The 10 Greatest Football Videogames of All Time

Do you remember the 8-bit era? Neither do I.

As a late 80's baby, I grew up on consoles such as the Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Now, I insert a copy of Madden 10 and find myself fighting for a fumble on every other drive.

Ah, let the button mashing ensue. This is the evolution of football gaming...

With Madden 11 looming, this brief history of NFL video gaming will remind gamers and fans of football alike of the finest electronic simulations in recent history.

Has John Madden's football series dominated the industry or have dark horse candidates supplanted the fan favorite?

Let's delve into the evolution of football videogames. Hopefully Madden 11 will one day find its place among the ten titles listed here. Until then, enjoy this collection... and let the arguments begin.

Madden 10 at 10

Yes, I referenced Madden NFL 10 in the introduction. Here we can see a superb graphical system that is unfortunately overshadowed by poor AI, quirky animations, and shallow multi-player options.

For avid football fans, this is the best NFL videogame on the market. I hope EA is hard at work in improving the overall quality of their product.

9. Joe Montana Sports Talk Football

For those of you who owned this title on the Sega Genesis, I'm sure you can instantly recall the cheesiest yet most entertaining theme song in sports video gaming history.

Needless to say, it ranks here at no. 9 because of the way it pushed the Genesis to its technological limits. The graphics were stunning, the game-play fast and furious, and the commentary had a fluidity that even a title like Madden 10 cannot rival.

Bravo, Sega of America. "Yo!" That's a reference to all my Sports Talk players.

8. Madden '95

I take back my statement about Joe Montana's graphics and game-play. It was in this title did EA begin to cultivate their innovative, unique penchant for quality football.

I owned this title for the Sega Genesis, usually playing as the New York football Giants.

It was neck and neck with Joe Montana's Sports Talk Football, but Madden beats it out with superior graphics and better playbooks.

7. NFL Blitz

Yes, this is an arcade style simulation but it was probably the most fun you had at the arcades looking to crave a football fix.

In a time when most video game developers were targeting realism and accuracy of the NFL, MIdway called an audible and delivered a zany reinterpretation of the NFL.

Slash, aka Kordell Stewart graces the cover. Shout out to Steel City.

6. Tecmo!

I really wanted to rank this higher but I did not play this one as much as I would have liked to

Following the advice and consultation of some older audiences, I had to reserve a high position for Tecmo Super Bowl.

To this day, fans of football have high reverence for this classic title.

5. NCAA Football 2004

NCAA, not NFL, Football 2004 ranks at No. five here.

Yes, this one was difficult because I had such strong and fond memories of the NCAA 2003 title.

However, I chose 2004 over the previous game because of an overhaul to the running and graphical engines. I felt that the year 2004 was a golden age for EA sports collectively (as will be revealed shortly).

4. Madden NFL 2001

Call it the the great leap forward for Madden football.

For the Playstation 2, many football fans made their transition to the next generation of gaming as Madden NFL 2001 paved the way.

This was only a preview of the masterpiece that would arrive four seasons later...

3. Madden NFL 2005

2004 was the greatest year in football videogaming history.

EA released this bad-boy to the masses with its fierce posterboy Raven Ray Lewis leading the charge in this smash-mouth performance.

Madden NFL 2005 was EA and Tiburon's finest football game ever.

I can't believe it either. This title ranks only third. What could possibly outdo it?

2. NFL 2K5

In the year 2004, football fans either owned Madden 2005 or ESPN NFL 2K5.

No matter which title you owned, you were fortunate to have experienced this "golden year" of football videogaming.

2K5 contained some of the finest features ever in a football video game including a VIP system, a dynamic running system, state of the art AI, and flashy graphics and ESPN style presentation that accurately capture the NFL.

So what title prevailed over Madden NFL 2005 and NFL 2K5?

NFL 2K is King of Kings

NFL 2K is the greatest football video game ever. After the dark ages of Playstation and Nintendo 64 football gaming, the future of NFL video games appeared bleak and uncertain.

Sega Sports returned with a vengeance by launching NFL 2K- a title that not only revolutionized next generation football games but all of sports video gaming.

Even if you didn't own a Dreamcast, you probably clamored to see what the hype was about. Well, I hope you had the pleasure of experiencing electronic football simulation at its finest.

I see the orange triangle now filling as the disc spins and murmurs a tone that will conclude in, "Hi, I'm Dan Stevens. With me is Peter O'Keefe....".

Hope you enjoyed this slideshow. May EA Sports provide consumers with the best football video game simulation possible. If not, we'll be waiting for a 2K resurrection.