The evolution of FIFA: 1994 - 2013

Electronic Arts has been releasing its series of football games annually since 1994 and in this feature, we take a look at each of them. The series has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises ever. Mostly recognised as one of the biggest sports game in the gaming industry, FIFA has had its share of criticism, but that had no effect on the FIFA sales, which is still rising by as much as 23 percent year-over-year, making it the most profitable EA Sports title, owing to the global fan following of the series.

The first one in the line, it was released on 15 July 1993. Owning to the 16-bit graphics, the players, the field and the spectators aren’t animated properly. The screen reaction isn’t smooth, not like you would expect it to be, especially when you are passing the ball. The game came out with the tag-line: “FIFA International Soccer has it all… experience sheer brilliance” and rightly so, as it was a game that changed the whole outlook in the gaming industry. The game was number one in the UK charts, replacing Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition, and staying there for a full six months. David Platt and Piotr ?wierczewski served as the cover stars.

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Released on the 8th of July, 1994, FIFA 95 was the second installment of the FIFA franchise. This time the game included clubs from eight leagues, with teams from Germany, Brazil, England, Spain, France, USA, Italy and Netherlands. Former Norwegian goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt featured in the cover photo, with Alexi Lalas in some versions. “The best console football can get” was used as the tagline. Quite bold!

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The third instalment in the popular game was the first in the series to feature real-time 3D graphics on the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, 32X, and DOS versions, using technology called “Virtual Stadium”. It was released on the first of July, ’95 and featured Frank de Boer and Jason McAteer in its cover. It was also the first one in the series with come up with players with real names and positions, with ranking, transfer and team customisation tools. The game was eventually a bestseller in the United Kingdom.

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The fourth in the FIFA franchise, FIFA 97 features polygonal players instead of the 2D sprites used in FIFA Soccer ’96. It was released on June 24, 1996 and the cover featured David Ginola and Bebeto. Designed with a 32-bit AI, this was the first one in the series with the commentary feature. Graphics wise the game was a big improvement, but the users were disappointed when it came to the game-play, which wasn’t shy of bugs. It was sold across the world with the tagline “Emotion Captured.”

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The fifth one in the series was a massive cult hit and boasted redefined graphics engine, team and customisation options. Also known as “Road to World Cup”, it featured all of the 172 FIFA-registered national teams, and also a licensed soundtrack featuring popular musical artists of that time. Released on 17 June 1997, the cover photo featured multiple professional players such David Beckham, David Ginola, Raúl and Paolo Maldini. The ‘offside’ rule was implemented in the game for the first time, and the game was a best seller in the Europe for two months.

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Featuring Dennis Bergkamp in the cover photo, FIFA 99 was released on 10 June 1998 with the tagline “All the Clubs, Leagues and Cups.” This installment had more fluidity in the game and allowed the users to create custom competitions and cups for the first time in the series. It also featured an all-star league known as the “European Dream League”, in which the top 20 teams from Europe would take on each other in a league format. The game was yet another best seller in the whole of Europe.

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Released on 26 October 1999, the game consisted of over 40 “classic” teams, set piece selection, new facial impressions and the ability to shield. The reception of the game was mixed, mainly due to the cartoon-esque graphic engine. Sol Campbell served as the main cover star.

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Released for Windows, PlayStation and PlayStation 2, FIFA 2001 had a new game engine which allowed the users to customise kits and faces and came out with a power bar for shooting that appeared when you attempted a shot on goal. It was also the first one in the series to feature online game-play, and even though the game isn’t flawless, it is extremely well rounded and excels in every category. It was released on November 8, 2000 and featured Edgar Davids and Paul Scholes as their cover stars.

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Featuring Thierry Henry as their cover star, this FIFA was the one with a power bar even for passes, thus allowing much more variety to the passing of the whole team. An interesting feature that was introduced for the first time was the card-reward system, where the gamer could unlock a star player. It was released on 1 November, 2001 and was also available for the all new Playstation 2.

