Jump to content

FIFA (video game series): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Line 13: Line 13:
}}
}}


'''''FIFA Soccer''''', also known as '''''FIFA Football''''' or '''''FIFA''''' in some countries, is a series of [[Association football|association football (soccer)]] [[video games]], released yearly by [[Electronic Arts]] under the [[EA Sports]] label. Since its debut release in late 1993, it has become the [[List of best-selling video game franchises|best-selling sports game franchise ever]]. While there was no major competition when EA released the first titles in their ''[[Madden NFL series|Madden NFL]]'' and ''[[NHL series|NHL]]'' series, soccer video games such as ''[[Sensible Soccer]]'', ''[[Kick Off]]'' and [[Matchday Soccer]] had been developed since the late [[1980s|eighties]] and were already competitive in the games market when EA announced a soccer game as their next addition to the EA Sports label.
'''''FIFA Football''''', also known as '''''FIFA Soccr''''' or '''''FIFA''''' in some countries, is a series of [[Association football|association football (soccer)]] [[video games]], released yearly by [[Electronic Arts]] under the [[EA Sports]] label. Since its debut release in late 1993, it has become the [[List of best-selling video game franchises|best-selling sports game franchise ever]]. While there was no major competition when EA released the first titles in their ''[[Madden NFL series|Madden NFL]]'' and ''[[NHL series|NHL]]'' series, soccer video games such as ''[[Sensible Soccer]]'', ''[[Kick Off]]'' and [[Matchday Soccer]] had been developed since the late [[1980s|eighties]] and were already competitive in the games market when EA announced a soccer game as their next addition to the EA Sports label.


When the series began in late 1993 it was notable for being the first to have an official licence from [[FIFA]]. The latest installments in the series contain many exclusively-licenced leagues and teams from around the world, including the English [[Premier League]] and [[The Football League|Football League]], Italian [[Serie A]], Spanish [[La Liga|Primera Liga]] and US [[Major League Soccer]], allowing the use of real leagues, clubs, and player names and likenesses within the games.
When the series began in late 1993 it was notable for being the first to have an official licence from [[FIFA]]. The latest installments in the series contain many exclusively-licenced leagues and teams from around the world, including the English [[Premier League]] and [[The Football League|Football League]], Italian [[Serie A]], Spanish [[La Liga|Primera Liga]] and US [[Major League Soccer]], allowing the use of real leagues, clubs, and player names and likenesses within the games.

Revision as of 21:49, 19 March 2008

FIFA series
File:FIFA08.jpg
FIFA 08, the latest in the series
Developer(s)EA Sports
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Platform(s)Current:
PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii
Notable past systems:
Mega Drive, SNES, PlayStation, GameCube, Xbox, GBA
ReleaseYearly, 1993-present
Genre(s)Football (soccer)
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer (all versions)

FIFA Football, also known as FIFA Soccr or FIFA in some countries, is a series of association football (soccer) video games, released yearly by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. Since its debut release in late 1993, it has become the best-selling sports game franchise ever. While there was no major competition when EA released the first titles in their Madden NFL and NHL series, soccer video games such as Sensible Soccer, Kick Off and Matchday Soccer had been developed since the late eighties and were already competitive in the games market when EA announced a soccer game as their next addition to the EA Sports label.

When the series began in late 1993 it was notable for being the first to have an official licence from FIFA. The latest installments in the series contain many exclusively-licenced leagues and teams from around the world, including the English Premier League and Football League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga and US Major League Soccer, allowing the use of real leagues, clubs, and player names and likenesses within the games.

The main series has been complemented by additional installments based on single major soccer tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, and UEFA Champions League, as well as a series of football management titles.

History

The key points of EA's early advertising campaigns were the isometric view of the pitch (when other games used either top down, side scrolling or bird's eye views), detailed graphics and animations, and of course the FIFA endorsement (although the first game did not feature real player names). It was shipped for Christmas 1993, named FIFA International Soccer, and was released for most popular platforms of the time.

