Gamers to bid farewell to FIFA franchise after 30 years
One of the biggest franchises in video game history is coming
to an end on Friday with the release of FIFA 23, the final installment of a
football game that has entranced millions of fans for the past three decades.
US game maker Electronic Arts (EA) and global football body
FIFA spent months negotiating over the licensing agreement that has underpinned
the game since its first edition in 1993.
But they confirmed the split in May when FIFA said it would
be seeking other partners and EA said it would rebrand its game as "EA
Sports FC" from next year.
For the final version, EA has included women's club teams for
the first time - though only from England and France - several years after it
introduced women players.
Australian superstar Sam Kerr, who plays in the English
league, is on the game's cover along with French World Cup winner Kylian
Mbappe.
"It is - and remains - one of the most popular
franchises in all of gaming," said Tom Wijman of Newzoo, a firm that
analyses data on the industry.
The decoupling is risky for both EA and FIFA, with neither
guaranteed success from their new ventures.
But analysts say EA is in a stronger position after spending
30 years developing and marketing the game.
The firm said last year that FIFA had sold more than 325
million copies over its three decades - reportedly generating more than $20
billion in sales.
Gamers were less bothered about the corporate fallout and
just wanted to play the latest version of the game.
Professional eSports players -- some of whom earn hundreds of
thousands of dollars for playing the game -- queued up to livestream their
first attempts.
"One of my favourite videos ever," tweeted Donovan
Hunt, one of the most successful eSports players, linking to a YouTube video of
his first try.
Swedish gamer Olle Arbin livestreamed his first attempt for
12 hours on Wednesday.
Reviewers have been impressed by the game's improvements in
graphics since the last edition, and praised additional features such as a
"power shot" for giving gameplay another dimension.
"FIFA 23 sees the series bow out on a high, and provides
encouraging signs for the debut of EA Sports FC this time next year,"
wrote Ben Wilson on the specialist site GamesRadar.
The video game industry, estimated to be worth around $300
billion a year, has become increasingly cutthroat in recent years with the biggest
companies buying up many of their competitors.
EA had a turnover of $5.6 billion last year, making it one of
the biggest game makers that remains outside the grasp of the four giants --
Tencent, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
The end of the deal with FIFA came after the football body
reportedly raised its licensing fee demand from $150 million a year to $250
million -- bring the total for the mooted four-year contract to $1 billion.
EA will lose the right to use the FIFA name and competitions
such as the World Cup, but it can still use player names and non-FIFA
competitions such as the English Premier League -- a key advantage over its
rivals.
However, the firm was already pivoting increasingly towards
club competitions, both on and off screen.
It is taking on a five-year sponsorship deal of Spain's
top-flight La Liga next year, for a reported 30 to 40 million euros a year.
Newzoo's Wijman said "EA Sports FC" has a good
chance of success.
"Losing the FIFA brand may hurt EA's chances somewhat,
but they have the game engine, development teams, marketing expertise, and
branding expertise," he said.
FIFA could struggle to attract potential parters after its
reported $1 billion demand, Wijman said.
It would be a "risky endeavour", he said, "in
any circumstance, but especially if you then have to compete with EA to build
the most popular football game".
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