Joe Montana Football
Encyclopedia
Joe Montana Football is an American football
video game featuring Joe Montana
, released in 1991
. Since Sega did not secure the rights from the NFL
, teams are generically named for US cities and the only non-fictional player in the game is Montana himself.
, despite concerns among the Japanese executives that the game would not earn enough to cover this cost.
Since Sega of America did not at the time have a large game production facility and Sega of Japan had never designed a football game, Sega contracted with Mediagenic to develop the game for November 1989. No one at Sega was aware of the turmoil inside Mediagenic at the time; despite five months of reports that development was proceeding on schedule, Katz discovered in September or October that the game was hardly begun. To have a football game for Christmas release, Sega would have to find an already-completed game that could be converted.
Mediagenic did develop a DOS version of the game (contractor Mindspan
) and it was published in 1990 ( MobyGames ). The opening video clip was the first commercial use of the video playback system (developed at Mediagenic) that would later be used in "The Return to Zork
".
Sega approached Electronic Arts
, developer of the Madden NFL
series, and president Trip Hawkins agreed to help. Joe Montana Football missed the Christmas deadline and was released in January 1991, shortly after the Genesis version of John Madden Football
.
were so different that few would have guessed they were made by the same company. Madden had realistic plays and a full roster of 28 teams, while Montana was a more arcade-style game with only 16 teams and a simplified, passing-intensive offense.
Prior to the release of Montana, Park Place had developed the game so well that it surpassed Madden, and they believed it would hurt the sales of Madden. According to Michael Knox, they took Montana and "scaled it back" just before releasing the game back to Sega.
Although not as successful as the Madden series, Joe Montana Football and the sequels (developed by BlueSky Software
rather than Electronic Arts
) helped establish the Genesis' reputation as the top platform for sports simulations and proved to Sega of Japan that sports games could be worthwhile investments.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
video game featuring Joe Montana
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
, released in 1991
1991 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Microprose creates Civilization, Sid Meier's most successful game .*Electronic Arts releases James Pond 2 and Road Rash for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, starting a series of games that were popular in the 1990s....
. Since Sega did not secure the rights from the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, teams are generically named for US cities and the only non-fictional player in the game is Montana himself.
Development
As part of the marketing of the new Sega Genesis, Sega of America president and CEO Michael Katz planned to create a library of instantly-recognizable titles for the console by contracting with celebrities and athletes to produce games using their names and likenesses. As part of this, Sega signed a US$1.7 million five-year contract with Joe MontanaJoe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...
, despite concerns among the Japanese executives that the game would not earn enough to cover this cost.
Since Sega of America did not at the time have a large game production facility and Sega of Japan had never designed a football game, Sega contracted with Mediagenic to develop the game for November 1989. No one at Sega was aware of the turmoil inside Mediagenic at the time; despite five months of reports that development was proceeding on schedule, Katz discovered in September or October that the game was hardly begun. To have a football game for Christmas release, Sega would have to find an already-completed game that could be converted.
Mediagenic did develop a DOS version of the game (contractor Mindspan
Mindspan
Mindspan is a collection of science fiction stories by Gordon R. Dickson. It was first published by Baen Books in 1986. Most of the stories originally appeared in the magazines Fantasy and Science Fiction, Venture, Startling Stories, Galaxy Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact and...
) and it was published in 1990 ( MobyGames ). The opening video clip was the first commercial use of the video playback system (developed at Mediagenic) that would later be used in "The Return to Zork
Return to Zork
Return to Zork is a 1993 adventure game in the Zork series. It was developed by Activision and was the final Zork game to be published under the Infocom label.-Gameplay:...
".
Sega approached Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, developer of the Madden NFL
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
series, and president Trip Hawkins agreed to help. Joe Montana Football missed the Christmas deadline and was released in January 1991, shortly after the Genesis version of John Madden Football
John Madden Football (1990)
John Madden Football is a football video game, the second Madden football game released by Electronic Arts.-Summary:...
.
Reception
The finished versions of Joe Montana Football and John Madden FootballJohn Madden Football (1990)
John Madden Football is a football video game, the second Madden football game released by Electronic Arts.-Summary:...
were so different that few would have guessed they were made by the same company. Madden had realistic plays and a full roster of 28 teams, while Montana was a more arcade-style game with only 16 teams and a simplified, passing-intensive offense.
Prior to the release of Montana, Park Place had developed the game so well that it surpassed Madden, and they believed it would hurt the sales of Madden. According to Michael Knox, they took Montana and "scaled it back" just before releasing the game back to Sega.
Although not as successful as the Madden series, Joe Montana Football and the sequels (developed by BlueSky Software
BlueSky Software
BlueSky Software was an American software company situated in California formed in 1988 and had a successful run for 12 years before closing down in March 2001, when parent company Interplay was in financial trouble.- Atari 7800 :* Basketbrawl...
rather than Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
) helped establish the Genesis' reputation as the top platform for sports simulations and proved to Sega of Japan that sports games could be worthwhile investments.