The Fall of NFL Fever - What Happened?

The NFL Fever series had monster potential, and perhaps Microsoft gave up on it too soon. This is the story of the fall of one of the most underrated sports video game franchises of all time.

[@505AG]

a nice little detail that isn’t in Madden today is that if the home team is getting blown out the stadium would actually get emptier

[@Supersonicspyro]

Madden actually did once have that feature, but the NFL doesn't allow it anymore

[@Analyzer52]

Nfl made them stop doing it which is silly

[@CAGAT25]

NBA 2k still actually has it lol

[@Analyzer52]

@Gabriel Cueva Beacuse that's the NBA not the NFL. The NFL stop allowing Madden to do it. Said it was bad for the NFL brand

[@cstep100]

@@Analyzer52nfl ruining their own game ea isn’t the only reason for the decline in madden

[@virginiavet68]

I loved NFL Fever 2002. As a kid, my dad and I used to play against each other all the time -- playing way more than him. You're right though. Once I figured out how to throw for massive yards against AI defense, he stood no chance. He'd get so pissed that he was repeatedly losing to his 10-year-old son haha. Wish I could go back just for one more game with him back in the day. Still have my OG XBOX and my copy of Fever '02 to this day, as well. Good times.

[@ShikkenNaggets]

my dad and I would play vs each other in this franchise.

[@ryankutchenriter]

Nice

[@MisterDoggieDogg]

Same.

[@devinbaylis4648]

It’s good to see you comment. Me and my pops would play this game for money!

[@devinbaylis4648]

@nickhare_____the first Xbox.

[@Supersonicspyro]

​@Nick Hare well it was Xbox exclusive, so that's the only one it can be on

[@dboigames839]

Man this game was so good can’t even lie graphics still hold up till this day

[@pfanzers]

@@TheWatchernator maybe hes a liar

[@user-em1ig7xo9d]

Graphics wouldn’t look out of place on the switch that’s for sure. Crazy isn’t it

[@texastwostepgaming]

Played fever on the original Xbox in a Toys R Us as a demo. Back when demos included an entire console in-store. Never got it but man, I still think about that game 20+ years later.

[@neugey]

NFL Fever (2002) had an excellent interface, graphics and responsive controls. Perhaps the best camera angles and panning ever put onto a console football game. It felt so good to watch and execute the deep pass! It had great crossover appeal and was picked up casually by non-football diehards. It was the Mario Kart of NFL games. I never tried Fever 2004, was too into NCAA by then.

[@videogamevibes7]

Dude yes! Glad you covered this series. I play NFL Fever 2004 to this day!

[@michaelchildress2001]

Feel sorry for you 😂

[@videogamevibes7]

@@michaelchildress2001 I feel sorry for people who still play new Madden...I also have 2k5. The classic football games are just better.

[@theshowstopperWM10]

Me too my friend, I just recently got an original Xbox and NFL Fever 2004 was the first game I picked up. Played this so many times growing up in '04 glad to have this hidden gem back.

[@randydubin7118]

What i really liked the most about this game was the realistic field goal nets, something that Madden at the time didn't have. 😆😆😆😆

[@TyTheNerfGuy]

Still doesn't 😂

[@jeffbelval2075]

I got halo and NFL fever the day the original Xbox came out. I played the hell out of both of them games. Nfl fever blew me away with the graphics.

[@TSNAnnotator]

A running theme of these videos is "competition makes products stronger". And that's why I love your channel, you highlight more "lesser known" games like NFL Fever that had great features not seen in Madden today. Keep it up!

[@tavius88]

Let’s not forget, Fever had hand towels people……something Madden just started

[@KathieFlood]

Loved this video - thanks for the blast from the past! FYI, I was the Program Manager (aka Producer) for Fever 2000, 2002, and 2003. Honestly, back then, we were just happy to be mentioned in the same reviews as Madden. We had a very small development team compared to EA. The code name for Fever 2003 was Flutie, since we were a tiny team on a short schedule (only 9 months from Xbox/Fever 2002 launch to Fever 2003 launch). Our key feature was Xbox Live integration. Not having the Live platform ready for our release was an incredible disappointment for all of us. We did attempt to address critical gameplay issues, too, particularly on defense, but Live was the focus.

