History VideoGame / NFLBlitz

* WrestlerInAllOfUs: The influence of the Wrestling/MondayNightWars is ''very'' obvious, especially in the earlier editions. Apparently, everybody in the NFL can do flawless legdrops, suplexes, and other wrestling moves, and will use them to tackle opponents.

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: In real life football, a first down requires moving forward 10 yards, but in this game, you need to make 30, due to the fact that players in this game move much faster than in reality.

In its heyday, ''Blitz'' was the arcade yin to ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'''s sim-style yang, spawning a slew of imitators and even outselling ''Madden'' some years. Even to this day, ''NFL Blitz 2000'' in particular is revered as the pinnacle of arcade-style football, and it's still relatively easy to find as an arcade cabinet. Unfortunately, the violence that made ''Blitz'' in players' eyes and set the series apart was also the exact thing that worried the NFL--even in the '90's, when concussions weren't taken as seriously and the league glorified its brutality. Thanks to league pressure, little by little, the games slowed down their gameplay and became more realistic until, by the time ''NFL Blitz PRO'' came out in 2003, it was basically just regular football, only with no penalties and On-Fire mode. After the NFL finally gave its exclusive license to ''Madden'', Midway struck out on its own, creating the ''VideoGame/BlitzTheLeague'' series as an elaborate F-U to show just how gory they could actually get, but after Midway's 2008 bankruptcy, EA bought out the ''Blitz'' license and tried to duplicate the success of their ''NBA Jam'' revival with a reboot in 2012, but this time, the NFL didn't allow the signature late hits and violence at all, creating an unsatisfying shell of a ''Blitz'' in the process.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Going with the above trope, [=Arcade1UP=]'s ''Blitz'' CompilationRerelease cabinet of the first three games in October 2022 removes late hits and the most ludicrous hit animations in order to secure the NFL license. At the same time, the cabinet averts this with the presentation of the Washington team: their politically-incorrect team name and logo of the period is left completely untouched in the games for historical reasons.

* LosingHorns: A mocking jingle plays for the team on offense if they get a fourth-down turnover, miss a field goal, fail a two-point conversion, or [[EpicFail score safety for the other team]].

* SelfPlagiarism: Midway made the first big Arena Football League console game--[[UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar well, the first one that didn't turn into]] Vaporware, [[UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar anyway]]--in the form of ''Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed''. It's pretty much just the [=PS1=] port of ''Blitz 2000'' with a smaller playfield, a different license, and some other sound and aesthetic changes.

* SpiritualSuccessor: In 2003, Play Mechanix (a company formed by alumns of Midway's arcade division) released ''Dirty Pigskin Football'' for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Atomiswave]], another fast-paced football game with late hits and an over-the-top presentation. The main difference is that ''Dirty Pigskin Football'''s teams are made up of monsters, aliens, convicts, and other assorted misfits rather than NFL players.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: For some reason, Midway insisted on hyphenating the years in their sports titles once they started making them for [=PS2=][=/=]GC[=/=]Xbox, so you were supposed to say "NFL Blitz ''twenty-oh-two''" instead of "NFL Blitz ''two thousand two''".

''NFL Blitz'' is a series of UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball games based on the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague originally created by Creator/MidwayGames. ''Blitz'' was the first of several franchises that took the ''VideoGame/NBAJam'' formula of stripped-down rules and controls combined with amped-up violence and spectacular plays and applied it to another sport. The first ''Blitz'' came out as an arcade cabinet in 1997, and it was an immediate smash hit, not just because it was easy to pick up and play, but because--as the ''Blitz'' name might tell you--it presented an absurdly over-the-top version of the game, where there were only 7 players on each side, quarterbacks threw 30-yard passes on every down, defenders used ProfessionalWrestling throws to tackle the ballcarrier, and late hits were all but encouraged. That success meant that home ports soon followed, along with sequels every year up until 2003.

* DeathOrGloryAttack: The "Suicide Blitz" play. All CPU teammates will make a rush for the quarterback, which will either lead to a massive loss in yardage for offense, or the QB successfully throwing the ball to an unopposed teammate who will likely make an effortless touchdown.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first game and its ports only allow two human players instead of four, lack a dedicated announcer for the current down, and lack aiming and power controls for punting. All of these would be changed in the next version, ''Blitz '99''.

!These games contain examples of:

In its heyday, ''Blitz'' was the arcade yin to ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'''s sim-style yang, spawning a slew of imitators and even outselling ''Madden'' some years. Even to this day, ''NFL Blitz 2000'' in particular is revered as the pinnacle of arcade-style football, and it's still relatively easy to find as an arcade cabinet. Unfortunately, the violence that made ''Blitz'' in players' eyes and set the series apart was also the exact thing that worried the NFL--even in the '90's, when concussions weren't taken as seriously and the league glorified its brutality. Thanks to league pressure, little by little, the games slowed down their gameplay and became more realistic until, by the time ''NFL Blitz PRO'' came out in 2003, it was basically just regular football, only with no penalties and On-Fire mode. After the NFL finally gave its exclusive license to ''Madden'', Midway struck out on its own, creating the ''Blitz: The League'' series as an elaborate F-U to show just how gory they could actually get, but after Midway's 2008 bankruptcy, EA bought out the ''Blitz'' license and tried to duplicate the success of their ''NBA Jam'' revival with a reboot in 2012, but this time, the NFL didn't allow the signature late hits and violence at all, creating an unsatisfying shell of a ''Blitz'' in the process.

* CatharsisFactor: No matter how the game's going, you'll get it from the hard hits. Did the computer get a bullshit pick-six? No problem, just beat the shit out of their wide receiver after the play! Did you just force a turnover on downs while you're already up by 21? Go ahead, stomp on the quarterback while he's still down!
* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: For some reason, Midway insisted on hyphenating the years in their sports titles once they started making them for PS2[=/=]GC[=/=]Xbox, so you were supposed to say "NFL Blitz ''twenty-oh-two''" instead of "NFL Blitz ''two thousand two''".

* SelfPlagiarism: Midway made the first big Arena Football League console game--[[UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar well, the first one that didn't turn into]] {{Vaporware}}, [[UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar anyway]]--in the form of ''Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed''. It's pretty much just the PS1 port of ''Blitz 2000'' with a smaller playfield, a different license, and some other sound and aesthetic changes.