After more than a decade, the widely-popular NCAA Football video game is back, and bringing with it some Southern Miss flare
Originally named “Bill Walsh College Football” back in 1993, the game, from EA Sports, changed its name twice before settling on “NCAA Football.” And in its return, the game features all 134 FBS teams, as well as over 10,000 real-life players across all teams, including Southern Miss players.
Quarterback Tate Rodemaker, a junior transfer from Florida State, is excited to be a part of the game.
“Being in the game is a big deal for me,” he said. “It feels nice to be able to hear my teammates call my name on plays.”
Rodemaker also expressed the sentimental value the video game holds for him.
“I played the last game [NCAA 14] up until last year on my PlayStation 3,” he said. “I had always hoped a new game would come where players would be featured, but I never imagined it would come in my time.”
The video game also features Southern Miss senior running back, Chandler Pittman.
“It feels great to be in a game that people all around the country, and the world will see,” Pittman said.
Like Rodemake and others, Pittman also enjoys playing the old NCAA Football games.
“I played the old games starting when I was 10 or 11 years-old,” he said. “To be here now, seeing myself in a game I loved, is an amazing feeling.”
With international sales of the game pushing over three million copies, gaming enthusiasts all over the world are now exposed to Southern Miss football players and their peers, with even more players being added through constant updates, such as the late MJ Daniels, of USM.
Since being launched years ago, NCAA Football has been a hit with football fans of all ages, giving them the ability to role-play as their favorite team. But in 2014, the NCAA announced they would not renew their contract with EA Sports, due to ongoing financial concerns from the real-life players featured in the video game, halting further development of the game, before making its return this summer.
