Association football is undoubtedly the most popular sport in the world, played in almost every country and watched by billions. EA Sports’ FIFA video game has thrived off this popularity, becoming the most successful sports game franchise of all time.
At its premise, the game allows players to become Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, or play alongside them.
But it has developed into something much bigger than that.
FIFA’s initial success stems from the popularity of the sport, and continues to thrive off big footballing events. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, EA Sports saw a 24 per cent increase in revenue, undoubtedly due to the showpiece being played at the time.
However, FIFA has become so popular that it has made its way into mainstream gaming, meaning that more people are exposed to the sport, the clubs and players than ever before.
People who have no interest in the sport will play FIFA and become invested in the game, and when they start seeing the players and the team they control on television, they will become invested in football.
In the United States, approximately 57 per cent of Americans that watch the Premier League on NBC would have zero interest in football altogether were it not for the FIFA video game.
Australia’s A-League is expanding in size and in popularity. Stars are travelling abroad to coach and play in the league, as football continues to grow in this country. FIFA can be therefore seen as a certificate of legitimisation. Clubs and leagues that are ‘good’ enough to appear in the game appeal to fans, and aid in building a nation’s footballing culture.
EA Sports introduced their first ever football game, FIFA International Soccer, in 1993, and since then have managed to keep the franchise alive by adapting to the game every year.
In FIFA Road to World Cup 1998, you could play in indoor venues. In the 2000s, players were making transfers and leading their favourite sides to success. They swallowed another franchise, where a player could run a professional football team in the league, and incorporated it into the game elements of FIFA.
The players mattered. Who you had mattered. How you moved players around mattered. It all fed into the endless rumour mill about footballers in the media; the screen reflected life.
In the 2010s, the process and gameplay became much more sophisticated. The goalkeeper became controllable, the players had ‘feelings’, and the player could choose to lead a team to glory, or strive for individual success.
Today, FIFA continues to adapt, with the introduction of goal-line technology in the game, and women’s football making their first appearance in the franchise.
FIFA’s (the governing body) tarnished reputation let the video game give football fans the full sporting experience, both as a footballer and a manager, without the controversy and negative headlines. It allows fans to get to know clubs and players on a deeper level, and gives insight into the complicated business that is football.
Don’t get me wrong, the video game is only popular because the sport already had a vast and diverse audience.
However FIFA has become its own individual entity, and the title that was once successful because of the sport is now aiding the growth of the world’s most popular sport by exposing entirely new audiences to The Beautiful Game.
Kirk
Guest
I had FIFA 11 on PS3. Never has a game made me so angry. On the higher difficulties It felt like results to many games were pre determined by the CPU so no matter how well you played you would end up losing. Your CPU players would commit fouls at the worst possible times and other such nonsense. So yeah, i never paid money for a FIFA game again after that...
Timmuh
Roar Guru
FIFA, and Football Manager, definitely help boost the game of Association Football for people who otherwise don't care that much for it. Its a bit like how everyone at least knows American Football, baseball and basketball exist due to the power of Hollywood. Madden games and NBA Live also help those sports. But it is only because the sport is so big that it gets good games made for it. Cricket has never had a good game yet, arguably Don Bradman Cricket breaks that rule to an extent, partly because the sport doesn't lend itself to gaming, but mostly because the ready-made market isn't big enough (well, rich enough, most of the billion plus Indians live in poverty). Australian Football has only ever had low budget horrible games because the ready-made market is tiny and, it also, translates badly enough to TV, even worse to gaming. Gaming is one of those things where being big helps you get bigger.
Ralph Milne's underpants
Guest
:)
Ralph Milne's underpants
Guest
I'd heard about this mythical beast but never got to play it
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
My sentiments exactly
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Whilst I usually do pick those teams (Arsneal etc), I always find myself playing as a youth in career mode in the A-League. Plus, when international competitions happen in the career mode, you will always find yourself playing someone from the A-League, Saudi League etc. It does give Australian football some exposure, but not as much as we would like. With that being said, the A-League is an arguably recent competition, 11 seasons into it, and it's been in the video game for about 6.
