Tecmo’s Family Fun Football Press Event

Today in Marina Del Rey CA, I attended the press event for Tecmo’s new game for the Nintendo Wii: Family Fun Football.  With representatives from Tecmo, Ali Miller and the press there to get a hands on view of the game, it was a very low-key, friendly and fun event.  There’s usually something that happens when people gather around a really fun Wii game, they start having a lot of fun not just playing the game, but with each other.  Most of the people there I hadn’t met until today, but after about 2 of the mini-games and a friendly quick-match, we were joking around with each other like we were friends.

Now, to give a little bit of background, there are 3 things that I immediately think of whenever I hear the name Tecmo:

• Tecmo Bowl
• Dead or Alive
• Ninja Gaiden

These are games that have persisted through my own gaming history.  Each of these games from Tecmo have remained with me and in my memories because these are games that ignite memorable experiences.  Today was no different.  I had seen pretty much all of the screenshots and videos for Family Fun Football before the event, but I hadn’t really been able to take it for a test drive.  I had high expectations because of Tecmo’s past, a bit of trepidation because games for the Wii can be hit or miss.  Too many games try to exploit the motion controls in such a way that it doesn’t make sense, too many games (like Call of Duty) have such high graphic standards associated with them, that seeing them on the Wii just doesn’t do it justice… and there’s the ever-present association by core gamers that the Wii is an “entertainment system” and not a “gaming system”.

After I had made my introductions, I had a good chat with Michael Fahmy, the producer of the game.  He talked about the levels, customization options and the mini-games with the enthusiasm and familiarity of someone who’d put a lot of effort into the game.  One of my first questions to him was to respond to the inevitable critique of this being compared to a Madden game, merely on the basis that Madden is the most recognizable football game franchise in the world.   His response was quick, this game is not for simulating a football game, its about having fun playing football (I hope I’m paraphrasing this accurately).

With that in mind, I was set up against my first opponent to play a game.  Naturally, I selected the Ninja outfits, because what could be more fun than a football team full of ninjas?  The answer, a football team of ninjas vs. a team of pirates.  That’s what.  Within a few minutes I immediately got the point of the game.  It’s a fast action, fast scoring game that’s not designed to test your football mettle, but designed to get you moving down the field quickly.

The controls were simple.  There are 4 plays you can run.  The outside run, the inside run, the short pass and the long pass.  That’s it.  No bootlegs, no shotguns, no I-formations.  Do not go into this game expecting anything resembling a football simulation.  About 15 minutes later, we were at a nailbiting finish of the game.  I had 19 points, he had 14 points… and there was 20 seconds left in the game.  He threw a long pass, and it connected with his receiver.  Bam.  That put him at 20 and me at 19 points.  I couldn’t believe it.  He tried for the 2 point conversion and failed.  This left me with exactly 4 seconds to score.  Every eye at the press event was watching this game.  It had me… this was my first time playing vs. the veteran.  The kickoff went well, I caught the ball and ran it all the way down to the end-zone for a cool toucdown with 0 seconds left on the clock.

I got to play with members of the press, including The Examiner and the L.A. Times, we had a blast playing the mini-games against each other.  One of the things they said was that it was very easy to get into, learn the controls, have fun and laugh at each other when one of the football players had a small tantrum on the field.

I don’t want this to be an actual review of the game, I belive my desire for this game to do well could be biased.  However, being able to see someone else play the game who’s not connected to the game was refreshing, fun and rewarding.

Oh, and I got a sweet Tecmo Bowl T-shirt!  To everyone at the press event, thank you.  I had a blast!

[Full Disclosure: I was directly involved in the marketing strategy and execution for Tecmo's Family Fun Football Game: This is not a review of the game, but a description of the press event that occured today]

Tecmo’s Family Fun Football Press Event