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[PaintTinJr]

To be fair they already abandoned PES and are calling it eFootball (because they are absolute clowns).

I thought that too, but IIRC the PES brand comes after eFootball on main screen of the Android version of the game I tried - then deleted.

With the Switch not getting a version of eFootball AFAIK I still think they will release a proper complete PES there, later on and keep the brand for those versions.

 

[Hoppa]

Do it Phil!

 

[Nezzeroth]

I think this is going to work out better for EA than FIFA.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

eFootball bros we fucking won

Everyones a winner, baby.

 

[SSfox]

I don’t play sports games but I have friends who only play FIFA and NHL and they seem to like EA’s games so my initial thought is that this is a really bad thing for the FIFA fans. Whoelse could take over fast enough?

They like EA games because it's the only games they ever played.

 

[fermcr]

"FIFA says it never liked EA anyway..."

I'm sure the feeling is mutual.

 

[Shut0wen]

Love to see fifa players defend eas football gane, according to them PES is shit because it never had the real football names and kits lmao, i can see 2k getting the rights and making the worst possible game imaginable

 

[Gaelyon]

Did you know that FIFA status is still "voluntary association" ("association à but non lucratif" in french)
today...

 

[Dazfeeder]

Do it Phil!

If Xbox get the FIFA licence they still have to build a football game from the ground up. its just a licence for the world cup and FIFA club cup basically.

 

[Mufausa The 3rd]

FIFA says it never liked EA anyway, will see other publishers now

Football's governing body is scrambling to decide what its future in games looks like.

www.pcgamer.com

Inb4 Konami swoops up the FIFA license from EA LMAO

 

[Fafalada]

Tencent probably.

They already publish Fifa in territory they care the most about. They might pay for the license just to publish a competitor though, it wouldn't be the first time they purposely make their own published games compete head to head.

 

[Lillie]

If we can move on from the bad EA servers, and the unbelievable fixation on only caring about Ultimate team - I think I will be ok without EA

 

[jose4gg]

EA's team will still make the best football games out there. People are going to find out the hard way just how difficult it is to do what the current FIFA team has done. Not saying there isn't room for more options, but I don't have much faith in them actually matching up. FIFA pushes things in all kinds of ways each year that aren't fully appreciated. And what do people expect from a yearly franchise. It isn't like they're getting 2-3, even 5, years like some of these other studios out there.

This.

I cannot imagine how bad 2K will make animations for the ball in a game like Fifa or how stupid and robotic everything will feel while playing it just like de NBA.

 

[supernova8]

If Xbox get the FIFA licence they still have to build a football game from the ground up. its just a licence for the world cup and FIFA club cup basically.

Everyone was making football games back in the day. There had to be over a dozen different ones on PS1. I doubt it's because it's hard to do, probably more because they don't see money in it (with current EA FIFA having essentially a monopoly on sales).

 

[Dazfeeder]

I played them all mate, most of them were terrible too, it was only Pro Evo that played like football, Hopefully someone makes one thats good because FIFA and E football feel like the same game every year.

 

[Neilg]

That means the total amount FIFA brought in to EA over the last four years was ~$3.51 billion.

You assume ultimate team cant exist without FIFA, which it can - they will just call it 'EA football fantasy team' and everyone keeps buying lootboxes. FIFA didn't bring shit except for a recognizable brand.

 

[CapnAmaricrunch]

Pro Evolution Winning Fifa Eleven 23'

 

[IFireflyl]

You assume ultimate team cant exist without FIFA, which it can - they will just call it 'EA football fantasy team' and everyone keeps buying lootboxes. FIFA didn't bring shit except for a recognizable brand.

I did not assume that at all. Maybe EA will be better off without FIFA, but maybe they won't. People tend to stick to brands, and that could come back to bite EA. Only time will tell.

 

[PaintTinJr]

You assume ultimate team cant exist without FIFA, which it can - they will just call it 'EA football fantasy team' and everyone keeps buying lootboxes. FIFA didn't bring shit except for a recognizable brand.

That's what is so interesting, because in the last 15-20 years, only Konami have been able to sell a footy game without the brand name of the real game because ISSPro98/PES has always been the most accurate simulation of the real game - and many others have tried to do what EA are attempting and failed, hence why it has been a two horse race since the beginning of the PS360 gen.

The brand of football, like the Olympic brand is so recognisable that it gets official products preferential treatment and prominence with companies selling such endorsed goods, because by extension they get linked to such a prestigious brand by association - even if the official beer, game, television, camera, etc isn't a great product by itself. If another company takes the brand license and makes a console game, I very much doubt Playstation, Xbox or Nintendo's digital stores will give higher visibility to another footy game in preference, which doesn't impact the core gamer choice, but does have sway with the 10s of millions of casual and younger gamers - if history is anything to go by.

 

[Tschumi]

On the one hand i love this, EA should be booted from all licensed sports until they get rid of P2W...

On the other hand, i have no faith in FIFA to pick a good new developer, they'll probably hire some random Italian game company who once made a port of Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? because they buy a Ferrari for their local FIFA rep and the new graphics engine with have lime green grass and shit animations...

Thread idea...

