NRL x EA Sports - Part I
The first edition of a long-winded off-season project diving into the aesthetics of an EA Sports rugby league series over the years.
The year is 1995, rugby league is in the midst of the Super League war and amongst the chaos, an EA Sports published rugby league video game quietly makes its way onto the market. Produced by I-Space Interactive, the game was built solely for the Sega Mega Drive and featured pixelated graphics, zero commentary and completely unlicensed players. The following year, ARL 96 released on PC, once again published by EA Sports, but this time featuring improved graphics, expanded gameplay and iconic commentary from the great Ray Warren and Paul Vautin.
As rugby league descended into its most turbulent period in modern history, the series was put to the side, never to be touched again by a company in the same stratosphere as an EA Sports. But what if it didn’t have to be this way? What if instead, rugby league found itself as part of the yearly release cycle of EA Sports titles that are as popular today as they’ve ever been?
Is it realistic? Absolutely not. A sport the size of rugby league doesn’t go close to generating enough dollars to command a title like this, even cricket and rugby were left in the dust after 2008. But this is a Substack for dreamers and throughout this series we will live in an alternate universe where rugby league commands this sort of attention. A universe where kids grew up building World League teams with C. Heffler as their star five-eighth, and Ultimate Team’s are loaded with a back three of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Jason Saab and Xavier Savage, because speed is the most over powered asset in the game. A world where the average punter and dribbler spend the year debating as to who should be the next cover star and whether or not there’s a curse associated with that honour.
Throughout this series, I’ll build out every EA Sports NRL cover from 1998 onwards, as if it was a part of the core annual release cycle. I’ll follow the trends and aesthetics of that year’s actual EA Sports releases, choose a cover star based on the direction I think they would’ve gone in, and create something that is hopefully incredibly nostalgic and enjoyable for all who follow along.
Without further ado, let’s get into the PlayStation 1 era of the series.
NRL 98 - The Official Game of the National Rugby League
Cover Star: Andrew Johns (Newcastle Knights)
Soundtrack Feature: Song 2 - Blur (FIFA 98)
The Super League War has come to an end and the two competitions have united for the inaugural season of the National Rugby League. For the first edition of this brand new series made for the PlayStation 1, there could be no man other than ARL superstar and 1997 Grand Final hero, Andrew Johns. The 23 year old Newcastle halfback is fresh off one of the most iconic plays in the sport’s history and on the precipice of back to back Dally M seasons in 98 and 99.
My cover blends the aesthetic of EA Sports FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 and Madden NFL 98, utilising the more futuristic font of Madden while mirroring the visual of David Beckham stepping out of a blurred background.
NRL 99
Cover Star: Brad Fittler (Sydney City Roosters)
Soundtrack Feature: The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim (FIFA 99)
Maybe the only man who could have been in the conversation with Johns for the NRL 98 cover, Brad Fittler earns his first title as cover star in the following season. At just 26 years of age and at the peak of his powers, Fittler was a regular in both the Blues and Kangaroos at the time of release. He’d followed up his 1997 ARL Player of the Year by winning the 1998 Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year and would later go on to captain the country in the Kangaroos successful Tri-Nations series at the end of 99.
The 1999 suite of EA Sports covers predominantly featured action shots of players with a subtle gradient across the top right corner and a sharp title card flying out from the right hand side.
NRL 2000
Cover Star: Brett Kimmorley (Melbourne Storm)
Soundtrack Feature: My Happiness - Powderfinger (2000 Triple J Hottest 100 Winner)
Easily the most debatable of the cover stars to date, Melbourne Storm halfback Brett Kimmorley graces the front of the first title of the new millennium. Coming off the back of a premiership winning season where he was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal, Kimmorley is chosen as part of a wider movement as the NRL continue to try and lay their foundations down in the emerging market of Melbourne.
As someone who was born in 1997, I never really got to properly experience the Brett Kimmorley who played 20 Tests for Australia and kept Immortals out of rep jerseys, so I was somewhat surprised to read just how strong his résumé was while researching for this project. He definitely wasn’t the first name that came to mind when I think of this period, but I think he fits in nicely for this title at a time where many of the greats were a touch either side of their prime (also any excuse to use the early Storm aesthetic, my goodness it’s hot stuff).
For the design of the cover, this year signalled the first of what I would describe as the most iconic EA Sports title card of my childhood. Featuring a large logo plastered across the middle with striking black text, this one very much took me back to my youth.
COMING SOON - Part II: The Playstation 2 Era (2001 - 2007).
The ode to Noddy and growing the Melbourne market at the time is an unreal touch.
you are a sick sick man