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Will never forget my PS1 copy of Winning Eleven 7
FootballHistorian
Guest
I'm more so concerned about the original comment, that seemed to be disseminating towards football only being that of Association Football. However, the facts state quite the contrary. It actually would be an interesting article or series of articles if someone decide to write about the history of the football codes... I wonder who would do that?
marron
Roar Guru
A handful of rules were written down, most likely in order to solve quibbles between the kids on certain contentious points. It is impossible to extrapolate from these what all the rules were and how the game was actually played. Especially when contemporary accounts disagree on certain points. The rules written down at rugby weren't intended so that other people could read them and play the game, as the Cambridge rules were. If codification is solely about people playing by agreed rules then clearly there are other games at other public schools, and possibly even elsewhere, that could lay claim to being "first". But codification is more than that - it's an attempt to comprehensively record the rules so they can be disseminated. I actually agree with your overall point though - I'd extend it out to beyond the public schools however. There's plenty of evidence of football being played by pub teams and village teams concurrently, and possibly before, the schools.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Why am I not surprised nordster is a football video gamer! As far as video games go, nothing has ever been as fascinating as PONG - the original & still the best.
Nate
Guest
So glad to see lots of love for Pro Evo on here. Has been the superior game to FIFA for a long time, just without the licenses. Also, during the 2005 Ashes series I converted a friend through a combination of the games on TV and EA's Cricket 2005. He hated cricket before that but starting to play to get to understand the game, as well as watching a cracking series, was too much and he was a cricket convert by the end. Games most certainly can help in creating new fans.
Kaks
Roar Guru
I would be inclined in saying that FIFA does not create support for the A-League, but increases the support for European leagues. When people play FIFA they choose PSG, Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern - not the Wanderers,
FootballHistorian
Guest
You say rules were written down? That a code was established by which the game was played? Well if that isn't being codified then I don't know what is. If anything my comment was constructed as to show that no game of Football has a claim to being the 'actual' football. It just so happened that many forms of football that were created within the English Public School system but that the oldest codified version of Public School games that went beyond the schoolyard was Rugby Football. Even Cambridge Rules weren't codified until 1848 which was three years after Rugby Football
mattq
Roar Rookie
there's your problem Fuss, trying to juggle the ball in FIFA99 would have been no mean feat :p
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I was given Fifa 99 for a birthday gift, I loaded the software & got sick of it within 5 minutes. I'd rather go out in the yard & juggle a real football. But, it's obviously a generational thing & Fifa Video games are huge business. Interesting discussion on this topic a few months ago, suggests it's causing significant concerns for some Egg Ball sports in Australia. FIFA video games are big business, here’s why the AFL just can’t compete http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/soccers-successful-fifa-video-games-are-big-business-heres-why-the-afl-just-cant-compete/story-e6frf3e3-1227461911667
marron
Roar Guru
shhh I said :lol:
marron
Roar Guru
Saying it was codified at Rugby school... sorry, that's just not right. Some students wrote down some rules which were not comprehensive and were clearly designed to stop arguments about football played in the school by the students there and there alone. You could just as easily argue that association football was codified at Harrow or Eton. And Cambridge 1848 would have a much more legitimate claim, seeing as it was a real attempt at codification for a wider public. And then there's Sheffield as well in the late 1850s. Many clubs playing a "rugby" version of football could easily have joined the FA in their codification attempts of 1863. There was a bit of skulduggery it would appear and as a result the Rugby clubs split off/refused to join. As a result the FA went with the Cambridge rules.
Jackie Estacado
Roar Rookie
EA has no soul. They Sould out. This year PES is superior.
FootballHistorian
Guest
Because that is technically it's name. Rugby Football and Association Football were codified at roughly the same time (Rugby Football was actually codified fifteen years before 'Soccer'). Rugby was actually properly codified in 1845 at the Rugby School. The rules to what is now known as'Football' or 'Soccer' were codified at the Formation of the Football Association in 1863, hence the title Association Football. The sport spread throught Europe in the late 19th century, while Rugby Football's growth was stunted by a hardcore resistance to professionalism and a schism within rugby between the Rugby Football Union and The Rugby Football League. I really don't think any football code can claim the title of true 'Football' due to the vast number of different rulesets available before 1863, of which most had rules where you could catch the ball and run with. That was the major difference between Rugby Football and other forms of football.
mattq
Roar Rookie
father of the year, pumping 10 past your 4 year old :P (p.s. I get you mean against the computer).