It's the reason your girlfriend broke up with you.
It's why you don't call your mom as much.
It's also what will be taking up more free time in fraternity houses this fall.
It's "NCAA Football 2004" by Electronic Arts, and it will be on store shelves Thursday. Well, for about an hour before the college football-obsessed public around the country grab every copy.
EA's "NCAA Football" has become a phenomenon, especially here in the Heartland, where college football rules as king of sports. Even before the release of the new game, football fans were getting together to play their final games on last year's model.
"We still play together, against other guys, because it's more fun than kicking the crap out of the computer constantly," journalism graduate Andy Solom said.
More students than one might think get together to play the NCAA football games. And it's always the same game. No one plays Sega's "NCAA College Football 2K3," which won't even have a 2K4 update because of the EA game's popularity. Only EA's "Madden NFL" brand name beats the popularity of the NCAA franchise. Both games are produced by Tiburon, and both continue to set the standard for football games.
"I think it's a matter of quality, really, and (NCAA Football's) association with the brand name of Madden," GamePro magazine senior editor Paul Curthoys said. "Since Tiburon took it over, they've really done a good job. Madden itself is really a force at being a brand name, and 'NCAA Football' kind of rides the coattails of the Madden name a bit, but I think there is more to its success than that."
With the changes to this year's model, including an online gaming option on the Playstation 2, and everyone's familiarity with college football, EA's game could give die-hard college football fans an even better opportunity to take each other on than in the past, Curthoys said.
OU and Texas fans will be able to hit the virtual gridiron the night before the Red River Shootout. Alabama and Auburn fans will be able to spout insults over the Internet during the Iron Bowl. In other words, this year's game will make things a lot more interesting.
"I think a lot of (the game's popularity) has to do with people getting attached to their alma mater, or if they are currently in school, they want to play as their favorite players and their college team," Curthoys said. "Now, with the online capabilities, I think it will be even more popular. You'll have fans from different schools going against each other."
So, how can EA count on this type of response to a game that doesn't feature the names of the players because of NCAA restrictions? Curthoys said it's because Electronic Arts has gained the trust of fans. They have a fan base in place that has existed for fifteen years.
"They haven't changed their name since the late '80s," Curthoys said. "Other sports games publishers have come and gone. EA has a done a reasonably good job of gaining the sports gamers' trust."
And that trust is paying off.
The NCAA game is popular around Norman, with fans already trading in copies of their old games to upgrade to the new version. At Game X Change, a local store that deals in both new and used games, the employees have seen a rising interest in the new NCAA game.
"Within a month of when the new game comes out, we'll get an influx of the previous year's game," said Steve Goodrich, assistant manager at Game X Change. "I think that the EA games have a lot better simulation value than Sega or 989, and people around here want to pick it up in order to play the Sooners. People want to update it every year."
Fans of the game franchise will ultimately decide this version's popularity. At the least, EA can look forward to that strong name recognition when NCAA 2004 comes to store shelves this week. As far as fans are concerned, EA is sealing up college football the way they did the NFL with "Madden" more than a decade ago.
"We only play the EA game because EA is the best," Solom said. "I've played a couple of the NFL games of different types and didn't like them. Everyone I know has the EA college game. I put my order in about a month ago, and I'm looking forward to playing the game. I have a friend who is trying to build a whole weekend around playing the game."
With the new updates every season, including stadium changes, uniform changes and roster updates, fans will undoubtedly continue to return to the franchise. With the release of NCAA 2004 this week, EA Sports also anticipates an even greater response from the public than last year's game received. EA has added new teams, Division IAA included; new plays, like the triple option; the ability for players to compete in the classic college games of the past 20 years and improved graphics.
However, it is the lure of college football itself that draws the fans to play in the first place. The bands, the mascots, the old-style gridiron rivalries. The quality of the game determines which brand of football they will play.
"The best part of the game is just playing with OU," Solom said. "You get to make sure that OU never, ever loses. The second is you get to play with the option. That's something the NFL games don't have. And everyone has at least some ties to a university somehow. Sometimes there aren't NFL teams in cities, but there are colleges to root for."
Library and information studies graduate student Sheldon Beach agrees with Solom about what makes playing as your favorite college great. His favorite part? The option.
"You can keep it, you can pitch it, or you can say 'Is this big guy gonna hit me?'" Beach said, quoting a famous line uttered by ESPN analyst Lee Corso, who announces during the games. "I just love using the option, and I love football. That's it. It's great."
With the enthusiasm for college football and the strong recognition fans have with the EA NCAA Football franchise, this year's game is sure to be almost as popular as the real thing.
So, get out your controllers and prepare to be sucked into the time-consuming task of taking your favorite team to the promised land 20 years in a row.
"I just hope they have the second deck of (Oklahoma Memorial Stadium) on there," Solom said. "If not, that just means I'll have to play this one for a year and then update again for the new stadium."
hello there & you too