matter whether it is via free download with a much earlier release date than in 2007 or if they are included on the game disk somehow, the hope is that we will see alternates back this season.

Finally the rest of the FBS stadiums should be replicated and put in the game, as there were only a few dozen more left. The addition of FCS teams may finally rear their heads as well on the newest consoles.

When will we know:
With spring practice here for many and coming up for others, it is never too early to start thinking about college football. However, it is still too early to tell what we can fully expect with NCAA Football 09. As is typically the case, we should start seeing some major details turning up towards the month of May.

With E3 no longer giving us our first taste of NCAA in early May, we are forced to rely on EA to release info in the coming months. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to Operation Sports for those details.

In the meantime, expect more info to slowly leak in the coming weeks. Check EA’s homepage and Operation Sports often, as things are always being updated.

If everything goes as it looks it might NCAA Football 09

could see a breakthrough year. However, potential has never been EA’s problem. Hopefully we get everything we wanted and more with NCAA Football 09 this summer!

NCAA Football 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 jfsolo @ 03/31/08 03:50 PM

Those of you who know that the game isn't going to be what you want it to be, will have no excuse if you aren't able to be disciplined enough to wait a week or two for all the usual flaws to shake out.

EA Tiburon is a known entity, I hope people aren't going to feign outrage when things shake out exactly the way they expect them to.

# 22 fistofrage @ 03/31/08 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfsolo


	Those of you who know that the game isn't going to be what you want it to be, will have no excuse if you aren't able to be disciplined enough to wait a week or two for all the usual flaws to shake out. EA Tiburon is a known entity, I hope people aren't going to feign outrage when things shake out exactly the way they expect them to.

You have to wait about 3 weeks actually. For the 1st 20 days after release the hype crew here is just saying everything is SICK. Then the voices of reason will start to have the majority and soon the hype crew will admit that even with sliders, you can't get the gameplay that we had 5 years ago on the PS2.

# 23 thelasthurtknee @ 04/01/08 11:28 AM

three weeks? i played two games on release day and knew it was a flaming piece of poo. i was so mad about it because all the guys that i trust that went to ea and played it gave it pretty good reviews after playing all day. i played two games and went back and bought the xbox version on the same day. i played around with the new recruiting for a week but it was crap out of the box. i remember seeing alot of guys on that first day not liking it at all. can't even trust community day. ea's corruption is strong. ; ) ea never says anything promising about what they are working on for the new version untill this year. i know alot you guys just chalk what they say up to the same old thing but i think they are trying to do the right things this year. the question is will that happen? if i had to take a guess, well you know what i'm thinking. i like that the oline play is getting very good and the playbooks are nice. they actually are getting some of the on field things to a very football feel, but the players have looked like crap on next gen and their movement has been terrible. lets just hope it feels like football more this year.

# 24 fistofrage @ 04/01/08 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thelasthurtknee


	three weeks? i played two games on release day and knew it was a flaming piece of poo. i was so mad about it because all the guys that i trust that went to ea and played it gave it pretty good reviews after playing all day. i played two games and went back and bought the xbox version on the same day. i played around with the new recruiting for a week but it was crap out of the box. i remember seeing alot of guys on that first day not liking it at all. can't even trust community day. ea's corruption is strong. ; ) ea never says anything promising about what they are working on for the new version untill this year. i know alot you guys just chalk what they say up to the same old thing but i think they are trying to do the right things this year. the question is will that happen? if i had to take a guess, well you know what i'm thinking. i like that the oline play is getting very good and the playbooks are nice. they actually are getting some of the on field things to a very football feel, but the players have looked like crap on next gen and their movement has been terrible. lets just hope it feels like football more this year.

Yeah, if you don't know if you want to buy the game or not, you have to wait about 3 weeks. Certainly most subjective people can tell if a game is crap after about 2 hours with a game. But for the first 3 weeks, you will be in the minority because the OS Hype machine will say "This game is SICK!" over and over. On top of that the impressions thread is filled with questions from little Billy asking if they got BFE University's pink socks are in the game and Tommy screaming that if Alabama's jersies look "leathery" he won't be buying the game. So yes, just like the X files, the truth is out there but you have to wait 3 weeks to get it. Unfortunately so many of us are still in denial that this game has gone right in the crapper that we have to pay $60 just to see it for ourselves. Afterall, it might be SICK!

Or maybe I'll just be sick knowing how good this franchise used to be.

# 25 BezO @ 04/01/08 04:46 PM

Surprising article by OS. I can't say I remember seeing a hype article here before.