[@AustinOgonoski]

I remember playing the demo of NFL Fever 2000 as a kid on the PC. The animations were so much more advanced than Madden 2000 and it had significantly more wrap tackles. It was lightyears ahead of gameday and Madden - Madden at the time, the players didn't really tackle each other, but rather bounced off each other and fell down independently. Microsoft straight up kicked EA's ass that year. The only reason I didn't go the NFL Fever route, was because as a kid/teenager I had a Gamecube instead of an Xbox, and by the time I finally moved to Xbox a few years later (literally everyone outgrew the gamecube), the Fever franchise had been discontinued. Used to play it in Xbox demo kiosks when my parents shopping and I was always pretty impressed.

[@81casperflip]

Finally! I've been waiting for you to do this series for years

[@spicyboi2223]

The first video game I ever played was NFL FEVER 2002. Fond memories as playing as the god awful Panthers. Duck Stockton is still my favorite announcer just because of that game

[@NYG5]

Stockton's real life cadence actually lends to video game commentary very well. Disappointing they only had him in the game for one year.

[@kingjoshua1788]

Glad you did this video I had alot if fun with this game and I think its a underrated series that dont get talked about enough

[@Tommy_Wimmer]

In February 2005, Microsoft sold its sports video games to Ubisoft. This includes NFL Fever, NHL Rivals, NBA Inside Drive and MLB Inside Pitch.

[@benienterprises]

Is that real?

[@jaheimmoultrie7584]

@@benienterprises yes, is real.

[@Matt92Machine]

2001 was a great year for football games. Madden 2002, NFL 2k2, and Fever 2002 were all excellent games.

[@robertparker6280]

Bro the Xbox Sports Division had some straight up bangers of Sports games.

[@SuperSherwood23]

Nfl fever 04 is one of my favorite football or sports title ever. Used to play it religiously back in the day when I was a kid. I miss it

[@michiganjack1337]

That little intro bumper, very nice! While Fever wasn't a go to favorite amongst my group of friends, we would often swap to it and had a lot of fun playing it. Same can be said for the NBA Inside Drive, definitely not a great game but a fun little game. 4-player Top Spin however was the sports game du jour of it's time (and is still fantastic).

[@TheSuperDJC]

I had all the football games back in the day and I chose to play fever 02, 2k3, madden 04, 2k5. It was fun just having the options. Now I hate madden so much I just don't play football games at all, hopefully one day there will be a game I can come back and enjoy

[@MontyFlowz]

I feel the same way!

[@KrisVic91]

Why don't you just play the old ones? I've ps2, nfl 2k4, madden 05. Never played a modern Madden.

[@TheSuperDJC]

@KrisVic91 unfortunately I no longer have a way to play most of the old maddens. I was kicked out and homeless when I graduated high school and my mom kept my ps2

[@KrisVic91]

@@TheSuperDJC ps2s aren't expensive. I swapped a friend of mine some old weights I had for his. It's great.

[@southsidetherealest2860]

I did the same use to get them all and compare them and they all had their uniqueness to them miss that

[@djm2373]

I played all pro 2k8 in rapc3. 4k 60fps. The stadiums and game play are better than madden today. It’s actually kind of mind boggling how good the game looks and plays considering how old it is

[@Jhoffa22_]

Man this brings back Memories, this and" NBA Inside Drive" when the Xbox first dropped were something special... *Team Microsoft* *Series X* 💯

[@HeyitsCamden]

NFL Fever 2004 is a huge reason why I'm a football fan. It'll always have a place in my heart.

