NFL 2K
ESPN NFL 2K (originally NFL 2K) was an American football video game series developed by Visual Concepts and jointly published by Sega and ESPN.
History
The NFL 2K series was introduced by Sega for its Dreamcast to address EA Sports's decision not to publish the Madden NFL series on the Dreamcast. The first two installments (NFL 2K and NFL 2K1) were exclusive to the Dreamcast, but with the demise of the Dreamcast, the NFL 2K series was repositioned as the main multiplatform rival to the Madden NFL series. Both series were released on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. With the cancellation of the NFL GameDay (989 Sports) and NFL Fever (Microsoft Game Studios) series in 2003, NFL 2K (now ESPN NFL Football) truly became Madden NFL's primary competition.
In 2004, Sega signed a deal with Take-Two Interactive in which Global Star (Take-Two's low-price unit) distributed and copublished all titles in Sega's ESPN franchise. As a result, ESPN NFL 2K5 was priced at $19.99 the day it shipped (versus the typical new-release price of $49.99). This earned it a wide audience among more casual football fans on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It was also the first time that the ESPN NFL series managed to grab a significant chunk of market share over the competitor, the Madden NFL series. Before 2K5's release, the Madden NFL series had greatly outsold the ESPN NFL games. However, ESPN NFL 2K5 slightly outsold its counterpart, Madden 2005
However, in December 2004, EA signed an exclusive agreement with the NFL, making Madden NFL the only series allowed to use NFL team and player names. EA also signed an agreement with ESPN to become the only licensee of ESPN's brand in sports games on all platforms. This was an immense blow to Sega's franchise in their MLB, NBA, and NHL series.
Although the football games are no longer made, fans can download unofficial rosters made by other players through using the Action Replay.
Installments
| Title | Release date | Console(s) | Cover athlete |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFL 2K | September 9, 1999 | Dreamcast | Randy Moss |
| NFL 2K1 | September 7, 2000 | Dreamcast | Randy Moss |
| NFL 2K2 | September 19, 2001 | Dreamcast PlayStation 2 Xbox |
Randy Moss |
| NFL 2K3 | August 20, 2002 | GameCube PlayStation 2 Xbox |
Brian Urlacher |
| ESPN NFL Football | September 2, 2003 | PlayStation 2 Xbox |
Warren Sapp |
| ESPN NFL 2K5 | July 20, 2004 | PlayStation 2 Xbox |
Terrell Owens |
Trivia
- NFL 2K1, released on the Dreamcast in September 2000, was one of the first games to implement online console gaming through the use of SegaNet.
- NFL 2K1 was ranked #197 in "The 200 Greatest Games of Their Time," available in the 200th edition of Electronic Gaming Monthly.
- The most-anticipated new feature of ESPN NFL Football was its "First-Person Football" mode, in which you could see the game from the perspective of a player on the field.
- Due to the acquisition of the ESPN license, the 2K was removed from the game name in 2003. The words Sega 2K4 were featured on the packaging to inform people that this was the same series as Sega's NFL 2K series. The 2K was again added to the game title for the release of ESPN NFL 2K5.
- Due to EA's exclusive NFL license, ESPN NFL 2K5 is the last edition of the ESPN NFL Football series for the foreseeable future.
- Not only did ESPN NFL Football gain more marketshare in 2004, but it was also the best-reviewed football game of 2004.
- On the back cover of ESPN NFL 2K2,in a game screenshot Randy Moss appears Caucasian however in real life and the game he is African-American.
- If a player creates a player and gives him the name "Bill Clinton" or "George Bush" the names will be said by the commentators during game play in ESPN NFL 2K4 and 2K5 games.
- In ESPN NFL 2K5, before playing a game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the announcers might mention that they are at the intersection of Holmgren Way and Brett Favre Pass. This intersection does exist, but it is about a block away from Lambeau Field.
- In ESPN NFL 2K5 the feature "The Crib" offers a feature called the "celebrity phone", which allows the player to play "celebrities" such as Funkmaster Flex, Steve-O, Jamie Kennedy, David Arquette, and Carmen Electra in a "Play Now" Game.
- In ESPN NFL 2K5 there is a feature that tells about the sport of football and the terminology of the game.
- In ESPN NFL 2K3, New England Patriots wide receiver Deion Branch has his real first name "Anthony".
- In 2K5 the game featured ESPN's 25th Anniversary of the top 25 NFL moments of NFL lore from the Ice Bowl to 4th and 26.
- In ESPN NFL 2K5, during the NFL draft in the Franchise Mode, the computer controlled teams will only draft QBs, HBs, and DEs during the first round of the draft.