While the K-State football team prepares for their game this week, Wildcats all around are getting a look ahead of this week’s matchup. How you might ask? With the help of Electronic Arts newest release: EA Sports College Football 25. A game thought to be gone forever, was resurrected this July. College Football 25 has taken the nation by storm being played by all: whether it be eleven-year-olds getting their first console, or millennials who played the old College Football game in their teens and want a shot of nostalgia in their life.
EA has been making football-themed games since 1988 when it first released John Madden Football. Four years later, Bill Walsh College Football was released. The line of College Football games continued until 2014. Production of College Football games was halted due to legal clashes between the NCAA and EA. The dispute branched from the idea that college players could not profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL); something EA wanted to include in their games but the NCAA would not allow. But after a long ten-year wait, the king has returned to his throne.
EA continued releasing the Madden series of games while College Football was on a hiatus. So why all the hype behind the game? Freshman Jobe Haverkamp, an avid Wildcat fan, explains why the flip from Madden to College Football 25 was an easy decision. “I’ve been going to K-State games since I was about three years old. Seeing all the traditions in the game, I mean the Wabash Cannonball is the first thing you see [every time you play]. You got all the traditions lined up there, it’s a great game.” The game plays similarly to Madden but carries the traditions of college football teams, an area Madden fails to excel. From the Tomahawk Chop in Tallahassee to the White Out game at Penn State to KU having to travel 30 minutes for home games, each game feels different due to the environment you play in. If you play in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, you will hear the Wabash Cannonball after an Avery Johnson touchdown or Desmond Purnell sack. This feature adds more complexity to the game and is a large reason many fans prefer College Football to Madden.
When asked if he likes playing as other teams in the game, Haverkamp gave a quick answer. “Go ‘Cats baby! That’s the only team I play with!” However, many others enjoyed the possibility of playing as a variety of different teams in the game. In Madden, you can play as the 32 NFL teams, however, in College Football 25 you can play as all 134 FBS teams. And if 134 isn’t enough for you, EA added a “Team Builder” where you can create your own teams and post them online for others to play as. These teams push the imagination to the point where you can play as your local high school team or join Mike and Sully and play for the Monsters University football team.
A massive difference between the old and new college-themed games is due to the passing of NIL which heavily contributed to the game’s recreation. Before 2021, NCAA athletes were unable to profit off their name, image, and likeness. In the previous NCAA games, players were unnamed on the jersey and the scorecard but thanks to current NIL laws, your favorite players are now featured in the game. Each player received $600 and a free copy of the game if they opted to be named in the game. So instead of playing as “Unnamed RB1”, DJ Giddens can lead his ‘Cats to victory playing as himself.
An overarching success for Electronic Arts selling two million copies a week after the release. College Football 25 is looking to be a success and a game-changer for game creators and players alike. A staple of late-night dorm gaming, NCAA College Football has set a new standard for sporting games and arguably, the video game industry as a whole.