[@hmwpyro18]

I still own my original copy of NFL Fever 2003. I remember 1 Christmas, my brother and I got the original Xbox with Jet Set Radio Future, WWF RAW and NFL Fever. Great times

[@torres3800]

I still play NFL Fever '04 until this day. Still the best Ive played. I still have to try 2k5 though.

[@sincityquinn]

Do you know why, in the age of the internet, we have very limited internet (and cable) service providers? A few decades back all of the major ISP’s like Cox, Comcast, Centurylink and ect came together at a shady conference and agreed to divide up the regions of America. Within this pact they all agreed to stick to their own regions to avoid the monopoly tag. Meaning Comcast got a certain region, Cox got another and they wouldn’t compete with each other. This allowed these companies to set whatever price they wanted per their region and due to the lack of competition the consumer has very little real choice but to pay whatever these companies desire. It’s a loophole to the monopoly tag. That’s essentially what’s happening right now with 2k and Madden. Madden can do whatever it wants and there’s no competition from 2K. And NBA 2k can do whatever it wants without fear of competition depleting their game base. The pharmaceutical industry is another example of this. If the name brand drug cost 100 bucks but the generic cost 10, most will buy the generic. But during the first years of a new medication, These companies can set whatever price they want. Because there is no competition.

[@SOFTDRINKTV]

Very true, great explanation!

[@pp3k3jamail]

Why in 2023 with advanced Internet and technology do we only have really two major phone manufacturers in America Apple or Samsung the main 2, then OnePlus and Motorola. Two decades ago we had Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung, LG, Sony, Motorola, HTC, Palm, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Sanyo, Siemens, Apple, Sendo, Kyocera, TMobile sidekick, all these phone manufacturers are either gone or don't makes phones anymore and the only ones left are Samsung, Apple, Motorola and OnePlus who's only been around since 2014. Capitalism at it's finest Samsung and Apple have a monopoly on the phone industry.

[@iamcellus9]

its for control

[@lestervarela3332]

​@@pp3k3jamail the key word here is "major", there's still a variety of choices in smartphones to buy but most consumers only want the latest and greatest features - this isn't a case of a monopoly rather the free market willingly choosing only three manufacturers. A monopoly would be more like if Apple lobbied the US government to ban foreign phones from entering the market, which would leave them as the only cutting edge option

[@WhatShallEyeDo4U]

I'm so glad that this game existed. THIS was my first game with the console when I got it for Christmas.

[@Space83237]

If you scored too many points they’d be like “the Dallas cowboys, OHHHH THE HUMANITY! The Baltimore Raven - 14”

[@YoureNotReet]

I remember renting this from Blockbuster… those were the days

[@thegamingchef3304]

Never knew Fever was out in 2000 as an exclusive on PC.

[@mikeRedMDK2032]

Loved the fever series, especially '02. Me and my older brother played as the generic teams and just burnt the AI with the deep pass game. Good times

[@RacingHeartMedia]

NFL fever 2002 also put me on to N.E.R.D an their song “Rockstar” for the fever soundtrack 😊

[@darreinrobinson5681]

Fever was the first football game when an offensive lineman or defensive lineman looked like one

[@bonesjackson81]

Yes. Digging in to XSN series. NHL Rivals next. Only 1 so short and simple but I wonder why they quit so fast.

[@bonesjackson81]

Ah nevermind pretty much answered that. Microsoft flat out quit. Pansies

[@ebl7610]

Super underrated football games. But I suppose that was back when madden was actually a quality game

[@yonickfrias8799]

i remember buying an xbox and this game came with it. i fell in love.

[@cvogt12345678]

Man this takes me back. Many fond memories of playing Fever 02-04 with my dad before he passed away. These games will always have a place in my heart.

[@h-ideas7217]

As a grown man I still play my old man in old school maddens and tiger woods games.

