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).

NFL 2K (series)

NFL 2K is an American football video game series developed by Visual Concepts and published by Sega. The series was originally exclusive to Sega's Dreamcast video game console due to the absence of EA Sports's Madden NFL series on the system. 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. Upon the Dreamcast's discontinuation, the series continued to be published for other sixth generation game systems and became the chief competitor of the Madden series.

After the competitively priced NFL 2K5 significantly reduced sales of that year's Madden release, EA signed an exclusivity deal with the NFL that made Madden NFL the only series allowed to use NFL team and player names. After losing the NFL license, Visual Concepts made a brief return to developing football games with the release of All-Pro Football 2K8, which featured former NFL players on fictional teams.