While FIFA 95 did not add much other than the ability to play with club teams, FIFA 96 pushed the boundaries. For the first time with real player names by obtaining the FIFPro license, the PC, 32X and Sega Saturn versions used EA's "Virtual Stadium" engine, with 2D sprite players moving on a real-time 3D stadium. FIFA 97 had crude polygonal models for players and added indoor football, but the new pinnacle was reached with FIFA 98: Road to World Cup. This version featured improved graphics, a complete World Cup with qualifying rounds (including all national teams) and refined gameplay. Months later, World Cup 98, EA's first officially licensed tournament game, improved Direct3D support, gave each team a unique kit and broke the sequence of poor video games based on tournaments started by US Gold's World Cup Carnival in 1986 and continued until Gremlin Interactive's Euro 96.

FIFA games have been met with some criticism, such as for the minimal improvements each title features over its predecessor. As the console market expanded, FIFA was challenged directly by other titles such as Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer (known as Winning Eleven in Japan and the US). Both FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer have a large following but FIFA enjoys a higher volume of sales.[citation needed]

FIFA is the only video game series to be published on the same console platform (in this case the original Sony PlayStation) for ten successive years (FIFA Soccer 96 published in 1995, through to FIFA Football 2005 published in 2004). EA's Madden NFL series appeared on the PlayStation for nine straight years.

Games in the series

FIFA International Soccer

Known as EA Soccer during development and sometimes subsequently also known as FIFA '94,[1] the first game in the series was released in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1993. This greatly hyped soccer title broke with traditional 16-bit era games by presenting an isometric view rather than the more usual top-down view (Kick Off), side view (European Club Soccer), or bird's-eye view (Sensible Soccer). It only includes national teams, and real player names are not used. A notorious bug allows the player to score directly from an opposing goal kick by standing in front of the goalkeeper so that the ball rebounds off him into the net. The Sega Mega CD version includes some features used in the next title, and is a highly polished version of the original.

FIFA Soccer 95

Using the same engine with only minor retouches, FIFA '95 introduced club teams to the series within eight national leagues: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, England, France, Netherlands and USA. Most of the leagues had their team lineup based on the 1993-94 season, and the teams, although recognizably real, all still had fictitious players (many of them even returning from the previous game). The USA League consists of teams and players from the A-League, the country's second division - subsequent editions would feature "artificial" division one leagues, a feature not corrected until the 2000 edition, when Major League Soccer started representing the country. In addition, the Brazilian league contained only teams from the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (with the exception of Internacional, from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul), no matter if they are great or minor teams, with some color incoherences (Corinthians, for instance, had a white and purple uniform – it actually is white and black).

FIFA Soccer 96

This is the first FIFA game to feature real-time 3D graphics on the 3DO, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, 32X, and PC versions, using technology called "Virtual Stadium". It is also the first in the series to present players with real player names and positions, with ranking, transfer and team customization tools. The SNES and Mega Drive versions are simply FIFA '95's engine with updated teams and graphics.

FIFA 97

Main article: FIFA '97

The biggest change in FIFA '97 was the inclusion of 6-a-side indoor soccer mode and polygonal players, with motion capture provided by David Ginola. The game features a much higher number of playable leagues from England, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and even features the Malaysian league. The gameplay in the PC and 32-bit consoles, however, leaves a lot to be desired and is very sluggish. These versions also feature commentary by John Motson, partnered by Andy Gray, with Des Lynam introducing the matches.

FIFA 98: Road to World Cup

Main article: FIFA 98: Road to World Cup

This game marked the start of an upward trend in the series. It boasted a refined graphics engine, team and player customization options, 16 stadiums, better AI, a "Road to World Cup" mode with all FIFA-registered national teams, and a licensed soundtrack featuring popular musical artists of the time. The most ambitious of the series up to that point, it features many accurate team rosters even with reserves for national call up when playing in the round robin qualification modes. It is also the first FIFA game to contain an ingame player/team editor. The gamer wishing to tweak player stats, however, may have to reduce certain attributes in order to boost others, as only a fixed amount of points are allocated for this purpose.

