EA Sports has already revealed that it will continue to publish soccer games following the dissolution of its partnership with FIFA under the name EA Sports FC. Following this news, many fans are hoping that the next line of soccer games from EA Sports will improve on the many areas where recent FIFA titles have been lacking. EA Sports now has the chance to reassess its soccer games and once more redefine what a great soccer gaming franchise is by improving offline game modes, making online play fairer, and revamping the gameplay.
While FIFA is the name that is synonymous with soccer around the world, EA Sports has made a name for itself as the premier soccer game publisher, and while recent titles have not impressed fans, it can publish high-quality soccer games. Thanks to its loyal following, EA Sports can remain confident that much of the fan base of its FIFA titles will play EA Sports FC. However, ensuring that the titles can compete against future FIFA titles is important. With FIFA looking toward other publishers, EA Sports FC will need to be a step in the right direction for EA Sports to maintain its ridiculously high player base.
Improved Offline Game Modes in EA Sports FC
At the heart of EA Sports' problems are the offline game modes, especially Career Mode, that have turned into a repetitive, unrealistic, and sometimes frustrating journey in recent FIFA titles. Fans have been asking EA Sports to give them something new in Career Mode, and while the publisher introduced new features and included some older features, it has not been able to captivate its fans. EA Sports FC will need to make significant changes to Career Mode for it to keep fans happy and compete against FIFA and its next publisher.
Recent FIFA titles have had a disappointing Career Mode that looks more like a copy of previous iterations with a new menu and better-looking players. EA Sports FC will need to improve several areas to make Career Mode a more enjoyable experience, including improvements to training, a better progression system, and in-depth transfer negotiations and conversations. EA Sports will also need to ensure that the training is revamped to affect gameplay much more than it currently does, and should even try to make Create-A-Club more customizable, including shirt sponsors and a stadium progression system that will keep small clubs from getting the largest available stadium right off the bat.
Fair Online Play in EA Sports FC
FIFA’s offline modes have suffered in recent years thanks to a lack of attention, the online modes continue to be EA Sport’s focus, much to the dismay of many fans. While the online play on FIFA is enjoyable, poor matchmaking means that fewer fans are inclined to spend time in these game modes, and the many microtransactions bring up a lot of ethical issues. EA Sports FC should not move away from online game modes, but rather improve them and maybe even add in new online co-op game modes so that fans can play along with their friends.
Adjustments to microtransactions should be the first step that EA Sports takes, and while it seems unlikely, the publisher should try to minimize their effect on fans. Only getting good players in game modes like Ultimate Team by purchasing packs is unfair, and it is something that should be addressed. Matchmaking needs to be significantly improved to ensure that fans are not getting frustrated by playing other players with a much higher skill level, too. Finally, adding online co-op modes, like an online Career Mode that would let friends play together, is something that would not only build up the community but also add more of an incentive for fans to play online modes.
Gameplay Changes
Recent FIFA titles have been plagued with gameplay issues, whether it is bugs and glitches or poor mechanics that ruin the game. The A.I. has been lackluster in recent titles, and this has brought the entire FIFA experience down as fans grow more frustrated with the poor gameplay. While FIFA remains the most polished soccer game, EA Sports FC will need to make significant improvements to gameplay to compete against future FIFA titles, or else it may end up losing much of its fan base much like recent eFootball titles.
EA Sports will first need to address the weak A.I. that has consistently made poor decisions in terms of picking a team and seemingly gets significant boosts to stats that can put a low-tier team on the same level as Liverpool FC or FC Barcelona. In Player Career, A.I. needs to be significantly improved to ensure that the other players on the team are not simply passing the ball back and forth, and make better passing, shooting, and dribbling options. These changes can even fix the pacing issue in games and make future titles feel more realistic. Further, improving the impact of tactical changes in a game will force fans to strategize every time their players take to the pitch.
FIFA 23 will mark the end of the FIFA-EA Sports partnership that successfully made soccer games one of the most popular game genres in the world. This end of an era will be monumental and could shape the future of the space, especially with both FIFA and EA Sports promising to continue the release of high-quality soccer games. While only time will tell what FIFA will do, EA Sports needs to ensure that its future titles will be good enough to excel in a more competitive environment. The first iteration of EA Sports FC could make or break the franchise, and improving on all the lackluster features in past FIFA titles can no longer be ignored.
FIFA 23 is currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.