It’s a game that is often played by several people, controllers in hand, and in the end, it’s the publisher EA Sports who wins (maximum money).
Along with the garlands and baubles on the tree, it is one of the must-haves of Christmas. The video game EA Sports FC 24 comes out Friday September 29, and is the continuation of a series that you have obviously heard of under its former name of Fifa. This football simulation, available on all platforms, ranks each year, with metronomic regularity, on the podium of the best-selling cultural goods in France, with the new Asterix when one comes out. But this year, the game brings its share of controversies in addition to new features.
1The name change, a big money affair
We had become accustomed to seeing the covers of the annual Fifa vintage flourish on the shelves, online stores and on social networks. This year, for the first time in three decades (the first edition dates from 1993, recalls the Foot Mercato site), the franchise no longer bears the acronym of the organization that governs world football. No link with the repeated controversies tainting the mandates of Sepp Blatter then Gianni Infantino, but a story of big money. According to New York Times , Fifa intended to collect 250 million dollars each year to allow the publisher Electronic Arts to use its famous brand, i.e. double the previous rate. And, above all, Fifa wanted to be able to attach its brand to other video games produced by different publishers, such as the famous Fortnite.
Despite this name change, the user experience will not change much. If the game can no longer use the image of Fifa competitions, in particular the World Cup, EA Sports FC retains the licenses for most of the competitions offered by FIFA 23, notably Ligue 1 and the Champions League. No risk, therefore, of finding clumsy transfers of players’ names like in the great era of Pro Evolution Soccerthe former competitor of Fifa : the oldest gamers retain a particular tenderness for the Brazilian full-back Roberto Larcos, the Welsh winger Ryan Greggs or the French playmaker Zinedine Ziderm.
2Discreet new features compared to the last edition
This is the sea serpent of every release: how much does this new edition of the game differ from the previous version? EA Sports is regularly accused of distilling improvements in homeopathic doses, and of relying on the annual update of squads and jerseys to generate an almost automatic purchase.
This edition is no exception to the rule. The game promises player movements that are more faithful to each player’s characteristics, according to initial feedback from testers on sites like GameBlog and JeuxVidéo.com. The races of Kylian Mbappé or the acrobatic recoveries of Manchester City center forward Erling Haaland are reproduced very faithfully. More advanced options also allow you to personalize the playing style of your players or team.
Another feedback from the testers: making a pass is less easy than in the past, which will complicate the task of seasoned players. Visually, a rough tackle will leave a beautiful piece of grass on the field throughout the game, adding a little more to the realism of the game. Let’s also note the appearance of agents – already omnipresent in real life – in the “career” mode, where you play as a player.
3The gender diversity in a flagship game mode makes some fans bristle
For several years, Fifa’s flagship mode has been called “Ultimate Team” (often abbreviated to “FUT”). You build your dream team by buying cards bearing the likeness of the players, before lining them up on the field. It was already possible to have a living legend, like Kylian Mbappé, coexist with an idol who passed the weapon to the left, like Johan Cruyff. But this year, EA Sports is making another departure from realism, by adding players from women’s championships and allowing them to be fielded in mixed teams. An attacking duo of Kylian Mbappé-Marie-Antoinette Katoto and a midfielder Antoine Griezmann-Amandine Henry, it is now possible.
For EA Sports, the goal is also to attract female players, under-represented among buyers of sports simulations, according to a study by the French union of video game publishers, Sell. Already, last year, Australian striker Sam Kerr appeared on the cover alongside Kylian Mbappé. “We feel we can play a very important role in the growth of women’s football.” assures John Shepherd, vice-president of Electronic Arts, to the specialized site IGN. “‘Ultimate Team’ is the perfect place for this. It’s a mode where you can build your dream team with different nationalities, different leagues, different clubs. That’s why we thought it was the right one place to do it.”
The unbeatable quality-price ratio of cards representing female players now makes them practically essential for building your first team. But a section of the players did not fail to express their irritation at this development. Like the streamer IShowSpeed, one of the most influential players to broadcast his games online, who staged directs his anger after inheriting not a player, but a player from Manchester United, his favorite club.
On the FUTBin site, where “Ultimate Team” fans are invited to rate the different cards in this game mode, the ranking of the most unpopular cards includes almost only female players. First on the ordinary hatred hit parade, the American Megan Rapinoe, known for her feminist and pro-LGBT positions.
The game’s publisher perfectly embraces this revolution: John Shepherd invites the discontented to give up the “Ultimate Team” mode. Electronic Arts also announced increased monitoring of toxic behavior on gaming-related social platforms.