"Song 2" by Blur is used as the intro track for the game. The Crystal Method also did 4 songs for the game.

FIFA '98 was the last FIFA game to be released on the 16-bit consoles that the series had originated on.

FIFA 99

While the indoor mode was no longer featured, the gameplay's fluidity and responsiveness was increased. The increasing number of websites dedicated to the game and a larger number of leagues (which came to be a problem when the owners of the rights to the Portuguese League tried to pull the game from the shelves locally) ensured good sales. Graphically, it is a major improvement over FIFA '98, with the inclusion of basic facial animations and different players' heights as well as certain other cosmetic features such as improved kits and emblems, although they are unlicensed. Gamers may also create their own custom cups and leagues and select the teams they wish to play against. This game also had the feature of manually changing the ref's strictness, allowing major injuries and fouls to go un-noticed. Fatboy Slim's The Rockafeller Skank is the music used in the intro.

FIFA '99 also features an elite league called the 'European Super League' in which 20 top teams from across Europe battle it out in a league format.

FIFA 2000

Gameplay is fast, simple, and has a clear arcade feeling which failed to keep hardcore fans happy, especially with rival games such as International Superstar Soccer gaining in reputation. The leagues also feature many unlicensed teams, which substitute their real names for those of their home cities. For the first time, U.S. Major League Soccer clubs are included. As for the gameplay, a new set piece system was introduced, whereby pressing a certain key results in a cross to a particular teammate. This system was used until the 2002 edition. It also features a passing indicator, the colour of which varies depending on the direction of the pass and potential obstacles - red means a certain wrong pass, yellow means there is a 50/50 chance of success, and green indicates that possession will probably not be lost in the course of the pass. The game also features a special team block with classic squads, club teams and national teams, ranging from world famous lineups (such as Real Madrid from the 1950s and the Brazil team from 1970) to less well-known teams (such as IFK Gothenburg from the 1980s or Rosenborg BK and Busan Daewoo Royals from the 1990s).

Robbie Williams provided an original theme song with It's Only Us. This song was also featured on the first and only FIFA soundtrack CD released by EMI. He allegedly did this on the condition that the football team he supports, Port Vale, was included in the game, which it was, as a special feature team.

A Nintendo 64 beta version of FIFA 2000 exists though the game was not officially released for this platform.

FIFA 2001

This title had a new graphics engine which allows each team to have its own kit, and for some players, their own unique faces. Doing away with ordinary coloured pennants as club emblems, the license includes official club emblems for the first time, although certain leagues, like the Dutch league, are unlicensed. Slightly tweakable physics made the game a modding favorite for its fan community. The game also includes the entire Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga (Austrian Bundesliga) as a playable league for the first time. Moby headlines the soundtrack with his single Bodyrock serving as the title track. A "hack" feature is included, where the player can press R1 to attempt an intentional foul, such a high sliding tackle. A Nintendo 64 beta version of FIFA 2001 developed by THQ exists, though the game was not officially released for this platform.

A song "ode to FIFA 2001" was made by [http:// . . /the9thdimension] with the following lyrics, starting off slowly and sad before becoming far more joyous towards the end.

You couldn't do a chip shot
Or long range wondergoals
It didn't have Wayne Ronney
And it bummed off Paul Scholes
Unlike any other FIFA game
R1 wasn't sprint
You had to press triangle
Repeatedly
The Commentary was rubbish
The ref wasn't fair
But you have to ask yourself
Did you really care?

