NCAA Football 12 Message Board

According to plenty of angry forum posts from players of NCAA Football 12, a recent patch for the game has broken or hampered several key features including no-huddle play calling, custom playbooks and, most rampantly, the Dynasty Mode. Apparently, players on both the 360 and PS3 have received frequent "Transfer Failed" errors when attempting to upload the results of games in the online mode.

A company staffer going by the name of EA_Jaga on the EA forums informed players that the error had been fixed, but the dozen or so posts right after from users still getting the "Transfer Failed" error indicates otherwise.

We've reached out to EA for some sort of timetable on a fix. We'll let you know what we hear.

[Thanks, Russel]

Former NCAA player Ryan Hart has lost his lawsuit against EA, in which he claimed that the company used his likeness without his permission...

Ex-Rutgers University quarterback Ryan Hart has had his lawsuit against Electronic Arts dismissed by US District Judge Freda Wolfson, reports Reuters. The suit alleged that EA knowingly used Hart's likeness in NCAA Football without his consent, and as such should be required to provide Hart with compensation. In this case, Hart's "likeness" amounts to his physical appearance and footballery stats, not his actual name.

Judge Wolfson dismissed the suit on the grounds that EA's First Amendment rights to free expression outweigh Hart's right to protect his likeness, despite the fact that the character in question was "designed with Hart's physical attributes, sports statistics, and biographical information in mind." Wolfson feels that the game's robust character customization options negate the impact of these similarities, as they are not set in stone.

This ruling contradicts a precedent set by a similar case in 2010, in which a California judge allowed a suit by ex-Arizona State University/University of Nebraska quarterback Samuel Keller, a decision which EA is currently appealing.

Speaking of appeals, Hart's legal representation is naturally appealing the Judge's ruling, calling the outcome "a major disappointment." As is the way with this sort of thing, it will likely be several months before any progress is made by either party. Until then, enjoy this bathroom stall poem we've penned for the occasion: "Here I sit all broken Harted, tried to sue but got Electronic Arted."

#ncaafootball Electronic Arts on Friday won the dismissal of one lawsuit against it regarding its use of identifying characteristics of real college football players in its NCAA Football series. A federal judge said EA's right to free expression under the First Amendment supersedes a former quarterback's right to control the use of his likeness. More »

Ouch! Overall video game industry sales are down 26% in North America for July, year over year, with a 29% dip in console hardware sales mostly to blame. New retail software sales saw a less severe 17% drop, while accessories saw only an 8% drop. Unsurprisingly, on the hardware front, "the platforms that contributed a greater portion of new physical retail dollar sales as compared to last year were the Xbox 360 and the PS3," says NPD's Anita Frazier. She also adds that July 2011 is the industry's "lowest month since October 2006." We'll say it again: Ouch!

As has become the norm, Microsoft trumpeted its performance in an email claiming a "45% share of the overall current-generation console market." Six years into the Xbox 360's lifecycle, the console managed to move 277,000 units "maintaining the number-one console spot in the U.S. for 2011." Frazier notes that, while the Xbox 360 may have had the strongest numbers of the three consoles, July "was the first month that the Xbox 360 saw a year-over-year decline since December 2009." Of course, last July saw a strong sales spike "driven by the introduction of the Kinect-ready slim form factor SKU," Frazier reminds us.

On the software front, July 2011 only saw "17 new releases [...] compared to 29 last July." With NCAA Football 12 taking the top sales spot, reflecting a "15% increase in unit sales versus NCAA 11 in July 2010," Frazier postulates that this year's Madden delay might have prompted football fans to pick up EA's earlier offering. Find the full top ten list after the break.

Ouch! Overall video game industry sales are down 26% in North America for July, year over year, with a 29% dip in console hardware sales mostly to blame. New retail software sales saw a less severe 17% drop, while accessories saw only an 8% drop. Unsurprisingly, on the hardware front, "the platforms that contributed a greater portion of new physical retail dollar sales as compared to last year were the Xbox 360 and the PS3," says NPD's Anita Frazier.

As has become the norm, Microsoft trumpeted its performance in an email claiming a "45% share of the overall current-generation console market." Six years into the Xbox 360's lifecycle, the console managed to move 277,000 units "maintaining the number-one console spot in the U.S. for 2011." Frazier notes that, while the Xbox 360 may have had the strongest numbers of the three consoles, July "was the first month that the Xbox 360 saw a year-over-year decline since December 2009." Of course, last July saw a strong sales spike "driven by the introduction of the Kinect-ready slim form factor SKU," Frazier reminds us.

On the software front, July 2011 only saw "17 new releases [...] compared to 29 last July." With NCAA Football 12 taking the top sales spot, reflecting a "15% increase in unit sales versus NCAA 11 in July 2010," Frazier postulates that this year's Madden delay might have prompted football fans to pick up EA's earlier offering. Find the full top ten list after the break.

#noplanswatch A cocktail-napkin calculation about what's at stake in former NCAA players' lawsuit against EA Sports arrived at a potential cash-and-prizes value of $1 billion. But as apocalyptic as that total sounds, Electronic Arts doesn't sound too worried. More »

#stickjockey I play sports video games for a living and publishers send them to me for free. The reality of a $60 purchase—what it actually buys, what else it could buy—is something I respect but it's not a decision I really face. I'm probably the last guy who can advise anyone on whether a sports video game is worth buying on the day it's released, but I will anyway: Don't. More »

#review A century's worth of traditions spread over 100 teams makes college football one of the top subjects when sports fans start gumming How It Really Oughta Be: Who gets into what bowl, what rivalry should be rescheduled, what schools should be in which conference if everyone wasn't so fixated on starting their own TV network. More »

#watchthis When it comes to negotiations , EA Sports doesn't mess around. They they know what matters most, and in Texas, that means football. More »

We first heard inklings of this deal last month, but it's as official as can be now, having just been proclaimed by EA execs and Texas governor Rick Perry at EA's BioWare Austin campus: Electronic Arts is establishing a new EA Sports operation in Austin, TX.

