<s>
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
is	O
an	O
American	B-Application
football	I-Application
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Visual	O
Concepts	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
consoles	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
features	O
the	O
voices	O
of	O
Terry	O
McGovern	O
as	O
play-by-play	O
announcer	O
Dan	O
Stevens	O
,	O
Jay	O
Styne	O
as	O
color	O
commentator	O
Peter	O
O'Keefe	O
,	O
sideline	O
reporter	O
Suzy	O
Kolber	O
,	O
studio	O
host	O
Chris	O
Berman	O
,	O
Trey	O
Wingo	O
,	O
and	O
Mel	O
Kiper	O
Jr.	O
,	O
with	O
Berman	O
appearing	O
at	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
a	O
player	O
's	O
own	O
SportsCenter	O
broadcast	O
and	O
during	O
the	O
loading	O
screen	O
for	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
own	O
ESPN	O
NFL	O
Countdown	O
pregame	O
show	O
,	O
and	O
Kolber	O
appearing	O
in	O
the	O
Player	O
of	O
the	O
Game	O
segment	O
of	O
the	O
postgame	O
show	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
in	O
the	O
2K	O
series	O
priced	O
at	O
$19.99	O
the	O
day	O
it	O
shipped	O
,	O
much	O
lower	O
than	O
market	O
leader	O
Madden	O
NFL	O
at	O
$49.99	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EA	O
reduced	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2005s	I-Application
price	O
to	O
$29.95	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
release	O
,	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
received	O
"	O
universal	O
acclaim	O
"	O
on	O
both	O
platforms	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Andrew	O
Reiner	O
echoed	O
this	O
sentiment	O
in	O
the	O
review	O
's	O
"	O
Second	O
Opinion	O
"	O
section	O
,	O
calling	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
"	O
the	O
greatest	O
football	O
game	O
to	O
date.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Chris	O
Carle	O
of	O
IGN	O
gave	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Xbox	B-Application
versions	O
a	O
9.3	O
and	O
9.4	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
,	O
respectively	O
,	O
and	O
each	O
version	O
was	O
awarded	O
the	O
publication	O
's	O
"	O
Editor	O
's	O
Choice	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Carle	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
various	O
features	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
VIP	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
called	O
,	O
"	O
Probably	O
the	O
coolest	O
innovation	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
has	O
to	O
offer.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
reviews	O
compared	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
to	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2005	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
direct	O
comparison	O
of	O
the	O
two	O
games	O
,	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthly	O
declared	O
Madden	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
better	O
game	O
,	O
with	O
scores	O
of	O
9.5	O
,	O
9.0	O
,	O
and	O
9.0	O
,	O
while	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
was	O
given	O
scores	O
of	O
8.5	O
,	O
8.5	O
,	O
and	O
8.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alex	O
Navarro	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
recommended	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
,	O
noting	O
superior	O
offensive	O
gameplay	O
,	O
special	O
teams	O
,	O
online	B-Application
play	I-Application
,	O
features	O
,	O
presentation	O
,	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
sound	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jon	O
Robinson	O
of	O
IGN	O
agreed	O
that	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
presentation	O
of	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
were	O
superior	O
to	O
Madden	O
,	O
yet	O
he	O
felt	O
Madden	O
was	O
the	O
better	O
game	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
superior	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kato	O
opened	O
his	O
review	O
by	O
claiming	O
,	O
"	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
is	O
better	O
than	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2005	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
year	O
,	O
the	O
design	O
guys	O
at	O
Visual	O
Concepts	O
have	O
turned	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
into	O
the	O
most	O
entertaining	O
show	O
in	O
video-game	O
football.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
release	O
of	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
had	O
sold	O
1.7	O
million	O
copies	O
and	O
generated	O
$33	O
million	O
in	O
revenue	O
by	O
July	O
2006	O
,	O
two	O
years	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
period	O
,	O
sales	O
of	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
reached	O
3	O
million	O
combined	O
units	O
across	O
all	O
consoles	B-Device
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
23rd	O