Cos

FIFA 01
FIFA 01
We all love the game, cos it was the don
FIFA 01
FIFA 01
Don't buy another FIFA game cos it's just a con

You could do a rugby tackle
By pressing R1
Or excecute bicycle kicks for fun
The game was so biased
The disc often broke
But it didn't matter cos
It had the best 'knock knock' joke

Chorus again


Comments on this song include "lol" "your singing is sh*t" and "go get a life" along with "FIFA 99 is better!" These comments are not the view of wikipedia, just brainless individuals who clearly have not played the game itself.

The 'knock knock' refer to a piece of commentary, "Knock, Knock. Who's there? NOBODY!" occasionally said when the keeper was between you and your own goal whilst scoring. This was definitely on PS1 version, and is yet to be verified on other versions, since this piece of commentary is very rarely said.

FIFA Football 2002

Power bars for shots and passes were introduced, and dribbling reduced in order to attain a higher challenge level. The power bar can also be customised to suit the gamer's preference. The game also includes club emblems for many more important European clubs as well as for major Dutch clubs such as PSV Eindhoven, Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord although there is still no official Dutch league. A card reward system licensed from Panini was also introduced where, after winning a particular competition, a star player card is unlocked. There is also a bonus game with the nations that had automatically qualified for the 2002 World Cup (France, Japan and South Korea), in which the player would tries to improve the FIFA ranking of their chosen team by participating in international friendlies.

Many of the international teams in the game are not licensed (some of them down to the players' names like the Netherlands as well as minor footballing countries e.g. Latvia were only given numbers as player names, whereas some confederations such as certain African nations were not even complete. Gorillaz headlined the soundtrack with 19-2000 (Soulchild remix). The commentators for this game are John Motson and, for the second time in the FIFA series, Andy Gray.

FIFA Football 2003

FIFA 2003 features completely new gameplay from the previous titles. EA revamped the outdated DirectX 7 graphics used in FIFA 2001 and 2002, and introduced new graphics featuring more detailed stadia, players, and kits. Timo Maas is the main artist on the soundtrack, with his song To Get Down (Fatboy Slim Remix) used during the opener. An Elite League composed of the best European teams is also included. The League is composed of 18 clubs from across Europe. Commentary is by John Motson and Ally McCoist.

FIFA Football 2004

Main article: FIFA Football 2004

While not adding much to the game engine, the biggest new inclusion is secondary divisions, which allow the player to take lower ranked teams into the top leagues and competitions. A new gameplay feature dubbed "off the ball" was introduced, which is the ability to simultaneously control a second player in order, for example, to move him into the box in anticipation of a pass. The online mode was touted as the main feature. Another key feature is "Football Fusion", which allows owners of both FIFA 2004 and Total Club Manager 2004 to play games from TCM in FIFA 2004. This is also the first FIFA game to feature Latin American club teams aside from the ones in the Brazilian League; four from Mexico (America, Guadalajara, Monterrey, U.N.A.M) and two from Argentina (Boca Jrs., River Plate). The title sequence was filmed at St James' Park, the home of Newcastle United, with the opening song being Kings of Leon's European hit Red Morning Light.

FIFA Football 2005

Main article: FIFA Football 2005

FIFA 2005 was released much earlier than the usual late October date to obtain a head start over Pro Evolution Soccer 4 and avoid clashing with EA Sports' own FIFA Street. The game features the return of the create-a-player mode, as well as an improved Career mode. The biggest difference compared to previous titles in the series is the inclusion of first-touch gameplay which provides gamers with the ability to perform "real-life" tricks and passes. It is also the first version to feature the full Mexican League. The game has no opening video per se, but its soundtrack is headlined by British DJ Paul Oakenfold, who composed the FIFA Theme especially for the game, using some sounds from the game such as crowd noises and commentary. This was the last Playstation 1 title released in the US. The game also features authentic crowd chants edited by producer Dan Motut.

