ESPN NFL 2K5

ESPN NFL 2K5 is an American football video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports and the Sega Corporation. It is the sixth installment of the NFL 2K series. The game was originally released on July 20, 2004, for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox video game consoles. It was the last NFL 2K game to be released before Electronic Arts signed an exclusivity deal with the NFL to make 2K's rival Madden NFL series the only officially licensed NFL game. It was also the last game to be made by Sega before that happened.

Features

The game features a franchise mode with a SportsCenter feature hosted by Chris Berman. He outlines the games of the current week with his co-host Trey Wingo who talks about the latest injuries and free agent deals and trades during the season. Mel Kiper hosts the draft portion of the segment while Suzy Kolber reports from the sidelines. There is also weekly preparation for the coming week which allows the player to make decisions on training and preparation. The player can also create his or her own team deciding the team logos (over 10 are available), team name, the teams city, the teams stadium look and build, jerseys and how good the team is. It also has a feature called first-person football, which gives the player the experience on the field looking from the eyes of the players. There is also the traditional create-a-player mode.

NFL 2K

NFL 2K (also known as Sega Sports' NFL 2K) is the first installment of the NFL 2K series. The game, published by Sega Sports and developed by Visual Concepts, was released exclusively for the Dreamcast on its September 9, 1999 launch date in North America. As the foremost "2K" title, it marked the beginning of a running athletics series that eventually led to the spinning off of 2K's sports publishing business under the name of 2K Sports. The cover features Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings.

Development

After Visual Concepts developed a version of Madden NFL '96, which was planned to be the first NFL game on the PlayStation, the game was canceled as it did not meet EA's quality assurance standards. Visual Concepts would later develop NFL 2K to address EA Sports's decision not to publish games, including the Madden NFL series, for the Dreamcast. NFL 2K was the first football game released for a 6th generation console.

Features

All 31 NFL teams (including the returning Cleveland Browns), alumni teams, and All-Pro teams for the AFC, NFC, and NFL are included in the game. Rosters reflect the 1999 NFL season. Game modes featured in the game include Exhibition, Seasons, Playoffs, Practice, and customization modes. The commentary is by the fictional Dan Stevens (Terry McGovern) and Peter O'Keefe (Jay Styne), with occasional sideline reports from the fictional Michelle Westphal (Marcia Perry).