NFL Blitz Toning Down the Violence Doesn't Make Sense

gamerant.com:

There are few sports games as fondly remembered as NFL Blitz. It first debuted in 1997 in arcades, but the very next year, NFL Blitz made the move over to home consoles like the N64 and PlayStation. Like many of its contemporaries such as Twisted Metal, WWF No Mercy, and others, NFL Blitz fully embraced late 90s consumers' desire for over-the-top, violent video games. The original NFL Blitz fulfilled fans' wishes with bone-crunching tackles, borderline criminal late hits, and players' abilities dialed up to the max.

So, when Arcade1UP announced NFL Blitz as one of its latest projects, fans of the series rejoiced. However, the revelation that the NFL had requested that late hits and other egregious depictions of violence be removed from the game has now given fans pause.

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The biggest issue is that violence is not incidental to NFL Blitz; it's the whole point of the title. Much like one of its spiritual predecessors, the beloved NBA Jam, NFL Blitz is intended to be completely removed from reality. While it's certainly arguable that aspects of NFL Blitz are at odds with modern tastes, any attempt to tone it down is a slippery slope. If developers have to remove late hits—as was one of the actual sticking points with the NFL—there's very little rationale for including any of the original violence in the title, at which point fans are met with another generic football title.

When the NFL Blitz series was first toned down a decade ago, the move was criticized by fans for being at odds with the history of the series, and further bolstered the recent negative reception of the franchise. As Madden NFL 23 faces criticism from players and fans alike, the censoring of