NFL GameDay (video game)

The game makes use of motion capture for its animations.{{cite magazine|title=The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z: Motion Capture|magazine=Next Generation|issue=15 |publisher=Imagine Media|date=March 1996|page=37}}

{{Video game reviews

| EGM = 9/10

| GameFan = 195/200{{cite magazine |title=PlayStation Review: NFL GameDay |magazine=GameFan |date=December 1995 |volume=3 |issue=12 |page=118 |url=https://archive.org/details/GamefanVolume3Issue12December1995/page/n117}}

| rev1 = Maximum

| rev1Score = {{rating|3|5}}

| NGen = {{rating|5|5}}

}}

The game was a success for Sony, selling over 300,000 copies by March 1996{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sony%2BComputer%2BEntertainment%2BAmerica%2Bannounces%2B1%2Bmillion%2Bunits%2Bof%2Bthe...-a018120045|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106111402/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sony+Computer+Entertainment+America+announces+1+million+units+of+the...-a018120045|title=Sony Computer Entertainment America announces 1 million units of the PlayStation have been sold in North America in the first six months|website=Business Wire|archivedate=November 6, 2012|date=March 25, 1996|accessdate=December 30, 2022|via=The Free Library}} and briefly holding the record for best-selling PlayStation game in the United States until it was overtaken by Resident Evil later that year.{{cite magazine|title=NG Alphas: NFL GameDay '97|magazine=Next Generation|issue=23 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=November 1996|page=92}} By the end of 1996, GameDay had sold over {{nowrap|1 million}} units worldwide.{{cite magazine |title=Who won the videogame wars of 1996? |magazine=Next Generation |date=11 March 1997 |issue=28 (April 1997) |pages=16–9 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/e/ef/NextGeneration_US_28.pdf#page=18}}

It was also a critical success. Both of the sports reviewers for Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 9 out of 10, saying it "could very well be the Madden killer that everyone is waiting for."{{cite magazine|title=Box Score: NFL GameDay |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=78|publisher=Ziff Davis|date=January 1996|page=188}} Scary Larry of GamePro called it "the best football CD to date", citing the graphics, accurate gameplay performance of each individual player, appropriately sized sprites, and comprehensive sound effects.{{cite magazine|title=GameDay Could Go All the Way|magazine=GamePro|issue=88|publisher=IDG|date=January 1996|page=124}} A reviewer for Next Generation found that in addition to the comprehensive teams, stadiums, and playbooks, NFL Gameday benefited from truly modern graphics, animation, and sounds, as well as an innovative level of control over individual players and an AI which creates an authentic football experience. He criticized the unrealistic results of breaking up a pass, but concluded, "NFL Gameday isn't the perfect football game, but it is the best football game ever made, so far."{{cite magazine|title=NFL Gameday|magazine=Next Generation|issue=14 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=February 1996|pages=156–7}} David Hodgson of Maximum remarked that the graphics suffer from jerky animation and a general last-generation appearance, but are outweighed by the outstanding gameplay and reliable player AI. He summarized that the game "plays quite a mean game of American football without ever becoming bogged down in horrific amounts of tactical decisions."{{cite magazine|last=Hodgson |first=David |title=Maximum Reviews: NFL Game Day|magazine=Maximum: the Video Game Magazine|issue=6|publisher=Emap International Limited|date=May 1996|page=121}}

GamePro awarded it Best Sports Game of 1995.{{cite magazine|title=Editor's Choice Awards 1995 |magazine=GamePro |issue=89 |publisher=IDG|date=February 1996|page=26}} Next Generation ranked it number 28 on their 1996 "Top 100 Games of All Time", citing its authentic football gameplay and looks, and its combination of accessibility and depth.{{cite magazine|title=Top 100 Games of All Time |magazine=Next Generation|issue=21 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=September 1996|pages=60}} It was a finalist for the Computer Game Developers Conference's 1996 "Best Sports Game" Spotlight Award,{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970605172050/http://www.next-generation.com/news/041597e.chtml | url=http://www.next-generation.com:80/news/041597e.chtml | title=And the Nominees Are... | date=April 15, 1997 | author=Staff | work=Next Generation | archive-date=June 5, 1997 | url-status=dead | access-date=April 12, 2020 }} but lost the prize to NHL 97.{{cite press release | url=http://www.gamechoiceawards.com/archive/spotlight_1997.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703083042/http://www.gamechoiceawards.com/archive/spotlight_1997.html | archive-date=July 3, 2011 | title=Spotlight Awards Winners Announced for Best Computer Games of 1996 | publisher=Game Developers Conference | url-status=dead | location=Santa Clara, California | date=April 28, 1997 | access-date=May 14, 2018 }}

In 1998, Next Generation listed NFL GameDay as number 43 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Truly, this is the football game that appeals to both the hardcore and the masses."{{cite magazine|last=|first= |title=Top 50 Games of All Time |magazine=Next Generation|issue=50 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=February 1999|page=74}}

• Electric Playground - November 3, 1995{{cite web |url=http://www.elecplay.com/arch95/gameday.html |title=Archived copy |website=www.elecplay.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970806070239/http://www.elecplay.com/arch95/gameday.html |archive-date=6 August 1997 |url-status=dead}}
• Game Players - January 1996
• Video Games & Computer Entertainment - February 1996
• IGN - Nov 25, 1996{{Cite web|url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/150/150553p1.html|title=NFL Gameday|date=25 November 1996}}
• Game Revolution - June 4, 2004https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/nfl-gameday-revi {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}

{{reflist}}

{{NFL GameDay}}

Category:1995 video games

Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games

Category:NFL GameDay video games

Category:PlayStation (console) games

Category:PlayStation (console)-only games

Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games

Category:Video games developed in the United States