And ANYONE complaining in any of these threads prior to release that buys the game, remember YOU are why EA continues to put out garbage. Remember that.

One Madden purchase from me in the past 5-6 years. It's not that hard to skip(maybe because I'm more disappointed than most). Prior to that, I owned Madden EVERY year since it debuted on the Commodore 64 in '89.

# 26 countryboy @ 04/01/08 10:05 PM

I find it entertaining that people complain about a game that they have seen little to no info on and have only viewed pre-alpha screens.

# 27 Kramer5150 @ 04/01/08 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by countryboy


	I find it entertaining that people complain about a game that they have seen little to no info on and have only viewed pre-alpha screens.

These are the kind of quotes that are hilarious.
I'm not trying to start anything.....but how drastic of a change has the final product been from the "alpha" and "wip" builds?

Imho...they're not as different as we'd like to think. Remember last years demo? The turnover fest that took place just in that short demo?.....what were the excuses then? "It's just a demo" "I'm sure this was from an earlier build","they still have time to fix it".....

What was the biggest issue with last years version? yep,thats right..the turnovers.
I would be willing to bet,that what we're seeing in these "alpha" builds is almost identical to what we'll see on release day.

As far as cats speaking their opinion....it boils down to them being fed up,and why not? why not be skeptical of these "alpha" and "wip" vids and screens. What has EA/Tiburon done to prove that these games (football) are making the strides necessary in this "next-generation" of gaming?

# 28 gamerk2 @ 04/02/08 04:33 AM

Last I heard on 09, was all the moves a player with the ball uses will be mapped to the right analog stick. For example, press right on the stick to juke right, then roll toward down-left to spin the other way.

Its the natural extension of branch tackles, really.

# 29 BDawg35 @ 04/02/08 11:30 AM

I refuse to get hyped up about any news we hear from this year's game. We've been duped so many times in the past. Oh, I'll buy it at midnight release. I'm just not going to get stiff over any of EA's hype. There was a complaint posted that this article didn't have details. That wasn't the point. It's speculation about what we might be able to expect, what we should expect and a little background on the franchise's poor showing thus far on next-gen. As someone who writes for a living, I think the article is perfect for the moment. Obviously, there will be articles about details when details are available.

# 30 SidVish @ 04/02/08 11:54 AM

This used to be my main game that I just couldn't be without. Now it's not even on my radar. Lack of presentation and gameplay has stressed me out way too much. I'll rent it but I just can't be hopeful about this game. What reasons do I have to be hopeful?

# 31 BSherrod @ 04/02/08 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nowitzki41


	This used to be my main game that I just couldn't be without. Now it's not even on my radar. Lack of presentation and gameplay has stressed me out way too much. I'll rent it but I just can't be hopeful about this game. What reasons do I have to be hopeful?

Co-sign.

By the way, everyone who says the people on sport's game boards are the ones that shouldn't buy these games probably wouldn't really matter. It's the people who just buy NCAA every year because it is NCAA that are going to get the game regardless. If none of the "hard core" players bought the game this year they would lose maybe 100k in sales total and probably still crack a million off NCAA and 2 or 3 off Madden. EA is putting out a product that sells now, not a fan service game and I have lost faith in the series for this generation.

# 32 sooners03 @ 04/02/08 12:59 PM

This used to be THE game for me. There would be multi-team dynasties played all over my frat house, lasting from release to release. Now, no one really gets that into the game anymore. Because it is simply a killjoy. We remember how great it was, and now, sitting down to the steaming piles of poo that EA has served up lately is kind of depressing.

'08 was the LAST time I just run out and buy the game saying "It's College Football". I guess I am sick of getting burned. It will take a real big-league showing from EA to win me back. Sadly, I don't see it coming.

# 33 countryboy @ 04/02/08 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowherPower


	These are the kind of quotes that are hilarious. I'm not trying to start anything.....but how drastic of a change has the final product been from the "alpha" and "wip" builds? Imho...they're not as different as we'd like to think. Remember last years demo? The turnover fest that took place just in that short demo?.....what were the excuses then? "It's just a demo" "I'm sure this was from an earlier build","they still have time to fix it"..... What was the biggest issue with last years version? yep,thats right..the turnovers. I would be willing to bet,that what we're seeing in these "alpha" builds is almost identical to what we'll see on release day. As far as cats speaking their opinion....it boils down to them being fed up,and why not? why not be skeptical of these "alpha" and "wip" vids and screens. What has EA/Tiburon done to prove that these games (football) are making the strides necessary in this "next-generation" of gaming?

