In NCAA Football 12 players have an extraordinary amount of control over the college football landscape. Many diehards and purists have pursed their lips and grumbled over a wave conference realignments that forsake traditions and regional sensibilities for television contracts. NCAA 12 is their chance to put things right in the world. Their world.
We know there’s a certain level of stagecraft and gimmickry to these sports video games picking winners. That said, EA Sports has correctly predicted the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, and World Cup champion this year.
With six additional teams and a slew of custom visuals, NCAA Football 11 released an uncommonly ambitious demo last week. Football is still a results-driven enterprise, and its video games are rightly held to the same expectation of on-field execution.
The AP’s annual accounting of which college football teams start the season born on third base isn’t due for another couple months, maybe, but EA Sports has already ranked them for NCAA Football 11 which releases in three weeks.
Last year’s NCAA Basketball 10 rendered its games in the broadcast style of CBS Sports and ESPN. That game died but the concept survived; NCAA Football 11 will deliver ESPN’s college football package of graphics, wipes, themes and more.