[@frankiemoss2718]

Thank you good sir I needed this right now.😎🤙💯

[@rollingpeacefully1524]

I remember seeing this game at a goodwill a couple of years ago

[@souldrum86]

I loved NFL fever. I actually preferred it over NFL 2K. I really only love NBA 2K. I was never into NFL 2K the way most were. Just mainly loved the presentation, but man, NFL Fever and Madden were my jam. The good ol days when you had multiple sports titles to choose from.

[@linchuankawa]

Same as NBA Insidedrive series, I really enjoyed NBA ID 2000 to 2004. It was the same, not as arcady as NBA LIVE, but also not too slow and sim like NBA 2K, it was in the middle, a sweet spot.

[@linchuankawa]

@@Bobby-ku8zk Yes, it was amazingly deep.

[@TheOtherMJ_76]

NFL Fever was a fire game. I enjoyed playing it and sometimes played it over Madden and 2K. It was fun for me. I highly recommend getting a copy of it if anyone can find it. 👍

[@CertifiedForkLiftOperator69420]

nfl blitz and nfl fever were my childhood. nfl fever what got me into football. i remember renting it idr names..

[@MegaSnowdog69]

I recognized Dave Wannstadt (Dolphins HC). I always wondered if coaches and players who had moved on in their careers (demotions/retirement etc.) kept older consoles and games to preserve their place in history to say things like "see son, at one point I actually WAS a HC and not just an OL coach."

[@samuelstyles5031]

all 3 games sold half the units as the previous 2002- 1 million 2003 500k 2004 250k considering it was a launch game for a new platform thats a crazy attach rate for 2002.

[@ManiacMonkboon]

I love NFL Fever 2004 to this very day.I still think the Read & Lead Passing is one of the greatest features ever implemented in a Football Video Game. 😊

[@ChrisTrebs]

I played the hell out of these games, I wasted hours on 2003 which is my personal favorite

[@GameWise214]

Dude I played the hell out of this series.....one of the best nfl games ever....top 3 for me

[@MrThunda51]

I played the hell out of all 3 NFL Fever titles. I had more fun with those than Madden.Fever 02 had great gameplay, graphics, and sound design. I used to play co-op franchise with my cousin in Fever 03. Fever 04 passing mechanics are still unmatched

[@jimmypop4539]

I played fever every year. And was so upset when they folded. The thing that hurt Fever was the xbox controller.

[@OldGenGamer]

Great Video like always!!!

[@camrontoney577]

This was my favorite football game next to Backbreaker

[@TylerVGaming602]

That suplex tackle was crazy!

[@MarquezDaniel]

been watching quite a few of your videos and it just makes me miss the good old days where we had multiple NFL, NBA, and MLB games to choose from. Now we only get one choice in each sports genre and they all suck except for MLB The Show. Modern sports games is proof that competition is good and forces these companies to actually improve their games or get left behind by the competition. However, if there is no competition then why would these companies even try anymore and that's where we are at right now.

[@fredb3400]

Conspiracy theory: what if Brady broke all those surface tablets because he has stake at Apple?

[@WorldwideRedd]

you don’t miss bro! love this channel!!! hated that big ass xbox controller tho 😂😂😂

[@aceassn716]

Controller S for most I guess? I love the Duke controller

[@cezz1105]

This is why im rooting for max football. I need something other than madden!

[@__________Troll__________]

*It's crazy to try to beat the market and be a exclusive at the same time*

[@Cloud121D]

I LOVED NFL Fever 2002 because the graphics were amazing, and so easy to pick up and play. Always wanted to play NFL Fever 2000, but have never been able to get it working correctly. Even on a 1999 Windows 98 laptop in inherited several years ago. Even back in 1999 when I got the first issue of incite PC Gaming (AMAZING magazine BTW), I couldn't get the demo working right on my Pentium II 450mhz and 128MB RAM (I wasn't a football guy then so really didn't care I couldn't get it working). I guess I will have to build a Late 90's Windows 98 SE PC in order to finally play it, given my knowledge of PCs nowadays. I think it will be worth it. Oh and "Your defense is offensive!!".