 

[Halo is Back]

Well, this is what happens when you pump out the same crap every year.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Of course, EA might see some loss of players in the year immediately following the loss of the FIFA name - but it will be minimal, whatever it is, particularly since, as discussed, FIFA is unlikely to have a competing product ready to go on time to begin with to muddy the waters. Whatever these losses they might suffer are - and as I said, they would be minimal, if that - it will take them at most a year to recover.

So EA is likely to proceed on its decided path. FIFA, the body, doesn't have much recourse if that happens. EA comes out as the "winner". EA is better positioned to come out ahead from this fallout, whenever it happens. At this point, it feels like it's a matter of time.

 

[AJUMP23]

I guess we get to see what is more powerful, the FIFA Name or the EA soccer gameplay. EA has the best soccer game, and they will have all the players, but will being part of FIFA matter to the consumer.

 

[twilo99]

Wait, how did EA loose this contract? that's crazy

oh, well ... let me watch that video I guess lol

 

[GetemMa]

FIFA seems to believe that there are just a ton of capable companies willing to give them hundreds of millions a year who are also capable of making a competitive product. It's delusional.

FIFA aren't going to find a publisher willing to give them $250 million a year. EA was easily the most likely to give them that and they are walking away. Konami won't. Take Two might but they don't have a studio to develop a soccer game at the moment. It will take them years to build that up and make something presentable.

EA can PR their way around this. They still have the FIFAPro license and that is the one that matters. They'll just do a big press push and get people used to the idea that FIFA has been renamed. That's a lot easier than what FIFA wants to do now.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

I would like Sony to make a FIFA game. Idk how happy EA would be about that.

Otherwise im sticking to Winning Eleven on PS1.

 

[Neilg]

If another company takes the brand license and makes a console game, I very much doubt Playstation, Xbox or Nintendo's digital stores will give higher visibility to another footy game in preference, which doesn't impact the core gamer choice, but does have sway with the 10s of millions of casual and younger gamers - if history is anything to go by.

But you're suggesting the FIFA brand is more important to Sony than EA is. I'd argue the one with more sway (and then visibility) in that situation is EA.

Why would sony or MS give more visibility to a new developers's first time football game? Just because they have the FIFA brand? there's no long term kickbacks they'd get from it, and they're the ones that come off looking bad if it's awful, in addition to it potentially hurting their relationship with EA - who release about 15 games a year.


I just cant see this being anything but a disaster for FIFA. And I think EA will spend some of the billion dollars they just saved to re-launch and market EA sports FC to make sure everyone knows the next iteration of the same game they've been playing.

 

[Majukun]

thing is, the "fifa" license covers very little except the name itself
players are covered by the fifpro license, and every competition or league (and in some cases teams) have their own rights sold separately..so i'm not really sure who would be interested in a non exclusive deal with them except the game that has used it as a brand since the 90s

 

[vito_don_corleone_]

Maybe? Seems like EA wanted out anyway because FIFA wanted to charge them $1 billion for a new four-year deal, which was double the amount of their previous deal.

Investors might be happy to know that they didn't blow a cool billion, especially when they still have access to all of the teams and players and only list the World Cup stuff.

I can't imagine FIFA is going to find many companies willing to spend a billion to be locked into a four-year contract with them if they keep that asking price the same. Plus, who else besides Konami is out there making soccer games these days?

First of all, it's football, not "soccer". It's actually in the name of this game.

Second of all, the massive popularity of the game made plenty of people associate "FIFA" more with the video game than the actual governing body itself. If EA will lose the right to use the name, what will be their new game? "The Football Game which used to be called FIFA"? All those years of marketing work and the massive value of the "FIFA game" brand will go completely wasted. Plus, a big chunk of sales will be automatically taken by the new publisher who will use the name moving forward.

 

[ethomaz]

Salty!

 

[SZips]

First of all, it's football, not "soccer". It's actually in the name of this game.

Second of all, the massive popularity of the game made plenty of people associate "FIFA" more with the video game than the actual governing body itself. If EA will lose the right to use the name, what will be their new game? "The Football Game which used to be called FIFA"? All those years of marketing work and the massive value of the "FIFA game" brand will go completely wasted. Plus, a big chunk of sales will be automatically taken by the new publisher who will use the name moving forward.

EA already registered a trademark for "EA Sports FC" for their potential new, non-FIFA soccer game.

Filings were made with the USPTO on October 4th.

 

[Lorianus]

They could just name it UEFA 23 and it would have the same brand recognition, they still have all the rights other than Fifa, i know uefa is just for the old continent but lets be real most people play it for the english, italian, german, spanish, french league teams and players.

 

[docbot]

Probably has nothing to do with the license being up for grabs, but anybody else noticed Playstation posting this video above on Twitter?
Maybe Playstation is gonna pick it up? I mean they sure want too..

 

[Codes 208]

If Xbox get the FIFA licence they still have to build a football game from the ground up. its just a licence for the world cup and FIFA club cup basically.

Its MS, they can literally buy a developer team just to do this.

 

[Dazfeeder]

Probably has nothing to do with the license being up for grabs, but anybody else noticed Playstation posting this video above on Twitter?
Maybe Playstation is gonna pick it up? I mean they sure want too..

Most probably they only posted this because Playstation has been the main sponsor of the Champions League for well over 20 years now plus they have been the lead platform for FIFA for a few years too mate.