On March 11th, March Madness fans are going to have an opportunity to get into the game as EA SPORTS and Xbox Live team up to bring gamers a taste of the tournament with NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition. Basketball gamers that have not had a chance to get into the NCAA Basketball experience this year now get a chance to play the game in this exclusive tournament edition. I had a chance to chat with Producer Connor Dougan about the upcoming release and get his thoughts on the game.
sk88z: Tell us about NCAA Basketball 09: March Madness Edition.
Connor Dougan: The March Madness Edition is a standalone downloadable game exclusive to Xbox Live that lets you play your way through the NCAA Tournament with all 65 teams as it's occurring in real life. The game will be available initially (from March 11-17) with last year's Tournament teams and then we will update your tournament bracket just after Selection Sunday with this year's schools.
sk88z: How did the idea of the tournament edition come about?
CD: There are a lot of people who are drawn to college basketball by the passion, excitement and drama that surrounds March Madness--but they may not own a college basketball game. This game is going to help these people get their college basketball fix. We are giving them an opportunity to experience the NCAA tournament at a lower cost. In these economic times it can be tough to shell out another $50 or $60 for a full packaged game -but the March Madness Edition is a lower cost option at 1200 Microsoft Points with all of the AI and gameplay features of the packaged game that came out in November.
sk88z: Will the March Madness Edition include ratings changes for the teams?
CD: It sure will. We’re currently massaging our team ratings right now. These updates will be released just after Selection Sunday and you can download them from the March Madness Edition Menu screens as soon as they become available.
sk88z: Can you give us an idea of some of the more notable ratings changes (either teams or players) since the original release?
CD: Some notable changes would have to be some of the ACC Teams that are having great seasons. Clemson and Wake Forest are having great years thus far and we didn’t give them enough love when we shipped out game in November. Wake Forest was even ranked number one at one point, so we wanted to ensure things reflected that in the upcoming release and update.
Our partners at Blue Ribbon called out many of the Big East Teams like Pitt, UCONN, Louisville, and Marquette as teams to beat, but I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the strength of the Big East. Teams like Syracuse, Villanova and Providence are all capable of making the tournament and winning a few games. I think the strength of the Big East is something we haven’t seen in years. There are 8 or 9 quality teams in that conference.
sk88z: How much will this feature cost?
CD: The March Madness Edition will be 1200 Microsoft points ($15.00). We're really excited about working with Microsoft to provide a sports simulation of this size for the first time ever on Xbox Live.
sk88z: Finally, do you have any early picks for the NCAA Tournament?
CD: I’m looking for Louisville and UCONN to do some damage this year. They’re the two best teams in the best conference in college basketball. They are well rounded teams that can score in transition and in the half-court and they are both excellent defensively. And they have some pretty decent coaching.
Short on that – I’m going with Oklahoma. Boomer sooner.
I just wanted to mention one more thing – for those who do own the packaged game, we will be releasing a free bracket pack update on Xbox Live and PSN just after selection Sunday that will be available for both the March Madness Edition and the full version.