[@kevinramsey417]

The NFL/EA exclusivity contract would have killed the series regardless.

[@DoobieKeebler]

I had all three games - Madden, 2K & NFL Fever - and would jump between them. 2K was what I played the most because it was online & I got used to it's franchise pretty well. I played Madden because Madden was just what you always played, but the physics were terrible. Players bounced around off each other like pinballs. NFL Fever was the game I always came back to. I would be playing 2K, then put in NFL Fever. Play Madden, then go back to Fever. NFL Fever was just.... fun. It did not have the in depth franchise mode Madden did or the realistic ratings, great online & crazy 50/50 deep balls that 2K had, but it was still badass!

[@MrDowntemp0]

I have fond memories of playing '02 on the xbox.

[@TheAlmightyClipse]

NFL fever 2003 is where it all started for me. It was in a clearance section of my local EB games. Had never played an American football game before this or even watched or understood the sport. I was amazed at how good it looked at the time. I eventually moved onto 2K4 then 2K5 all on xbox. When I found out 2K5 was the last American football game by a worker at EB. I tried Madden 2005 out only to be severely underwhelmed and disappointed. Just the way the goofy character models looked and the "physics" of the game. It's no wonder why starting off with such a high bar / standard of what a football game should look, play and feel like. Watching this made me realise something ironic. The realism they had in Fever 2003 which came out in 2002, EA couldn't even match when they released Madden 06 for the "Next gen " Xbox 360!!!

[@darkreyule]

I really liked NFL Fever 2002 for the Xbox.

[@chrisholm9789]

A lot of the problems with these alternatives to EA and 2k is that the realism of their performances were way off. Like if you played out a season there was huge flaws in their simulations and AIs.

[@JDCGator10]

I remember their uniform and stadium editors were pretty cool as well. I seem to remember playing a game on a field that was on a battleship or something at one time lol

[@XaiGhosT]

The gameplay animation looks so much more in tune with real human movements we see every Sunday. The graphics are decent for its time, but it honestly doesn’t look that bad. The hits, the celebrations, route running all look better than the current Madden gen. I hate that games like this won’t be around again for some time due to exclusive rights and being pushed out. I hate they take away our options as consumers for their own gain. Think of the potential this game could have with todays graphics/gen. I’d rather watch this gameplay than play Madden.

[@xilften1]

These freaking animations were incredible. Ahh memories

[@NoMorePodDes]

Fever was dope but it suffered, like all early xbox sports games, from The Duke controller. I just didn’t like how slow the ball carriers always felt compared to the defense and I allllllways hated the player models in fever lol but it was dope

[@OtherBarry4908]

I'd take these games over the newer madden games any day.

[@bronstet]

Thanks for posting this. I stood in line at my local downtown Toys 'R' Us at midnight on Xbox launch day way back when. I didn’t care for much of the games and I felt I had to buy something so l bought NFL Fever because I had a vague passing interest in football though I didnt really understand the game itself at all. NFL Fever made me an expert in the game of football in no time. Of course, I would then go on to Madden and NFL 2K and realize they were far superior games. But I always loved the NFL Fever interface and style and pace. I wish it had continued. I knew the engine was broken because you would always catch long bombs flawlessly without fail, 😂 but I still enjoyed the game. 😊 It will always have a soft spot in my heart. ❤

[@VanEdwards35]

Dude, i love your videos

[@airbornejay4962]

The memories I have with 04...

[@aceassn716]

If im not mistaken this was also the first football game that used the bright/blinking/ icons on our receivers So if they were covered their icon/button would be faded out mostly Open receivers icons would get bigger an blink

[@bbryant9455]

I remember somebody brought their Xbox to school one time during a free period and the teacher was cool and let us hook it up to the old TV in the classroom. Wires everywhere lol. I remember running back a damn kick with the Cleveland browns and how smooth them graphics looked. I also remember all the non gamer kids in the room having ZERO interest in all this hoopla going on at the front of the class 🤣☠️☠️💯 great goddamn times lol

[@FLIP205]

Man I remember those days bringing the ps2 to school and playing madden and nba street

[@bbryant9455]

@@FLIP205 hell yeah!

