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{{More citations needed|date=September 2008}}
{{Infobox video game series
| width          = 
| title          = NFL Blitz
| collapsible    = No
| state          = 
| image          =Musée Mécanique 217.JPG
| caption        =''NFL Blitz'' arcade cabinet 
| developer      = [[Midway Games]], [[EA Sports]]
| publisher      = Midway Games, EA Sports
| first release version = ''[[NFL Blitz (1997 video game)|NFL Blitz]]'' (1997)
| first release date = 1997
| latest release version = ''[[NFL Blitz (2012 video game)|NFL Blitz]]'' (2012)
| latest release date = 2012
| genre          = [[Sports game|Sports]]
| platforms = [[Arcade game|Arcade]], [[Nintendo 64]], [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]], [[Game Boy Color]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Dreamcast]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], [[GameCube]], [[Game Boy Advance]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]]
}}
'''''NFL Blitz''''' is a series of [[American football]] themed [[video game]] originally released by [[Midway Games|Midway]] featuring [[National Football League]] (NFL) teams. It began as a 1997 [[arcade game]] ''[[NFL Blitz (1997 video game)|NFL Blitz]]'' that was ported to home consoles and spawned a series of sequels. Rather than being designed as a realistic interpretation of the sport of football, like ''[[Madden NFL]]'' or ''[[NFL 2K]]'', the ''Blitz'' series was created as an over-the-top, exaggerated version of the sport, inspired by Midway's own ''[[NBA Jam]]'' basketball game.

In 2005, after losing the NFL license, Midway relaunched the ''Blitz'' series as ''[[Blitz: The League]]'', depicting fictional players and teams in a fictional league with slightly more realistic (though still exaggerated) on-field play and a focus on the seedy behind-the-scenes lives of the players.

Following the dissolution of Midway, [[EA Sports]] acquired the rights to the ''Blitz'' name and relaunched the series on [[PlayStation Network]] and [[Xbox Live]] with a new entry in the series simply titled ''[[NFL Blitz (2012 video game)|NFL Blitz]]''. The game took the series back to the original style of ''Blitz'', but removed the late hits due to input by the NFL.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pastapadre.com/2011/10/18/ea-sports-makes-nfl-blitz-remake-official |title=EA Sports Makes NFL Blitz Remake Official |publisher=pastapadre.com |date=2011-10-19 |access-date=2012-09-18 |archive-date=2012-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121052210/http://www.pastapadre.com/2011/10/18/ea-sports-makes-nfl-blitz-remake-official |url-status=live }}</ref> Late hits and some tackles were also removed in the [[Arcade1Up]] re-release of the first two games (and ''NFL Blitz 2000 Gold Edition''), which was released in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Good |first1=Owen |title=NFL Blitz comes back, without the late hits, in arcade form |url=https://www.polygon.com/23306194/nfl-blitz-arcade-cabinet-release-date-price-arcade1up |website=Polygon |access-date=October 13, 2022 |date=November 3, 2022}}</ref>

==Gameplay==
{{quote box|width=30%|quote="It's our belief that this is like [[Road Runner (Looney Tunes)|the Road Runner]] ... (NFL Blitz) is not what goes on when players are on the field. This is a cartoon. Still, next year, we will dial this back a little more. We're going to err on the side of conservatism."<ref name="Wired" />|source=—Gene Goldberg, then-NFL vice president of consumer products, in 2002}}
The ''Blitz'' titles largely follow standard [[American football rules]] as outlined by the NFL, but with key differences to encourage faster and more aggressive play. In the original games, seven players are on the field per side (as opposed to eleven). Not only were there fewer players, but positions were flexible at best. [[offensive team|Wide receivers]] could be known to run the ball and sometimes pass, and [[defensive team|defensive players]] were all crosses between pass rushers and defensive backs. 2002 saw an increase to eight players and ''NFL Blitz Pro'' (released in 2003) increased to the full eleven.

