FIFA: The Road to Redemption

A Fine Line

Of course, stray too far into the realms of reality and the fun can ebb away - a mistake that Eurogamer editor Tom Bramwell noted the team hasn't made: "Despite its love of simulation, FIFA 10 is also sensible about where to draw the line, continuing to ignore handballs, inadvertent back-passes and other things for which the player can't be held responsible," he wrote.

"We look at real football," adds Rutter, "and take a huge amount of influence from that. Our Set Piece Creator this year happened because we looked at the sorts of free kicks that happen in the real world, and our system couldn't support it. So we developed a tool, that became a feature, allowing the variety, unpredictability and excitement of real free kicks.

"Pretty much everything we put into the game comes about from what we see, read and hear about real football, which is why we're such a great game."

But while he's confident on the quality of his own game, he's also not about to put the boot in to the Old Enemy - no doubt taking note of the same old adage about success.

"I've been a massive PES fan since the original PlayStation. Indeed I played it almost exclusively until FIFA 08. With that FIFA title it was clear that what we were up to at EA Canada was to re-envision what a FIFA game was. It was about providing the undisputed number one gameplay experience, the number one authentic simulation of the sport - which includes licenses, player likenesses, and so on - and the very best competitive experience, be that against CPU, human or online.

"I think PES is a good game, that's reflected in its reviews. I don't think anyone thought EA would be able to make such huge strides in football game quality. I'm glad our team continues to prove that we can."

Clearly the main objective of producing the best football game in the business has, for now, been achieved - but the work continues and it's unlikely that as one of the key sellers in EA's Riccitiello era FIFA will be allowed to rest on its laurels.

And Reinventing the Wheel?

But what does that mean for other franchises within the publisher? A lot has been said about the condition of the previously key Need for Speed series, with a different approach now being taken to try to put the franchise back at the front of gamers' minds.

It's too early to speculate on the success of that approach after just one release - Shift, which scored 7/10 and seemed to struggle a little bit in terms of establishing a consistent driving style within itself - but using the template for evolution that FIFA's laid down is very much on the cards according to Keith Munro, VP of global marketing.

"As with any long-standing brand, innovation is critical to keep consumers engaged and excited about Need for Speed," he told GamesIndustry.biz. "Launching a game every year in this genre is unheard of, let alone keeping it fresh and at quality.

"So we approach this by asking consumers what they want most - and we can see that while nearly all racing gamers enjoy the action driving experiences from games like Most Wanted and Undercover, there are those that prefer more authentic-simulation racers or over-the-top arcade racing.

"Recognising this, Need for Speed is making games that are tailored to the specific racing tastes of each gamer. For example, Shift is an edgy, stylish, visceral authentic racer whereas the upcoming Nitro marks our first arcade foray and the first time we've built a Need for Speed game exclusively for the Nintendo platforms."

Like the FIFA story of recent years it could take some time before Need for Speed becomes the industry standard racer - partly because there's also a lot of high quality competition out there, with the likes of Forza, Gran Turismo and GRiD - but it'll be interesting to watch.

One thing is certain - if genuine quality is the new standard of judging success for games within pbulishers like EA, rather than the more traditional brand potential and unit sales bottom line, that can only be a good thing for consumers.