The Beautiful Game

The new season awaits!

FIFA, the game series, also sometimes known as FIFA Soccer or FIFA Football, is probably the most played video game ever created. This illustrious video game series started in the late 1993. It was noted to be the first game to hold the official license from FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).

Back when we was 6 years old, the 2002 World Cup took place, and we were completely mesmerized by the players, the great football dribblers and shooters of our time. We would imitate Gerrard, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Robinho and all the other heroes of the football world. Then we got computers. And we did not have to imitate them anymore. We could actually control them on our computers, and not only them, but control our favourite teams and win matches, all while looking at a 800x600 pixel screen(That was the presiding resolution in those days).

Since 1993, EA Sports have released a game of FIFA yearl. The general nomenclature is "FIFA <Last 2 digits of the year of release>". Introducing difficulty levels so that the advanced as well as the newbie can enjoy a game of football, FIFA soon broke all records of previous games of that genre. As the years passed, the gameplay became more smooth, the movement of the ball varied with bounce and force, and the players themselves moved with more likeliness with real world players. The game evolved to increase more game modes, namely tournaments, manager mode, player mode and goalkeeper mode.

Then EA took a bold step, namely FIFA Street. From our childhood, we played football in the back alleys and grassy playgrounds. Walls instead of boundary lines meant that a player could just hit it off the wall to evade a defender. No throw ins. The game would go on and on. Corners and kick-offs were taken from the same spot. And now, all these had been immortalized by EA in this risky endeavor of their's. Kudos! Lucky for them, this series was an immediate hit with the FIFA fans, and EA moved on to be one of the most revered game developing companies.

As the fan following grew, the users themselves got more better at playing. The credit goes to EA Sports to increase the base difficulty of the game to adjust with new and old users. Then came the multiplayer options. Now players could play against other players. This increased the amount of competition.

Sidenote: They introduced an interesting new concept called Custom Celebration, where the users get to choose how to celebrate their goals! This was like adding illustrations to books. A nifty accessory which intrigued the gamers.

Now after years of evolution, the game is at a better stage and has a better fan following than ever before. And even if someday great players like Pele, Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo, and Casillas are not with us anymore, they have forever been immortalized in these virtual realities!

All Hail EA Sports!!