[@Adam82790]

Any time I see a Softdrinktv video popup on KZbin, I know its gonna be good. Would love to see you cover NHL Rivals. I could only find some random game play on YT.

[@Rudipu]

This video took me back! Loved Fever 2002 on the OG Xbox way more than I liked 2k2 or Madden 02. Fever 2003/2004 kinda sucked compared to the big leaps in Madden 03-04 and ESPN Football (2k3 kinda sucked too lol); Fever was basically the same game. The graphics and animations in Fever were best until 2k4/2k5 imo. The created teams/stadiums are the wildest to this day 😂 it was kinda like the secret teams in NHL Hitz. Never forget the 1 year stretch where Microsoft had the best football game 01-02 lol

[@bigbadmamajama11]

I got this game with the purchase of Xbox and traded it in 4 days later for Halo. There was no franchise mode and it pissed me off so bad. I like the gameplay but it was so bar bones.

[@AricOfFornburg]

Getting the XBOX for Christmas and jumping into Fever 2002 with the NERD soundtrack blasting was like legit electricity flowing through my 13 year old body. Amazing game.

[@nocturnalgamer8285]

I’d like to say I loved NFL fever 2003!

[@dereknorris4543]

I liked how the throwing mechanics were in this game

[@ericperry27]

Bro.... This was my ish! The classic Challenge and their version of mini camp was addictive and super fun.

[@spdeyfreak]

NBA Fever next!!! Used to love that game. This vid brings back so many memories lol

[@aceassn716]

Inside Drive

[@guccigucci5002]

finally!!!!!!!! best football series ever

[@bmoreboy8865]

I was waiting for you to explore some of the franchises that's been discontinued... Hopefully 989 sports is next

[@Lennox1224]

What happened?…..EA sports and the NFL formed a monopoly on NFL licensed games, end of story.

[@Toygains]

Fever and inside drive were a perfect balance of sim and arcade

[@garfieldGG]

How come the animations of this game look better than the animations of current madden 😡

[@uncletubgaming]

I was in love with this game 😮😮😮

[@damenbaxter8890]

The only thing that’s gonna fix the half assing situation we are in is if a good portion of players stop buying these games and make them lose money, but the problem is a casual sports fan who buys, let’s say the newest madden, have no clue how terrible it actually is and just want to play a football game and I think those people make up the majority of players so unfortunately I don’t see anything changing for a long long time unless something big happens like EA losing its exclusive rights which most likely won’t

[@88walka]

Microsoft needs to come back with there sports division..one make them exclusives to promote Xbox exclusives and game pass. And 2 to light a fire under 2k and EA and if it doesn’t rivals, inside drive, links and one could only hope fever would become a issue for 2k and EA to where they had to step it up or start losing money.. and for a business that is one of the worst outcomes for a product

[@DHANK88]

I used Jarome Bettis playing this game and could pretty much spam the trucking button and never get tackled

[@MichaelWilliams-ti7pn]

Remember making a person with the body type earthmover and I remember making Reggie Bush he was so good they had him at cb

[@SigmaNuHE481]

Inside Drive was fun too

[@tevanwalker3435]

NFL Fever was NFL Gameday perfected

[@FidoArtz]

fun fact: the nfl was banning the "neck slash" gesture during the 1999. and this would also be removed from the other nfl games. however, the gesture would still be in NFL Fever 2000. because That gesture was approved for the video game prior to it being outlawed by the league. i.e the video game was manufactured months before the ban. the nfl players who does that gesture criticize the league for hypocrisy. oh boy they still are, even when it comes to videogames.

[@RiVer-Parish]

If i remember right this game was sold as apart of a bundle with the purchase of an Xbox.