I didn't say the game wasn't without its flaws. I just said that its entertaining to me that year in and year out, people come into this forum and at the first sight of information or a screenshot of the next installment of NCAA. or any EA sports product for that matter, they quickly shoot it down, talk about how pointless it is, and re-state the same complaints and concerns that they had about the previous year's version and even the version before that.

If you don't like the game and "know" that its going to be a failure, then why bother visiting the forum? I mean, who are they trying to convince its a "bad" product, people who enjoy the series or themselves?

And you know whats even more entertaining? A majority of these people who claim that EA is ruining sports video games will go out at some point and buy the game and then come on here and complain about the same things they complained about before the game even released. How does that make any sense? "EA is ruining sports games, but I'll still give them my hard earned money so that I can justify what I knew was wrong with the game in the first place."

Or could it be that they actually like the product, but hate the developer? I think that seems to be more the case then not.

I know people are still upset over the fact that EA has exclusive rights, but come on, its been a few years now, can't we move on?

I am not trying to turn this into a debate nor a pissing contest, but this same ol song and dance is getting old and stale.

And now I'll await the inevitable retaliation from the anti-EA cavalry.

# 34 Kramer5150 @ 04/02/08 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by countryboy


	I didn't say the game wasn't without its flaws. I just said that its entertaining to me that year in and year out, people come into this forum and at the first sight of information or a screenshot of the next installment of NCAA. or any EA sports product for that matter, they quickly shoot it down, talk about how pointless it is, and re-state the same complaints and concerns that they had about the previous year's version and even the version before that. If you don't like the game and "know" that its going to be a failure, then why bother visiting the forum? I mean, who are they trying to convince its a "bad" product, people who enjoy the series or themselves? And you know whats even more entertaining? A majority of these people who claim that EA is ruining sports video games will go out at some point and buy the game and then come on here and complain about the same things they complained about before the game even released. How does that make any sense? "EA is ruining sports games, but I'll still give them my hard earned money so that I can justify what I knew was wrong with the game in the first place." Or could it be that they actually like the product, but hate the developer? I think that seems to be more the case then not. I know people are still upset over the fact that EA has exclusive rights, but come on, its been a few years now, can't we move on? I am not trying to turn this into a debate nor a pissing contest, but this same ol song and dance is getting old and stale. And now I'll await the inevitable retaliation from the anti-EA cavalry.

I understand where you're coming from.
But like you said....every year it's the same thing....we get "wip" screens and vids,and every year we get the same argument of how can the game be judged this early,when in fact the game is really not that much different from what we see in these "early" builds.
As far as WHO makes the game, it makes no difference to me,all I want is a somewhat realistic version of the sport thats being portrayed.

I agree as well about the cats you speak of,that in itself is just about as entertaining as the actual game. I do know (for myself) that the next gen version of football video games have dropped from a "must have" status to a "wait and see" approach.

# 35 countryboy @ 04/02/08 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowherPower


	I understand where you're coming from. But like you said....every year it's the same thing....we get "wip" screens and vids,and every year we get the same argument of how can the game be judged this early,when in fact the game is really not that much different from what we see in these "early" builds. As far as WHO makes the game, it makes no difference to me,all I want is a somewhat realistic version of the sport thats being portrayed. I agree as well about the cats you speak of,that in itself is just about as entertaining as the actual game. I do know (for myself) that the next gen version of football video games have dropped from a "must have" status to a "wait and see" approach.

I agree that at least for me, the PS3 version last year was not near as playable, nor did it create the same "atmosphere" as its PS2 counterpart.

And the reason we get the same argument as to how the game can be judged on early builds is because year in and year out we get the same ol' "bashing", for lack of a better term, of EA at every single screenshot, video, and/or information. Its frustrating to view a thread that has info about the game, only to find it littered with the negative comments about EA then it is with the actual info that one is trying to read upon. Instead of it being "discussed" it seems to always be "argued" and people who like the new info/video/screenshot are ambushed with the "How and Why" questions.

One shouldn't have to defend their enjoyment of a game because others, many others seemingly, dislike the game. And I feel that is where this forum is heading, if not there already.