highest-selling	O
game	O
launched	O
for	O
either	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
Xbox	B-Application
,	O
or	O
GameCube	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
won	O
multiple	O
awards	O
for	O
the	O
best	O
sports	O
game	O
of	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Awards	O
)	O
,	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
won	O
in	O
the	O
category	O
Sports	O
Simulation	O
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
E3	O
2004	O
,	O
it	O
won	O
the	O
Best	O
Sports	O
Game	O
award	O
from	O
GameSpot	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
IGN	O
's	O
year-end	O
awards	O
,	O
it	O
won	O
Best	O
Sports	O
Game	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
release	O
,	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
won	O
GameSpots	O
Xbox	B-Application
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Month	O
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
Game	O
of	O
the	O
Month	O
awards	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
publication	O
later	O
named	O
it	O
the	O
year	O
's	O
"	O
Best	O
Traditional	O
Sports	O
Game	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Best	O
Budget	O
Game	O
"	O
across	O
all	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
nominated	O
for	O
Best	O
Sports	O
Game	O
across	O
all	O
video	O
game	O
systems	O
by	O
IGN	O
and	O
the	O
Spike	O
Video	O
Game	O
Awards	O
,	O
losing	O
in	O
both	O
to	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2005	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
Satellite	O
Awards	O
,	O
given	O
annually	O
by	O
the	O
International	O
Press	O
Academy	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
only	O
NFL	O
simulation	O
game	O
nominated	O
for	O
Outstanding	O
Sports	O
Game	O
,	O
although	O
NFL	B-Application
Street	I-Application
,	O
a	O
football	O
game	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
simulate	O
NFL	O
gameplay	O
,	O
was	O
also	O
nominated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
numerous	O
websites	O
and	O
publications	O
have	O
ranked	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
greatest	O
sports	O
video	O
games	O
of	O
all-time	O
,	O
listed	O
as	O
44th	O
by	O
Bleacher	O
Report	O
in	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
his	O
"	O
Sports	O
Video	O
Game	O
Rankings	O
"	O
compiled	O
for	O
ESPN	O
,	O
Robinson	O
ranked	O
the	O
game	O
8th	O
,	O
two	O
spots	O
higher	O
than	O
Madden	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2005	I-Application
despite	O
Robinson	O
's	O
preference	O
for	O
Madden	O
in	O
his	O
contemporary	O
review	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yardbarker	O
included	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
in	O
an	O
unordered	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
25	O
best	O
sports	O
games	O
of	O
all-time	O
,	O
noting	O
that	O
,	O
"	O
For	O
a	O
brief	O
moment	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
true	O
challenger	O
to	O
the	O
Madden	O
hegemony	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
had	O
a	O
different	O
look	O
and	O
a	O
slightly	O
different	O
game	O
play	O
,	O
and	O
people	O
loved	O
it.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Time	O
ranked	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
as	O
the	O
41st	O
greatest	O
video	O
game	O
of	O
all-time	O
regardless	O
of	O
genre	O
,	O
stating	O
,	O
"	O
Sorry	O
,	O
Madden	O
NFL	O
fans	O
,	O
true	O
football	O
gaming	O
fanatics	O
know	O
this	O
is	O
the	O
best	O
gridiron	O
game	O
ever	O
made.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
retrospective	O
analyses	O
,	O
ESPN	B-Application
NFL	I-Application
2K5	I-Application
has	O
continued	O
to	O
receive	O
favorable	O
comparisons	O
to	O
the	O
Madden	O
NFL	O
series	O
and	O
is	O
noted	O
for	O
its	O
depth	O
that	O
has	O
yet	O
to	O
be	O
matched	O
in	O
subsequent	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
,	O
Owen	O
S	O
.	O
Good	O
of	O
Polygon	O
wrote	O
that	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
was	O
"	O
sports	O
video	O
gaming	O
's	O
King	B-Application
Arthur	I-Application
,	O
eternally	O
populist	O
,	O
noble	O
and	O
heroic	O
,	O
champion	O
of	O
an	O
age	O
long	O
ago	O
enough	O
to	O
make	O
its	O
triumphs	O
soar	O
and	O
its	O
shortcomings	O
recede	O
to	O
nothingness	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Good	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
state	O
that	O
EA	O
's	O
Madden	O
developers	O
"	O
for	O
10	O
years	O
have	O
been	O
haunted	O
by	O
NFL	B-Application
2K5	I-Application
—	O
in	O
forums	O
,	O
in	O
comments	O
,	O
in	O
social	O
media	O
—	O
that	O
nothing	O
they	O
do	O
could	O
be	O
as	O
good	O
as	O
something	O
that	O
by	O
now	O
really	O
is	O
n't	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
mythological	O
ideal	O
that	O
grows	O
more	O
romantic	O
with	O
every	O
year	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
