The iconic FIFA series has enabled football lovers to live their dreams for nearly three decades.
Irrespective of whether this was done with a control in their hands and not a ball at their feet, this all-time best-selling sports video game successfully transported fans onto the most prestigious pitches of world football and gave them a taste of what life as a professional footballer was like. Yes, with every passing year, the dream became more realistic as the graphics and gameplay improved, but for those fans who grew up in tandem with the first releases of the FIFA games, some of the earlier editions hold the most stirring memories.
At least, these versions crank up the nostalgia and you only need to hear Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping being played to immediately be taken back to 1998 as you recall the spellbinding FIFA World Cup edition which gave you a front-row seat at the Stade de France.
For those a bit younger, maybe it’s Bastille’s The Weight of Living, Part 2 from FIFA 13 that tugs at the heartstrings and takes you back to a time when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were at the peak of their powers. Whatever it may be, the word FIFA represents so much more than just the name of a game, it is a word that evokes priceless memories in football fans.
Change on the Horizon
Ultimately, this is why it is concerning to hear EA Sports announce that they could not come to an agreement with football’s governing body regarding the license to call the game FIFA in the future. In short, this means that FIFA 23 will be the last edition of the franchise and then it will be rebranded as EA Sports FC. Now, if you’ve just cringed after reading that last sentence then don’t worry, most people have suffered the same reaction upon hearing the new name.
The regrettable truth is that the new title is gimmicky and dare we say it out loud, even carries a certain Pro Evolution Soccer feel to it. However, the encouraging news is that is where the similarities with PES stop as EA Sports will step forward into this brave new world armed to the teeth with close to 20,000 official licenses.
Tomorrow. It's Matchday for the world. #FIFA23
Watch the launch film 👇https://t.co/SpZCCDgBcD pic.twitter.com/TeZ0Nf20jO
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) September 29, 2022
To break that down, that’s over 19,000 player licenses, 700 teams, and more than 100 stadiums that EA sports hold the naming and visual rights to. In addition to this, the company also has official rights to over 30 international leagues. Mercifully, what this means is that after 2023, you won’t have to suffer the indignity of controlling a game between Yorkshire Orange and West Midlands Village when Hull City take on Aston Villa given that EA Sports will still be able to offer you an authentic experience even without the FIFA license.
In short, nothing much will change at first apart from the name but at the same time, it’s worth keeping in mind what FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in May this year when speaking about the upcoming parting of ways with EA Sports: “I can assure you that the only authentic, real game that has the FIFA name will be the best one available for gamers and football fans. The FIFA name is the only global, original title. “
Shots Fired
You could be forgiven for thinking that those were shots fired at EA Sports by Infantino but for all his feisty rhetoric, it’s hard to see how another game could rival the upcoming EA Sports FC series when you consider that they hold all the valued official licenses. In other words, what would FIFA be able to bring to the table to enhance a gamer’s enjoyment when EA sports has in its possession the largest piece of the rights pie?
If you put that to Infantino, he would undoubtedly argue that FIFA are the only ones capable of producing or giving the go-ahead when it comes to authorizing a World Cup game and he is, of course, right, when you consider that this is one license that no other company, at this moment in time at least, is entitled to without parting with an eye-watering fee for. As for how much of a blow this could be to Electronic Arts going forward, it’s important not to underestimate the global reach a World Cup has and the role that the competition plays in thousands of industries.
Indeed, as many as ten of the biggest bookmakers in the world are running promotions for the upcoming tournament in Qatar which goes to show once more, the incredible pull of this event.
With this in mind and given that the World Cup commands a captive global audience, perhaps there is still scope for FIFA to gain control of some size of the football video game market.
However, whatever ends up happening with regards to an impending power struggle, it is undoubtedly the end of an era that stretches back to the 15th of December 1993, when the first FIFA franchise was released. Gamers will hold their breath with the future an uncertain one but EA sports will reassuringly tell them that they are well prepared for the breaking of a new dawn. FIFA meanwhile, are vowing to create something new.