A decade in the making
I remember when I was a younger man, I thought it might be cool to own a gaming console. As big of a nerd as I am, I've never really gotten into console gaming too much. When I was a kid I had an Atari system, then a Nintendo, and from that point I took the dive into PC gaming and left consoles behind.
Suddenly, as a young adult, I had a bit more disposable income and I thought it might be fun to buy a Playstation 2. That was the last console I would ever buy (besides my Wii, but that was more for the kids to play Just Dance on).
I remember I had a decent number of games for the Playstation 2. I was just starting to realize my love of sports back then, so I had many of the football and basketball games that were popular at the time. I'd long given up on my PS2 when 2014 came around and the last college football game was made.
NCAA Football 14 was the last installment in the popular series by EA Sports. Fast forward to today and for the first time in over a decade, EA Sports is releasing College Football 25.
The reason for the decade delay is an interesting one that ultimately traces back to what motivates pretty much everything these days... money.
You see, before all of the new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rules in the NCAA, there was always a bit of contention over the fact that these young college players were being depicted in the game and getting nothing for it. Absolutely nothing from a gaming franchise that was earning EA Sports a ton of money every single year.
That's all changed now with NIL deals being cut right and left and apparently some kind of favorable agreement for all parties involved between the NCAA and EA Sports.
I haven't seen so much hype for a game in quite some time. My nephew has been talking about the release of this game like a giddy little school girl for the past three months. Since I don't have a console and the game costs close to $70 I won't be buying it, but my nephew is expecting he will get it for his birthday.
He like many avid gamers out there already has it all planned out which teams he is going to play and which players are going to be his favorite. I can't remember seeing someone this excited about a game since the original Final Fantasy came out for NES.
These football games from EA Sports are a piece of history, so I am happy to see that that rich history is going to continue for future generations.
I should point out, the release date for this game was July 19, 2024, so there are likely already a lot copies out there.
In fact, according to the Internet, EA Sports signed up 5 million unique players in just the first week of the game being released. As of the beginning of August, the game has generated more than $500 million dollars in sales for EA Sports.
I wonder what cut of that the players and NCAA gets....
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