NCAA Football 98 | PlayStation 1 | PS1

ELECTRONIC ARTS SHIPS NCAA FOOTBALL 98 FOR THE PLAYSTATION

EA SPORTS' Top Selling College Football Video Game Graduates From 16-Bit to Advanced Gaming Platform

SAN MATEO, Calif., August 5, 1997 -- Electronic Arts® (Nasdaq:ERTS), a leading global interactive entertainment software company, today announced the shipment of NCAA® Football 98 for the PlayStation’. NCAA Football 98 is the latest version of EA SPORTS'’ best-selling college football video game line. Previously only available on the Sega’ Genesis’ 16-bit game console, fans of this franchise have been waiting for its arrival on the PlayStation.

NCAA Football 98 includes all 112 teams from the ten different Division I-A conferences. It has 20 all-time historic games, with 40 of the greatest college football teams ever to step onto the gridiron. It is therefore possible to recreate such memorable games as the historic 1987 Fiesta Bowl that featured the great 1986 teams from Penn State and Miami. Accurate position rankings and skill levels for each school enhance the game's realism.

Exclusive rights to the Fed Ex Orange Bowl, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and Nokia Sugar Bowl provide real life bowl games not found in any other interactive football game. NCAA Football 98 also has the rights to the Rose Bowl. The 1998 Fed Ex Orange Bowl will host this season's National Championship game, and with the exclusive rights to this bowl NCAA Football 98 is the only interactive college football game in which the user can play for the undisputed National Championship.

"We have created a football game that stays true to the feel of a Saturday afternoon college event," said Rob Martyn, executive producer, EA SPORTS. "You'll hear the voice of Rose Bowl announcer Chuck White during the game. We worked with former UCLA coach Terry Donahue to make sure the playbook for each team was authentic and reflects the style of play that team actually uses. You play this game and you feel like you are on the field and part of the college football experience. The emotion, tradition, rivalries and enthusiasm that surround the college game is very intense and EA SPORTS has captured that feeling in NCAA Football 98."

The level of detail in the game is incredible from the jersey numbers that are shown on each player, to 122 fully-rendered and authentically reproduced stadiums for every team in the league, plus extra stadiums used in post-season play. Even the most minute details were taken care of, such as the field starting to degrade in quality over the course of the game if it's raining. Also, over 30 licensed fight songs are in the game. In order to ensure a competitive game against the computer, whether the game player is a novice or an expert, skill setting can be placed at Junior Varsity, Varsity or All-American levels. Saved instant replays allow the user to save a great play to a PlayStation memory card and carry it to a friend's house to replay.

NCAA Football 98 has features unique to the college game that distinguish it from other football games on the market. Dynasty mode allows the user to build a powerhouse program over the course of multiple seasons. In dynasty mode, after the season the user can pick blue-chip recruits from a field of incoming freshman. The better the previous season's record, the better the caliber of athletes available to your team. Thus, a weak team can be built up to national champion by quality play and shrewd recruiting. As seniors graduate, it is up to the player to replace them with talented freshman who can help build the program.

Rival mode instantly brings up the main rival for each team in the game, and with every Division I-A school in the game the number of matchups is huge. With team rivalries being a major part of college football, the rival mode adds an element to the game that defines what the college football experience is all about. Many times a winning season for a team is still considered a failure because of the simple fact that the team lost to its main rival. NCAA Football 98 captures that feeling and immerses the user in the passion of the college game.