EA FC, the new FIFA, maintains leagues and bets on mixed teams – 09/22/2023 – Sports

Launched by Eletronic Arts this Friday (22), EA Sports FC’s first challenge is to break with the name that made the football game one of the biggest franchises in the world and, at the same time, maintain the loyalty of its vast base of players. fans after the end of the partnership with FIFA. This is the first title in the series with the new identity.

The studio’s marriage with the highest entity in world football lasted 20 years, but ended up breaking down when the federation asked for US$1 billion (R$4.8 billion) every four years for the transfer of the name.

Without an agreement between the parties, FIFA 23 was the last fruit of the partnership. This, however, did not have a major impact on the game’s content, since EA maintained contracts with organizations such as Uefa, Conmebol and Fifpro (the global athletes’ union), which guarantee the developer the use of athletes’ names and their characteristics. , in addition to the right to reproduce tournaments such as the Champions League and Copa Libertadores.

The same goes for agreements with national leagues, such as the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, among others. According to the studio, there are 30 official leagues, five of which are women’s football, 700 clubs and more than 19 thousand athletes reproduced.

Among the women’s tournaments, the news are the additions of the Frauen-Bundesliga (Germany) and the F League (Spain). Both join the Women’s Super League (England), the D1 Arkema (France), the National Women’s Soccer League (United States) and the Uefa Women’s Champions League.

Furthermore, it is now possible to form mixed teams, with men and women, in Ultimate Team, one of the game’s most popular modes, in which users seek to accumulate digital coins to create teams.

Athletes such as Australian Sam Kerr, Spanish Alexia Putellas and Brazilians Marta and Debinha are among the available players.

“We’re proud to announce the game’s most inclusive and diverse interaction yet. Whether playing with the largest group of players we’ve ever had in Ultimate Team or new leagues like the F League and Frauen-Bundesliga, EA Sports is proud to championing women’s gaming virtually and physically,” said Andrea Hopelain, senior vice president of brand at EA.

With early access to the game granted by EA, Sheet was able to test the athletes included in the game. It was possible to notice that they are as skilled as the male players who work in Europe, also present in the game.

This draws attention not because of them, but because the same does not happen, for example, with the Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana club athletes available in the game. The vast majority of players in both competitions are “not usable”, as game users usually define athletes considered weak.

In the case of Brazilian players and teams, this happens because the studio does not have the right to reproduce the Brazilian Championship, although it can use the uniforms of the clubs that are in the Libertadores and Sudamericana.

Faithfully representing reality, however, has never been an objective of the franchise throughout its history. In the market, FIFA has always differentiated itself from its main competitor, eFootball (formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer or Winning Eleven), by having a more “arcade” feel than a simulator, that is, with less realistic movements. compared to the actions of athletes in real life.

EA Sports FC doesn’t stray from this DNA, especially since there have been no major gameplay changes compared to the 2023 title. Basically, it’s the same game, with some new features.

Within Ultimate Team, the cards that represent players who play in South American football, in general, end up only being used to fulfill other tasks, such as exchanging them for player packs.

The option to value women’s skills responds to a long-standing call for more representation in the game. Released annually since 1993, when “FIFA International Soccer” hit the market, the EA game took almost 23 years to include women’s football.

Their first appearance was in FIFA 16, when 12 national teams, including the Brazilian one, were introduced into the game, limited, however, to playing only among themselves, in an exclusive mode. From then on, female teams became a constant presence in the game.

The last in the series named after football’s highest entity, launched in 2023, had an update that included the women’s World Cup played in Australia and New Zealand, with the 32 teams that competed in the tournament.

In addition to maintaining the content that users are accustomed to, EA FC draws attention to improving stadium lighting, a notable difference especially in new generation consoles, such as PS5 and Xbox Series.

There are also new “cutscenes” (small scenes during the game) that reproduce common moments in football matches, such as interviews with players when leaving the field, in addition to interactions between athletes in the tunnel that gives access to the stadium’s changing rooms.

It was clear that EA invested a lot in the game’s appearance, which is the studio’s main focus on maintaining the game’s popularity.