Unlike the NFL, pass interference is allowed, as are late hits, showboating and excessive celebrations. There are no timeouts, but the clock stops after every play. [[Extra point]] attempts are claimed to be automatic, but there are rare misses. [[Field goal]]s and [[two-point conversion]]s are played out as usual. Quarters have been shortened to two minutes (default setting) with a faster running timer than real time; this includes overtime, which isn't [[sudden death (sports)|sudden death]]. For most releases, a first down would mean players would have to go 30 yards, instead of ten. Plays such as "Da Bomb" allowed for a [[quarterback]] to accurately throw the ball most of the length of the field at will and receivers could make impossible catches. On the other side, defensive players were able to leap up and swat (if not intercept) balls no other game could allow for or dive incredible lengths to make a stop.

From the beginning, one of the key changes in ''Blitz'' was the animations. Where other games had to keep normal tackling and stops, ''Blitz'' players were able to stop a play in a variety of unique ways. One of the most common was for a defensive player to grab his opponent and spin him around and fling him to the ground, sometimes giving them extra yards in the process. This violent and theatrical style allows the players to execute textbook [[professional wrestling]] moves such as the [[German suplex]], [[elbow drop]], and [[leg drop]] even after a tackle has been completed and the whistle blown.<ref name="Vice" /> In addition, the team with the lead often receives kick-offs deeper in its own territory and are more likely to fumble or throw interceptions to help level the gameplay and encourage closer games.

The NFL, however, made Midway tame most of the more violent or insane aspects of the game as the license progressed. Subsequent releases stripped down "excessive celebrations" and late hits until the game was almost one of the sims to which it was originally opposed.<ref name="Wired">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2002/12/video-game-hard-knocks-pain-nfl/|title=Video Game Hard Knocks Pain NFL|date=December 31, 2002|last=King|first=Brad|publisher=Wired|access-date=March 13, 2018|archive-date=March 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313215841/https://www.wired.com/2002/12/video-game-hard-knocks-pain-nfl/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the game still retained its over-the-top aspects including censored profanity done in a comical manner. Raiden and Shinnok, characters from the ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'' series, a series also developed by Midway, were unlockable characters in some versions.

==Development==
The game was created by Midway Games and headed by lead artist, Sal DiVita and lead programmer, Mark Turmell.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/yR9rFD8ofAU Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305192845/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR9rFD8ofAU Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR9rFD8ofAU| title = The Making of NFL Blitz (1 of 2) | website=[[YouTube]]| date = February 2008 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The NFL paid little attention to the game's development until just before the launch. Upon watching a preview scrimmage by Turmell and DiVita, league representatives said they could not have the NFL associated with the game as it was then programmed. They said there was too much violence in the game and offered to refund Midway's [[license|license fee]]. Midway was eager to keep the NFL's endorsement of the game, so they compromised on some of the graphic violence and "late hits" in the game.<ref name="Vice">{{cite web|last1=Gordon|first1=Aaron|title=How in the Hell did NFL Blitz Ever Get Made?|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-in-the-hell-did-nfl-blitz-ever-get-made/|work=Vice|access-date=6 November 2014|date=6 November 2014|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630012337/https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/nzpmgq/how-in-the-hell-did-nfl-blitz-ever-get-made|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Games==
Beginning in 1997, Midway released a new entry in the series each year. However, after the commercial failure of the more simulation-oriented ''Blitz Pro'', Midway did not release a ''Blitz'' in 2004 for the first time since the series began.

After losing the NFL license to [[Electronic Arts]], Midway brought back the original ''Blitz'' style play with 2005's ''[[Blitz: The League]]''. The celebrations and the violent aspects returned and were ramped up to levels that the NFL never allowed. In place of real NFL teams are fictional teams such as the New York Nightmare and the Minnesota Reapers. Although no current NFL players were featured, retired players [[Lawrence Taylor]] and Bill Romanowski were hired to lend their voices to and help promote the game. The game contains a significant amount of explicit content not seen in other entries of the series, such as the use of [[anabolic steroids]]  and "juicing" injured players with what seems to be the equivalent of a [[cortisone]] shot. ''Blitz: The League'' also introduced an extensive story mode created with the help of one of the writers from ESPN's ''[[Playmakers]]''. As a result of the mature themes in the title, ''The League'' is the first and only professional football franchise to ever receive the "Mature" rating from the [[Entertainment Software Rating Board|ESRB]] and was banned in [[Australia]]. A sequel, ''[[Blitz: The League II]]'' was released on [[PlayStation 3]] and [[Xbox 360]] on October 13, 2008.

