In the massively lucrative arena of football video games, EA Sports' Madden series is the cock of the walk. It has the bulk of the market share and street cred, and its following borders on fanatical. It even has its own tournament, the Madden Challenge, that scours the nation in search of the best player. Last year's Madden Challenge finals were held in Las Vegas, and the top prize was $50,000--a tidy sum just for playing video games with your loser friends.

Perched just below Madden in popularity is Sega's ESPN titles, the 2005 version of which is called, absurdly, ESPN NFL Football 2K5. That Sega's game, developed by Visual Concepts, is superior to EA's appears to have no effect on gamers; tighter, and with better presentation and superior graphics, it nonetheless remains second fiddle--think of it as the Apple to EA's Microsoft.

This, however, may soon change, for Sega's 2005 installment may have found its trump card: a retail price of $20. Ever since Sony released its original PlayStation back in 1995, video games have consistently hovered around $50, with only the occasional "budget" game (usually a throwaway) slashing its cost in an attempt to muster some revenue (a recent example was the disastrous Dead Man's Hand from Atari). ESPN NFL Football 2K5 is not a throwaway, however--in fact, it's one of the best sports games you'll ever play--and its release at such a ridiculously low price may just shake up the entire industry. Video games have been due a price correction for some time now; Sega may have just given the industry the kick that it needs. At the very least, EA now needs to take notice. Who wouldn't want the superior game at less than half the cost? There is no real devotion, after all--at least not when a little extra scratch is involved.

Still, no matter how cheap the game, the graphics and gameplay remain the thing, and ESPN doesn't disappoint. Polishing and enhancing last year's edition, 2K5 is impressive on every level. The graphics are stunning, with far more detail than is necessary. The players' arms are toned with muscles, their movements quick and intricate (send your running back through the line and watch him dance sideways through the hole, or trip over a leg but still manage to keep his feet). Passing has also been improved, with fewer drops. Every stadium is impeccably designed, and when packaged with ESPN graphics--including replays and a half-time show hosted by Chris "Boomer" Berman--playing a game can approach an absurd level of realism; playing through an entire season in franchise mode, in which you can micromanage everything from scouting to training to player cutting and acquisitions, can be outright mind-boggling.

Madden, of course, also has all of the above, in one shape or another (including superior commentary from Al Michaels and John Madden himself)--and yet it's still hard to imagine that their 2005 version will be able to top ESPN. Sega has put out a superior-looking game for several years now, and with 2K5 at such a low price, perhaps gamers will now take notice. Visual Concepts is on the perfect track with the ESPN franchise, and as graphics continue to improve (especially once the next-gen consoles arrive), future installments may prove to be too realistic, especially if their "First Person Football"--which is just what it sounds like--eventually takes off (right now it needs more finessing, as it often induces nausea, but once Sega masters the camera, or gamers adapt, watch out). Will playing a video game one day match pounding around on the field in an actual scrimmage? Probably not--but then again, even 3-D graphics on home consoles once seemed like a pipe dream, and who knows just how far the next generation of consoles will allow developers to reach?

ESPN NFL Football 2K5 may not topple the Madden king this time around, but EA has officially been put on notice. They don't call ESPN the worldwide leader in sports for nothing.

brad@thestranger.com