[shal]NCAA Football 2010[/shal]’s release is just around the corner. As the release date draws closer, more and more features have been brought to light, the most recent being the “Season Showdown”. IGN recently spoke to [shal]EA[/shal], and was given more details regarding this new feature:
What is Season Showdown?
Season Showdown is a four month long meta-competition where fans battle against one another to prove whose school is #1. The season culminates in the first-ever Season Showdown Championship. You can earn credits for your favorite school by competing online or against the CPU; another method is to earn credits during web-based games, including the all-new EA SPORTS Trivia Challenge.How can I earn credits for my school?
First, you must declare your school in game. When you select Season Showdown from the main menu for the first time, you will be prompted to select your school. The school you choose is who you will represent throughout the season. However, you do not have to play with the team you chose in order for credits to accumulate on behalf of your chosen team.What are the different ways that I can earn credits?
The five main ways that you can earn credits are:–vs. CPU – Gain credits by playing anytime against any school offline.
–Online vs. Nation – Gain credits by playing against anyone online in the nation.
–Online vs. Showdown Opponent – Gain credits by playing online against your weekly real life opponent.
–Allies & Rivals – This online poll allows you five votes to put towards any five schools of your choice, with no school receiving more than one vote. By looking at who your rivals are playing each week, you could put votes towards their opponents’ team in hopes of keeping your rivals from winning that category.
–Trivia – As the other web based feature, you will be able to answer trivia questions that will be totaled and credited towards your schools overall credits.You can also earn extra credits in 7 areas:
–Skills – Skills credits can be earned based on how well you actually are at playing the game. Getting user picks, user catches and forcing fumbles are all examples of how you can earn these credits.
–Strategy – Strategy credits can be earned based on your ability to successfully run plays that have been setup, successfully gameplanning your opponent and keying in on what the offense is trying to do and shutting them down.
–Sportsmanship – This is the only category where you can actually lose credits. You are rewarded for punting on fourth down, chewing the clock, taking a knee when you are up by a significant amount of points. Kicking an onside kick, going for a 2 point conversion when you are up by 20, or going for it on 4th down when you are on your own 10 will take away from your total credits.
–Loyalty – Every time you play with your declared Season Showdown team, you will get credits for showing your loyalty to your school.
–Underdog – If you decide to take on an opponent where you are considered the underdog, you will get credits for that.
–ESPN Classics – Every time one of your games is designated as an ESPN Instant Classic, you will get credits towards your schools total.When can I start earning credits for my school?
You can start earning credits for your school during the Pre-Season. You can do this by playing vs. CPU and in online games vs. the nation as well as by playing the web Trivia Challenge. These credits are important as the leaderboard at the end of Pre-Season will present the initial season rankings for the regular season.When does the regular season begin?
The regular season begins August 31st. At this point, you will gain credits for playing your weekly opponent and will be able to use your votes in Allies & Rivals.What do I get with the credits?
In addition to helping your team get the win each week, the credits earned in each category are tracked for your school and for each individual. You can compare every school and every individual’s credit totals for each category to see who is the best in the nation within each component of Season Showdown. Additionally, there is a leveling system for individuals based on the number of credits you earn in each category. Once the regular season is completed, the top 32 schools will begin a single elimination tournament to decide the Season Showdown Champion.Where can I find out who my opponent is each week?
Your Season Showdown weekly opponent will mirror your team’s weekly opponent in the regular season. To find out who you play each week, select “Season Showdown” from the main menu and read the “Schedule”. From there, you can view your team’s schedule, as well as the entire NCAA schedule.Where can I find out how many points I have accumulated for my school?
When in the game, select “Season Showdown” from the main menu, and then select “Credit History”. From there, you have the choice to view your school’s overall credits, as well as the credits that you yourself have accumulated.Can I see how many credits I have accumulated in the middle of playing a game?
You can view the credits you have accumulated during play time by pressing the “start” button on the controller. At the end of your game, all of your credits will be broken down by category on the final screen.What happens if I have to stop playing before a game is over?
In order to receive the credits you earned, you can Super Sim the rest of the game. If you just quit and turn off your console, you will be docked 50% of the credits earned in your next game.Can I negatively affect my team?
No. The only way you can lose credits is by playing unfairly, which will affect your overall Sportsmanship credits. If at the end of the game you have more negative Sportsmanship credits than you do in the other categories combined, your total will be zero credits. You can never end a game with negative credits.Can I see week to week where my team stands in the rankings?
Team rankings can be found both in game and online. To view your team’s standings in game, select “Season Rankings” once you are inside Season Showdown. You can also view where you are in regards to the rest of your conference inside the Season Showdown mode by selecting the “Conference Standings” tab.Will there be any other ways to keep track of what is happening in the Season Showdown?
During the season, we will have weekly video podcasts and daily audio podcasts as well as daily text headline updates that will keep users up to date on what’s going on with Season Showdown. The video and audio podcasts will be available in-game and all three feedback components will be available on both the main Season Showdown app and social media networks.
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