NFL 2K3 (Microsoft Xbox, 2002)

NFL 2K3 continues Sega's successful football franchise with the addition of an ESPN license, allowing for distinctive menu screens, music, and a television-style presentation complete with player matchups, dramatic replays, and statistical highlights as the game progresses. Player models have also been addressed and now feature more frames of animation to show such details as stripping the ball, one-handed tips, hurried throws, chop blocks, and more. Coaches also roam the sidelines as in the Madden NFL series. 

A franchise mode allows would-be general managers to draft and sign players from the front office desk, manage the salary cap, hire and fire coaching staffs, and deal with retirement, cuts, and trades over multiple seasons of play. The computer AI has also been refined. Teams are designed to react to play-calling tendencies by shifting coverage schemes during passes and runs to shore up potential holes and to isolate the ball carrier. Both PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of NFL 2K3 offer online support for play against opponents over the Internet.