# 36 countryboy @ 04/02/08 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grunt


	We are seeing a once great series dying in front of our eyes. NCAA 2004 and 2007 last gen are some of the greatest sports games ever but we have waited and spent our hard earn dollars for a series that is going down the drain. I think we are venting against EA's public relation machine. I have never seen as much negativity regarding NCAA series. Gamers are getting tired of being played. Peace

I don't view the series as dying before our eyes, but thats my opinion obviously. I see it as a series that is having trouble taking advantage of the new hardware. Last year, the PS3 version was hard to play because of the 30fps mainly and the turnover glitch was annoying.

I played the 360 version post-patch and thought that it wasn't a bad game. It got the job done, but left something to be desired.

And the question that I will pose to your post is this. If players are tired of "being played" by the EA public relation "machine" then why do they continue to spend their hard earned dollars as you said?

I mean, fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

# 37 SageInfinite @ 04/02/08 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grunt


	I think more and more gamers are leaning towards "wait and see" versus first day purchase.

I know I am.

# 38 deebo2246 @ 04/02/08 10:47 PM

Just a thought for everyone.... Isn't the juke moves being mapped to the right stick kinda 2K5ish????

Why is everyone so excited about this and not talking about gameplay? Gameplay and authenticity is what matters in sports games and that is why NBA 2K8 and The Show are looked at in such high regards. Once the developers get back to the basics then and only then will football videogames become viable to me again.

# 39 Kramer5150 @ 04/02/08 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by countryboy


	I agree that at least for me, the PS3 version last year was not near as playable, nor did it create the same "atmosphere" as its PS2 counterpart. And the reason we get the same argument as to how the game can be judged on early builds is because year in and year out we get the same ol' "bashing", for lack of a better term, of EA at every single screenshot, video, and/or information. Its frustrating to view a thread that has info about the game, only to find it littered with the negative comments about EA then it is with the actual info that one is trying to read upon. Instead of it being "discussed" it seems to always be "argued" and people who like the new info/video/screenshot are ambushed with the "How and Why" questions. One shouldn't have to defend their enjoyment of a game because others, many others seemingly, dislike the game. And I feel that is where this forum is heading, if not there already.

Kinda sounds like the MLB 2k forums....LOL. But yea,I know what you're saying.
I enjoy seeing the early screenshots and what-not,and while I do admit that it does get old with the early criticism's,are we supposed to not say anything?

This is all opinion (obviously..lol) but to me it seems EA is going for the "WOW" factor with the graphics on the current gen of consoles (ps3,360) instead of bringing the gameplay up to the same level of detail.
Again,for me it's more out of frustration than anything else,and the "wait till next year" slogan was seriously played out last gen...and now here we are in current gen,and the same thing is being said.

I just feel that SO MUCH more can be done to improve the gameplay. In alot of ways it reminds me of last gen,only with better graphics.

# 40 jdrhammer @ 04/03/08 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CowherPower


	Kinda sounds like the MLB 2k forums....LOL. But yea,I know what you're saying. I enjoy seeing the early screenshots and what-not,and while I do admit that it does get old with the early criticism's,are we supposed to not say anything? This is all opinion (obviously..lol) but to me it seems EA is going for the "WOW" factor with the graphics on the current gen of consoles (ps3,360) instead of bringing the gameplay up to the same level of detail. Again,for me it's more out of frustration than anything else,and the "wait till next year" slogan was seriously played out last gen...and now here we are in current gen,and the same thing is being said. I just feel that SO MUCH more can be done to improve the gameplay. In alot of ways it reminds me of last gen,only with better graphics.

I love the improved graphics, as I imagine everyone does. I want them to get all the small things/details right since that should be a given. There are way too many issues with gameplay. When I go down to Baton Rouge to play a Rivalry Game, I want it to feel like I'm playing one of the best teams in one of the toughest environments. I want them to perform like a great team and manage the clock and try to throw me off balance and all. CPU AI is horrible and they do a terrible job managing the clock and calling plays. And the only difference in the top-notch Defense they have and my average D, is the fact that they take my HB's head off with a bone-crushing tackle that doesn't even look like a half-*** tackle, and causes me to fumble 4 times.

People can say all they want about this being a really good game, but there is so much that EA left out that we've had in the past. They have no excuses. If this game were only PS2's version of '07 on next gen with the next gen graphics and '08 rosters, I think we'd all totally understand. Hey, it's your first real year on Next Gen and we'll give you this year to catch up. I still don't understand how they expected for anyone to be happy after morphing backwards several years.

If they've read any of these boards or noticed any of the concerned customers' complaints, they'd be advertising this as the greatest thing ever. Not just right analog juking. If they were truly proud of what they've done, they'd be setting us up for the greatest CFB game ever.

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