989 Sports came to Lambeau Field on Friday to let Packers players test out the new NFL GameDay 2004 video game.
Nick Barnett, Najeh Davenport, Donald Driver and Ahman Green were among the gaming participants. In all, more than 20 players took the opportunity to try out 989's upcoming title, which will be available to the public on August 26.
There were many spirited battles including Green vs. Driver, Davenport vs. Tony Fisher and Torrance Marshall vs. Hannibal Navies.
"All of the Packers had a good time," said Carrie Altuvilla, sports public relations specialist for 989 Sports. "The event was great because it let players have a good break between practices and they gave us a lot of feedback."
Driver, who played the game longer than all involved, enjoys seeing himself in video games and experiments with his versatility.
"I take Ahman out of the game, I take Brett out of the game and put myself in at quarterback," Driver said. "I do all types of little things to see if I can play out of position."
NFL GameDay 2004 includes some upgrades not available in last year's title like pressure-sensitive controls that allow users to decide how much emphasis to put on a juke or stiff-arm. A 'Jump Start' button will allow players to try to anticipate the snap and get a jump on the offensive line
For serious gamers, the Online Mode will allow options like head-to-head online play, with the option to use USB headsets to talk to opponents while playing.
The headset also allows players to utilize the game's voice-recognition feature to voice command without need of the controller. For example, a player can say "hike" into the headset and the center will snap the ball without a button ever being pressed.
