NFL GameDay (video game series)
NFL GameDay is a series of American football video games for both the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. NFL GameDay directly competed with EA Sports' Madden NFL Football and Sega's NFL 2K franchises. The NFL GameDay series began with NFL GameDay released for the 1995-96 NFL season and ended with NFL GameDay 2005 following EA's acquisition of exclusive NFL licensing. The games were designed by 989 Sports throughout their ten-year duration.
| NFL GameDay | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Sports |
| Developer(s) | 989 Sports |
| Publisher(s) | 989 Sports |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 |
| First release | NFL GameDay November 21, 1995 |
| Latest release | NFL GameDay 2005 August 1, 2004 |
NFL GameDay
NFL GameDay is the first video game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released in 1996 on the PlayStation by Sony Interactive Studios America as a competitor to the Madden football game series. Its cover athlete is William Floyd.
The game makes use of motion capture for its animations.[1]
NFL GameDay '97
NFL GameDay '97 is the second video game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released on November 30, 1996 on the PlayStation by Sony Interactive Studios America. On the cover is Daryl Johnston. Gameday 97 includes new options & features like season-ending injuries, a full-fledged draft, more statistics, and the ability to create players. It features all 30 NFL teams (1,500 NFLPA players) and modeled stadiums, including real NFL uniforms with real logos and numbers.
Motion capture was again used, with Tim Brown being the motion capture actor.[2] In order to avoid a common complaint against competitor Madden NFL - that the A.I. can consistently be beaten with a specific play - the developers hired a full-time game tester whose job was specifically to find such plays and report them so that a counter could be developed.[2]
NFL GameDay 98
NFL GameDay 98 is the third video game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released July 31, 1997 on the PlayStation by Sony Interactive Studios America. On the cover is Jerome Bettis. It was the first football video game to feature 3D polygonal graphics; it took longer for football games to adopt fully polygonal graphics than other genres because their large number of players and requisite fast pace made it difficult to do so at a reasonable frame rate.[3]
NFL GameDay 99
NFL GameDay 99 is the fourth game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released July 31, 1998 on the PlayStation, and August 31, 1998 on the PC, both by 989 Sports. On the cover is Terrell Davis.
NFL GameDay 2000
NFL GameDay 2000 is the fifth video game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released July 31, 1999 on the PlayStation by 989 Sports. On the cover is Terrell Davis.[4]
NFL GameDay 2001
NFL GameDay 2001 is the sixth video game in the NFL GameDay series, and the first to be released on the PlayStation 2. It was released October 30, 2000 on the PlayStation, and November 20, 2000 on the PlayStation 2, both by 989 Sports. On the cover is Marshall Faulk.[5]
NFL GameDay 2002
NFL GameDay 2002 is the seventh video game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released August 6, 2001 on the PlayStation, and December 4, 2001[6] on the PlayStation 2, both by 989 Sports. On the cover is Donovan McNabb.[6][7]
NFL GameDay 2003
NFL GameDay 2003 is the eighth video game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released August 13, 2002[8] on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, both by 989 Sports. On the cover is Tom Brady.[9]
NFL GameDay 2004
NFL GameDay 2004 is the ninth video game in the NFL GameDay series. It was released in 2003 on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, both by 989 Sports. On the cover is LaDainian Tomlinson.[10]
NFL GameDay 2005
NFL GameDay 2005 is the tenth and final game in the NFL GameDay series, and unlike the last few GameDay video games, it is only available on the PlayStation console, and not on the PlayStation 2. It was released on August 1, 2004. On the cover is Derrick Brooks. It was the last first-party (Sony) game published for the PlayStation though there were sporadic official releases in 2005 and 2006 by others.
Reception
In 1999, Next Generation listed the NFL GameDay series as number 43 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Truly, this is the football game that appeals to both the hardcore and the masses."[11]
See also
- ESPN Sunday Night NFL, Sony's predecessor for SNES, Sega Genesis and Sega CD
References
- "The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: Motion Capture". Next Generation. No. 15. Imagine Media. March 1996. p. 37.
- "The Making of NFL GameDay '97". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 89. Ziff Davis. December 1996. pp. 306–7.
- "NFL GameDay '98: Sony's Incredible 3-D Football Game Gains the Graphical Edge". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 98. Ziff Davis. September 1997. p. 124.
- "NFL GameDay 2000 Redefines Football Videogame Category". Business Wire. August 9, 1999. Retrieved 2011-04-28.
- "NFL GameDay(TM) 2001 for the PlayStation(R) Game Console Hits the Line At Full Speed on August 15". PR Newswire. August 14, 2000. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
- "NFL GameDay(TM) 2002 Now Available for Gridiron Action On the PlayStation(R)2 Computer Entertainment System". PR Newswire. December 4, 2001. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- "NFL GameDay(TM) 2002 Takes to the Gridiron for Another PlayStation(R) Season". PR Newswire. August 7, 2001. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- "989 Sports(R) Kicks Off the Football Season with NFL GameDay(TM) 2003 for Both PlayStation(R) and PlayStation(R)2 Platforms". PR Newswire. August 13, 2002. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- "Tom Brady Signs on as Cover Athlete for 989 Sports(R)' NFL GameDay(TM) 2003". PR Newswire. May 16, 2002. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- "989 Sports(R) Kicks Off the Football Season with the Release of NFL GameDay(TM) 2004 for PlayStation(R)2". PR Newswire. August 26, 2003. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- "Top 50 Games of All Time". Next Generation. No. 50. Imagine Media. February 1999. p. 74.