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The tenth one in the installment was released on Windows, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance and Mobile phone on 25 October, 2002. The Club Championship Mode was introduced with the feature of playing against 17 top European clubs in their own stadium, with their fans signing their unique songs and chat. ‘Freestyle Control’ was introduced for the first team, which allowed the user to flick the ball and set it up for his team mates. It was also the first one in the brand to use the EA Trax, which went on to be a big hit eventually.

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Released with the tagline “Create brilliance”, FIFA 2004 was the first one in the series with teams from the second-tier of leagues, thus allowing users to manage lower ranked teams. “Off the ball” was introduced, where the user could control two players simultaneously. The online mode was intensely promoted in this instalment. It was released on 18 October, 2003 with Thierry Henry, Alessandro Del Piero & Ronaldinho serving as the cover stars.

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The tagline for the game was “A great player needs a great first touch”, and was the twelfth game in the FIFA series. The main cover for the game featured Patrick Vieira, Fernando Morientes and Andriy Shevchenko. The game was back with create-a-player mode and and more authentic passes and tricks were added to the game play. It was released on 11 October 2004.

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This instalment cam with a lot of changes, mostly in the control of play while the “off the ball” ability was discarded. The “team chemistry” which determines how well team members play together was introduced. The game also featured a Classic XI and a World XI team consisting of great football legends and current superstars respectively. The game came with the tagline “You Play, They Obey”, and was released on 4 October 2005. Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho served as the cover stars.

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With more than 510 teams in 27 leagues and 20 countries with over 10,000 licensed players, FIFA 2007 was huge and had stadia such as the new Wembley Stadium and Emirates Stadium. “Interactive Leagues” was introduced, which allowed the users to play the EPL, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Mexican League in a real-time world where the weekly real world fixtures are tracked. It was released on 27 September, 2006 and Ronaldinho and Wayne Rooney were retained as the cover stars.

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With a tagline “Can You FIFA 08?”, FIFA 08 was released with the new “Be A Pro” mode where the users could play an entire match as a single player. The manager mode came with the option of scheduling training on desired dates. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 and yet again, Rooney and Ronaldinho were retained as the cover stars.

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In an interview, David Rutter explained that there are over 250 improvements in the game, improvements such as quicker release of the ball, greater urgency in off-the-ball running, a new jostle system that takes into account the strength of the players when going shoulder-to-shoulder, and subtle animations that enable players to take first-time shots.

There was a new collision system which took player speed and power into consideration, thus making the collisions more realistic. The new Adidas Live Season was also introduced that would dynamically update the player attributes each week, based on their form in the real world. It was released on 3 October 2008.

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“Let’s FIFA 10” and “How big can football get?” were the two taglines that made noise throughout this series. The Assitant Manager feature was added who would take care of the team lineup if the user wants so. Commentary was available in 12 different languages, with each language boasting around 25,000 phrases.

Also, a 360 degrees player control was brought into the game instead of the 8-direction control in previous franchises. Theo Walcott, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney served as the cover stars as Ronaldinho was dropped of for the first time in four years. Fifa 10 has sold over 10 million units since launch, making FIFA the most profitable EA Sports title.

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Release on 28 September, 2010, FIFA 11 was awarded ‘Sports Game of the Year’ at the Golden Joystick Awards after a record-breaking 2.06 million votes. Players could now play as Player Manager and also as a goalkeeper in Be a Pro for the first time in the series. Fifa 11 was enormous fun and brilliantly engineered, and made football as a video game more realistic. Ricardo Kaka was the cover athlete in this installment.

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“A revolutionary year for FIFA … especially in the gameplay department,” promised producer David Rutter prior to the day the game was released. The game AI was completely altered giving the menu a familiar vertical menu replacing the old bar system. Impact Engine, Tactical Defending, and Precision Dribbling were introduced into the game thus making the gameplay more authentic than ever. Released on 27 September, 2011, Wayne Rooney, Jack Wilshere were the cover stars.

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The latest in the series, FIFA 13 was released on 11 September 2012. “First Touch Control” was the most unique change in this installment that made the player touches more realistic and mobile. The game was driven by the five innovations involving artificial intelligence, dribbling, ball control and physical play. As of May 2013 FIFA 13 has sold 14.5 million copies making the most selling sports videogame of all-time according to EA.

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