After Midway's bankruptcy filing in 2009, [[EA Sports]], publisher of the popular NFL simulation series ''[[Madden NFL (series)|Madden NFL]]'' and the exclusive holder of the NFL's video game rights, acquired the rights to the ''NFL Blitz'' intellectual property, and on October 19, 2011, EA Sports announced ''NFL Blitz''{{'}} return via a story with ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' and the release of an announcement trailer. EA Sports intended the new ''NFL Blitz'' to be an "arcade" football experience, different from the simulation-oriented ''Madden'' series.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/hands-on-nfl-blitz/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020080846/http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/hands-on-nfl-blitz/ |archive-date=2011-10-20 |title=Hands-On: NFL Blitz {{!}} EGMNOW}}</ref> The result was the 2012 title simply called ''[[NFL Blitz (2012 video game)|NFL Blitz]]''.

In 2000 Midway released a spinoff to Blitz based on the [[Arena Football League]] titled ''[[Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed]]'' for the PlayStation.

=== Installments ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Titles in the ''NFL Blitz'' series
|-
! Title
! Release
! Platforms
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz (1997 video game)|NFL Blitz]]''
| [[1997 in video games|1997]] (arcade), [[1998 in video games|1998]] (home)
| [[Arcade game|Arcade]], [[Game Boy Color]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Nintendo 64]], [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]]
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz '99]]''
| [[1998 in video games|1998]]
| Arcade
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz 2000]]''<small> (home port of Blitz 99)</small>
| [[1999 in video gaming|1999]]
| [[Dreamcast]], Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 64, PlayStation
|-
| ''NFL Blitz 2000 Gold Edition''
| [[1999 in video games|1999]]
| Arcade
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz 2001]]''<small> (home port of Blitz 2000 Gold)</small>
| [[2000 in video games|2000]]
| Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64, PlayStation
|-
| ''NFL Blitz Special Edition''
| [[2001 in video games|2001]]
| Nintendo 64
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz 2002]]''
| [[2001 in video games|2001]]
| [[Game Boy Advance]], [[GameCube]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz 2003]]''
| [[2002 in video games|2002]]
| Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz Pro]]''
| [[2003 in video games|2003]]
| GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
|-
| ''[[Blitz: The League]]''
| [[2005 in video games|2005]]
| PlayStation 2, [[PlayStation Portable]], Xbox, [[Xbox 360]]
|-
| ''[[Blitz: The League II]]''
| [[2008 in video games|2008]]
| [[PlayStation 3]], Xbox 360
|-
| ''[[NFL Blitz (2012 video game)|NFL Blitz]]''
| [[2012 in video games|2012]]
| PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
|}

=== Spinoffs ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Title
!Release
!Platforms
|-
|''[[Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed]]''
|[[2000 in video games|2000]]
|[[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]]
|}

==Reception==
{{expand section|date=March 2018}}

Critical reception for ''Blitz: The League'' was mostly positive. Gamerankings.com gives the PlayStation 2 release a score of 75% and the Xbox release a score of 77%. GameSpot.com gave both PS2 and Xbox versions an 8.6/10.

== See also ==
*''[[Mutant League Football]]''
*''[[MLB Slugfest]]''
*[[NHL Hitz (disambiguation)|''NHL Hitz'' (disambiguation)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|id=-group/nfl-blitz-series|name=''NFL Blitz'' series}}

{{Midway sports games}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nfl Blitz}}
[[Category:1997 video games]]
[[Category:Arcade video games]]
[[Category:NFL Blitz video games]]
[[Category:Electronic Arts franchises]]
[[Category:Dreamcast games]]
[[Category:Game Boy Advance games]]
[[Category:Game Boy Color games]]
[[Category:Game Gear games]]
[[Category:GameCube games]]
[[Category:Midway video games]]
[[Category:Nintendo 64 games]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2 games]]
[[Category:PlayStation (console) games]]
[[Category:Video game franchises]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Xbox games]]