"We're going to be adding 300 jobs to our operations here in Austin," EA's Frank Gibeau said -- half full-time, half contract. EA Sports COO Daryl Holt revealed that it will build a new team in Austin to support the teams in Florida and British Columbia, focusing on HD platforms and then expanding to "emerging" markets. The announcement was highlighted by a video of a Texas A&M-uniformed Rick Perry in NCAA Football 2012.

Update: The 300 jobs aren't entirely focused on EA Sports. EA Games president Frank Gibeau told me that the jobs would be distributed between EA Sports, EA Games, as well as IT and finance -- with EA Sports being the only new department to move into the two EA buildings currently occupied by BioWare.

EA Sports COO Daryl Holt told Joystiq "I think we'll probably start this first year somewhere around 30-35, just to get the team up and moving, just so they can start building features and working on HD platform development." He said the team could grow "exponentially, however we want," into new IP and "live services." EA has yet to decide which franchises to put the new Austin team onto.

"We're not going to disrupt what's currently going on," Holt said of the existing studios in Tiburon and Burnaby. "Orlando's expanding, Burnaby's expanding, EA's growing," he said, and moving into the sports-happy state of Texas is part of that growth. It will "absolutely not" replace any of the existing studios, which will "remain core to us." "They're growing as well," Holt clarified. "There's job openings and job postings in Florida in Vancouver."

Right now, the growth in Austin is open-ended, "but it's not something that's going to be open-ended while we recruit the team, because we want to recruit the right talent."

We first heard inklings of this deal last month, but it's as official as can be now, having just been proclaimed by EA execs and Texas governor Rick Perry at EA's BioWare Austin campus: Electronic Arts is establishing a new EA Sports operation in Austin, TX.

"We're going to be adding 300 jobs to our operations here in Austin," EA's Frank Gibeau said -- half full-time, half contract. EA Sports COO Daryl Holt revealed that it will build a new team in Austin to support the teams in Florida and British Columbia, focusing on HD platforms and then expanding to "emerging" markets. The announcement was highlighted by a video of a Texas A&M-uniformed Rick Perry in NCAA Football 2012.

We'll have more as the story develops -- the press conference is ongoing.

#stickjockey Two weeks ago the offers started pouring in. Duke. Vanderbilt. Wake Forest. Places well beyond what my parents could ever hope for me, much less pay for. They aren't real offers, as I'm not really a football player. That's OK, I'm not a real college student either. Mom and Dad stopped worrying about how to pay my tuition, or if they would even get to, about 20 years ago. More »

#ncaafootball There's always a race to publish the first complete, accurately named roster for NCAA Football 12, and this year it was available on the day of release. However, that doesn't usually address depth chart placement, equipment details, or for some players, position changes and attribute re-ratings. More »

Is NCAA's Class of 2012 enough to get us fired up?

NCAA Football 12 launches this week, and EA Sports is kicking it off with a massive livestream launch event. Check out gameplay, chats with developers, and even see IGN's own Greg Miller kick EA's ass at 11:35 PT...

College is many things to many people, but my four years at Mizzou were defined by football. Faurot Field, the colors black and gold, and waking up at 5 a.m. to be at the tailgate spot long before kickoff are the memories that define my college experience. If you're an NCAA football fan, chances are...

#stickjockey In NCAA Football 12 players have an extraordinary amount of control over the college football landscape. Many diehards and purists have pursed their lips and grumbled over a wave conference realignments that forsake traditions and regional sensibilities for television contracts. NCAA 12 is their chance to put things right in the world. Their world. More »

#psa NCAA Football 12 isn't out for another 10 days, but there's something you can do in the meantime—with the new version of the game, even—that will add to your experience, and others' too, when it arrives. More »

The Longhorns get embarrassed on home territory in this gameplay from the Demo of NCAA 12!

Florida State puts on the defense against the Crimson Tide on their home turf in this clip from the NCAA Football 12 Demo!

Perfect your skills and pave a road to success with the updates coming to Road to Glory mode.

Take a tour through the improvements aplenty in this walkthrough video from EA Sports!

#stickjockey Without fail, every time I bring up this job with folks outside the business, the topical jokes start rolling. Whatever the latest controversy or embarrassment is in sports, people ask if that's going to be simulated in the next edition of Madden, Tiger Woods or NBA 2K. More »

#watchthis College football is all about tradition. The tradition of the NCAA Football 12 development team is the godawful annoying "Alpha song," played every night while the game is in its alpha build. This year's song was Wham!'s "Careless Whisper," the signature tune of the Sexy Sax Man. More »

#preview Ben Haumiller's got a job for me. Several jobs, actually, but they're all in NCAA Football 12's new career mode, the "Coaching Carousel." Haumiller, the game's producer, explains it all using an offensive coordinator named Owen O'Cain as an example. Who the hell is Owen O'Cain? More »

#sports The Big Ten's ridiculous division names will be getting a makeover—probably thousands of them—thanks to NCAA Football 12. More »

#microtransactions There may not be any optimal time to tell gamers about all the microtransactions and DLC for which they can expect to pay extra in an upcoming release. But the official reveal of a game's main features - the stuff folks expect to come with the $59.99 retail price - would probably be the least optimal. More »

An overview of improvements to the dynasty system in NCAA Football 12.