NCAA Football optioned to Wii, PSP

EA Sports' amateur pigskin sim set to debut on Nintendo's console, return from hiatus for Sony's handheld; Wii cover to feature mascot, not athlete.

Is Wii ready for some (amateur) football? Electronic Arts will finally find out later this year, as the publisher today announced NCAA Football 09 for a slate of five systems, including Nintendo's latest console. The collegiate gridiron sim will also take the field this fall for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable, but has now been discontinued for the original Xbox.

While the Wii is the only system welcoming NCAA Football for the first time, the PlayStation Portable release is notable as well. The series first appeared on Sony's handheld with the 07 installment, but it was quietly left off the schedule for last July's NCAA Football 08. Collegiate pigskin wasn't the only PSP no-show in EA Sports' 08 lineup; the NHL series of hockey games also took a one-year break, though it isn't clear if that line will return to the portable for NHL 09.

As with the Wii editions of the Madden, NBA Live, and FIFA series, NCAA Football will include EA Sports' increasingly ominpresent "Family Play" mode. Intended to lure novices into the EA Sports fold, the mode strips away complicated Wii controls to allow neophytes to compete with veterans.

The Wii version of NCAA Football 09 will also be distinguished from other ports of the game by its cover athlete. Instead of a college star now out of school, the game will feature one school's mascot on the front of the box. Fans will be able to vote on which school's mascot that will be by logging onto the game's official Web site.

Electronic Arts did not specify a release window for the game, but the series has launched in mid-July for the past seven years.

42 Comments

  • disco_strangler

    Posted Apr 14, 2008 9:06 am PT

    finally, my favorite game is coming to a system that i own.
    exciting times.

  • Thordain0011

    Posted Mar 30, 2008 6:14 pm PT

    Sports_gamer, the cover athlete is traditionally someone leaving school and headed for the draft. So Tebow will be next year at the earliest.

  • Padrepride

    Posted Mar 5, 2008 8:46 pm PT

    I'm hoping for a superstar mode that they actually include for the wii

  • sports_gamer5

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 1:57 pm PT

    tim tebow should get cover for this he was amazing (first underclassmen to win the heisman memorial trophy)

  • sports_gamer5

    Posted Feb 22, 2008 1:54 pm PT

    this game is better than madden so the wii better be good or ill be playin this on my ps3. TEXAS LONGHORNS ALL THE WAY BABY!!!

  • kca89

    Posted Feb 18, 2008 7:38 am PT

    I might pick this up if the Wii version is any good.

  • Falconsfan60

    Posted Feb 16, 2008 5:28 pm PT

    cmon put spartans on the cover! i have ncaa football 2005 for the gc and its the best game ever. i cant wait till 09 comes to wii and psp

  • 15hockey

    Posted Feb 16, 2008 8:02 am PT

    If they do what they did with Madden 07 (Wii) this will be a hit.

  • benjaminjoel

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 2:16 pm PT

    Go 'Noles! FSU all the way!

  • Red-I-Jedi

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 2:13 pm PT

    Just hope they do a good job on the Wii edition. If not guess I'll have to play on my 360. I've been tired of Madden for awhile but the NCAA should be a nice change.

  • mld316

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 1:06 pm PT

    go ky wildcats

  • ZeshiO

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 11:26 am PT

    Go Cougs! Washington State all the way baby!

  • darthlgp

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 10:59 am PT

    This is good news. I prefer NCAA over NFL any day!

  • Crombian

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 9:34 am PT

    IMO, NCAA provided much more immersion than the Madden experience. GO HOKIES!

  • Pastehunter

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 8:20 am PT

    Great news for PSP owning sports fans

  • Paully3433

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 7:48 am PT

    sweet

  • bardkieran

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 7:24 am PT

    blzult - right, I was just giving an example of putting an athlete on the cover of a sports game... there's a lot riding on the hope that they will keep their noses clean. Im sure a MLB game with Roger Clemens on the cover would not look good right now.

    The problem with society is that we tend to idolize and worship these athletes, expecting them to be perfect. They're people too, and moreso, they're athletes. They're not really doing much to better the world, just providing a distraction from the daily grind.

  • duckshoe

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 6:57 am PT

    HEY! on that voting thingy there's no Oregon Ducks!?!?! GRR!

  • bizuit

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 6:22 am PT

    bardkieran, Vick was on the cover of Madden and not NCAA

  • Nomar321

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 6:00 am PT

    Nah..not for me. As nifty as the PSP is, I don't believe you can play great games like NCAA on such a small screen...in essence...it's nerdy!

    AS for the Wii, it will be interesting to see what football is like on that console...

  • razu_gamer

    Posted Feb 15, 2008 3:12 am PT

    EA family play..........YUCK. Bring on Pro evo Wii Konami. Thats real football for real gamers.

  • pulirula

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 11:55 pm PT

    meh. pro evolution soccer on wii is gonna be the hotness.

  • bardkieran

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 9:45 pm PT

    mascots make more sense. 95% of college athletes go unknown after they go pro. mascots never change. Im sure that Michael Vick on the cover of one of the football games looks real good now. lol

  • Gruug

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    Wonder if EA will fix all the bugs from last years edition?

  • explosivo57

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    i hope they bring back the mascot games for the wii!

  • theKSMM

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 9:06 pm PT

    It's a shame that the XBOX isn't getting any love anymore. It's still quite a capable system, and I would think that XBOX owners would be happy to see a new title coming their way. Rifling through the used games bin gets old after a while...

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 9:01 pm PT

    lol, a mascot.

  • bluezy

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 8:01 pm PT

    I knew this was coming. I took a survey from EA a while back about bringing NCAA Football to the Wii, and sure enough, here it is.

  • blackie8

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 7:31 pm PT

    i agree with gastman

  • NoHotAshes

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 7:13 pm PT

    "Football" = BOOOOOOOOOOORING!!!!

  • dz99ls

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 6:37 pm PT

    Good news i cant stand madden finally good football to the wii and psp

  • Gastman

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 6:30 pm PT

    WTF, the Wii is getting a mascot on there cover, everybody treat the Wii like it is all kiddy game

  • malphycious

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 6:12 pm PT

    I'm so freakin happy NCAA football is coming back to Nintendo

  • joeyfine

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 6:09 pm PT

    there was a time i enjoyed NCAA over madden. since the next gen games that hasnt been the case.

  • blackseminole22

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 5:46 pm PT

    I am so happy to hear that this game is coming back to the psp . Hopefully they can fix the problems that 07 had.

  • NnyCW

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 5:10 pm PT

    Still no love for the PC.

  • bcooper565656

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 4:49 pm PT

    sweet sounds cool.

  • OmegaGear

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 4:45 pm PT

    Wow, this sounds like a shameless sales tactic. At ace value, I feel like they made this choice after judging what kind of people mainly owned Wiis, and what its image was like. As it is still commonly seen as the game system for non-gamers, kids, and families, why not slap on a comical mascot instead of an athlete. Do they even show mascots in the game itself? I don't recall ever seeing them in any sports title...

  • -Karmum-

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 4:18 pm PT

    IT IS ABOUT TIME! I have dreamed of a Wii NCAA Football game. Buying on both 360 and Wii!

  • AZisBack

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 3:54 pm PT

    Is there going to be a mascot on the cover because the game is going to be a joke? If there are some fun football mini-games I may pickup this game on the Wii, as well as the Xbox 360.

  • bgres077

    Posted Feb 14, 2008 3:47 pm PT

    Should be fun for the Wii, hopefully they include all the features that PS3/360 get or it's a waste of a buy.

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