FIFA 06

Main article: FIFA 06

FIFA's developers made a complete overhaul of the game engine for the 2006 installment of the game, claiming a dramatic increase in the control of play, having rewritten more than half the code of the game. In addition to a renovation of the engine, which discards the "off the ball" system, the developers boasted a significantly more involved Career mode and the introduction of "team chemistry" which determines how well team members play together. This installment breaks with the long tradition of commentary from Match of the Day's John Motson and (more recently) Ally McCoist, who are replaced by ITV's Clive Tyldesley and Sky pundit Andy Gray, who had already worked in the series as guest commentator.

FIFA 07

Main article: FIFA 07

FIFA 07 was released on September 29 2006 in Europe and October 2 in North America. The Xbox 360 version was released on November 1. The main differences from the previous game are a new "Interactive Leagues" function, new stadiums such as the new Wembley Stadium and Emirates Stadium, and the ability to create custom teams. The game's front-end and graphics engine remain largely untouched.

The Xbox 360 version uses a completely new game engine which was created from scratch for the system. This version also features a much reduced team line-up, completely removing all lower division teams and focusing on the four main European leagues, plus the Mexican Clausura and national teams.

FIFA 08

Main article: FIFA 08

FIFA 08 was released on September 28 2007 in Europe and was released on October 9 in North America. It introduces a major new game mode called "Be A Pro", in which the player controls a single player on the field. However, this is similar to FIFA 96's player select screen in which you can turn auto player switching off (a * will appear in the box), or do not control that player (an X will appear in the box)

The debut version for the Wii introduces motion controls for shooting, as well as three mini-games that make use of the Wii Remote.

Whilst the game play is much like that of "FIFA 07", "FIFA 08" offers a new look menu as well as different game modes. It also takes the focus of "manager mode" and on the "be a pro" game mode. It also does not offer any 'Season Highlights' or 'Memorable Moments' as in "FIFA 06" and "FIFA 07"

Other titles

Outside the yearly series, also from EA Sports:

  • FIFA 64
    The first FIFA game on the Nintendo 64 console, released in late 1997 and similar to the 3D versions of FIFA '97.
  • F.A. Premier League Stars series
    Two games, in 2000 and 2001, based primarily around the English F.A. Premier League, though localised versions of the second game were released in Germany, France, Spain and South Korea.
  • FIFA Soccer World Championship
    Released only in Japan in 2000, this Playstation 2 exclusive was the first installment of the series on a 6th Generation console.
  • Champions League series
    Three games in the series so far (2004-05, 2006-07, 2007-2008).
  • FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
    Released in 2005, this was the first FIFA game for a 7th Generation console. Road to FIFA World Cup is an Xbox 360 exclusive and preceded the release of FIFA World Cup 2006 on the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, and other consoles by several months. It offers superior graphics to previous versions, though at the expense of many gameplay features. For the first time in the FIFA series, it allows the player to practise shooting against the goalkeeper while each match is loading.
  • FIFA Online 1,2
    FIFA Online Game (FIFA Online) was co-developed by EA and South Korean developer Pmang, has thus far been released only in South Korea. As of July 2006 the game has a record of 180,000 simultaneous users.

FIFA World Cup licensed games

Since 1998 EA have released licensed games based on their FIFA series to tie in with each World Cup tournament.

UEFA European Championship licensed games

Similarly to their FIFA World Cup games above, in 2000 EA began releasing a series of licensed games to tie in with the UEFA European Championship tournaments.

Street soccer games

Management games

Since 1997 EA Sports have regularly released football management games, most of which have made use of their FIFA or F.A Premier League licenses in their titles. The majority of these games were developed by EA themselves, though some have been developed by third parties such as Krisalis Software and Bright Future GmbH.

Soundtracks

See also: EA Trax

Licenced music tracks were first used in the FIFA series with the release of FIFA '98: Road To World Cup. The series has featured main themes from such successful acts as Blur, Fatboy Slim, Robbie Williams, Moby, and Gorillaz, and each game also contains a selection of tracks from contemporary album releases of the time.

References

  1. ^ mobygames.com. "FIFA International Soccer".
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FIFA_(video_game_series)&oldid=199443735"