FIFA first illuminated fans’ homes was 22 years ago, which was a football simulation video game launched by EA Sports. During these 22 years. FIFA has made great progress and got thousands of fans, EA also earned alot of money by selling FIFA 15 Coins, a game currency in the game. It’s FIFA 15 now, and FIFA 16 will be released in near future.
FIFA 14 was a tremendous instalment of the game, and FIFA 15 is a natural progression up from that, but both were far from perfect, and both could have been further improved by the addition of slick features to take gameplaying to an extra dimension.
There are plenty of obvious amendments to make for the game to be worth the users’ annual £40+ purchase, including a long list of fan wishes that haven’t yet been heeded and simple fixes to actually make the game more realistic. But the question remains, will EA listen to the fans who have skyrocketed the series into the list of console gaming essentials?
10. Shake Up The Refereeing System
Like with the managers, referees should be utilised to their maximum effect. There are lists online detailing each referee’s leniency, but that information should be readily available at the start of each game
The fans want a quick overview of the referee’s real-life statistics, but most importantly, they need to be given noticeable characteristics. Refereeing personalities could affect the game in a sense that lenient referees could let you off with a risky foul on the edge of the box, while strict ones could send your man marching down the tunnel for an innocuous challenge.
Yes, there’s an underlying system of that already, and obviously there’d need to be a good balance, but FIFA need to look at every small detail of a football game and expand it in order to create a truly phenomenal experience.
9. Creator Mode For Ultimate Team
Ultimate Team is FIFA’s gem. It’s built an enormous community, and sent the game spirally further ahead of PES, but it still needs some practical features
It’s a gamer’s team, with a gamer’s assembled squad, but they’re wearing the kit of a random team, with the badge of another club, in a probably iconic stadium.
To really create a truly unique team, fans should be given the option to design a kit, badge and possibly even construct a stadium using coins they have accumulated. New sponsors for the kit could garner extra coins for a team, depending on their level in the game. It would add a new dimension to the popular game mode, and keep fans coming back for more.
8. More Coins Available
EA have been bombarded by outraged fans after imposing price ranges on Ultimate Team players in a bid to stop coin-purchasing and other similar practices.
It’s understandable, after all, it’s taking revenue away from EA, but they’ve gone the wrong way about stopping it. The price ranges are restrictive and take control away from the user.
More game modes, challenges and opportunities to earn coins should be brought in. Coins and packs should be cheaper to pick up too. Give people a reason to gain coins from them, rather than punish players for using cost-effective measures from elsewhere.
7. In-Game TV Channel
Here’s another item that probably won’t feature, but could be utilised incredibly well. An in-game TV channel.
The game already feels like a Sky Sports broadcast, with the commentators, Jeff Stelling and Geoff Shreeves all in place, so why not go full-steam ahead and have animated studio clips for analysis, replays and general comments on the game pre-match, at half-time and post-match.
It seems crazy. and it sounds like a lot of effort, and an unfeasible idea until you realise that the model is already being used in NBA 2K15.
6. Time-Wasting
Taking a break from features for a brief moment, it’s pretty much universally agreed that fans want total control of their game. From mentality, to personnel, to style.
So why should fans not be allowed to take charge when it comes to corners, throw-ins and other set-pieces? If you’re 1-0 up in the last minute following a tense affair with your best mate who’s just tanked you 5-0, you want to hang on for dear life.
The game should be continuous, but in fact, cut scenes dictate how quickly you take a throw-in. Fans want to be able to wander casually to the sidelines as they edge out a narrow victory, rather than sprint across and allow precious seconds to be spent worrying over the result.
5. A ‘Bring Down’ Button
There’s nothing worse than when a pinpoint ball is placed onto your man, but he’s got nobody to aim a header to, and a defender to challenge. It’s like there’s a button missing.
Fans should be able to press a button in the same way as heading the ball, but rather than aimlessly flicking on to nobody, they should be able to stop the ball dead, use their chest and generally gain control of the thing.
Like every new move in FIFA, the balance has to be spot on. You can’t just have anybody able to control every ball, but the likes of Marouane Fellaini, for example, should be able to use their physicality to reign the ball in.
4. More Teams
It’s a pretty obvious one, but the more teams on FIFA, the better. Obscure match-ups put both players on a level playing field when it comes to knowledge, and can result in some unpredictable and frantic games
A recent poll conducted on fifplay.com found that people want to see the Israeli, Ukrainian and Brazilian league instated into the game, while the Chinese Super League hosts a few well-known stars plying their trade in the Far East.
Another idea would be to bring out a series of classic teams. The Arsenal Invincibles side including Henry and Bergkamp could square off against Manchester United’s 1999 Champions League winning heroes. Or going even further back, the England 1966 team against Maradona’s Argentina. Tantalising.
3. Change The Record
FIFA has had some sensational anthems over the years. Kasabian, Muse and Bloc Party have featured alongside a whole host of lesser-known artists who’ve given us some great soundtracks over the years.
But it might be nice to personalise the sound even more. With more Ultimate Team use and online waiting times, the music is important to keep people sane, so why not open it up even further?
Spotify would be ideal for the soundtrack, and although it’s unlikely, being able to log into a Spotify account and select from their wide variety of playlists would make the whole ‘waiting game’ even more enjoyable for the user.
2. Chairman Mode
In a similar ilk to ‘referee mode’, chairman mode would not be the main aspect of FIFA, but would allow players to choose how they want to build their team’s legacy.
Chairmen could hire or fire managers, demand a certain style, set the budgets and negotiate transfers. The mode could even include setting ticket prices and choosing when to increase capacity or pull marketing stunts.
This would be like taking a more ‘Football Manager’ approach, but that’s the sort of fresh idea people want to see in a FIFA game, although the concept is already tried and tested to work in the Madden series.
1. The Wow Factor
There will always be room for improvement in every edition of FIFA, and there will always be flaws that need to be ironed out, but EA’s genius is in the detail. The first time you shot and saw the TV cameras spinning to watch your effort sail wide, you said wow. It was a tiny detail, but lots of tiny details make a huge difference.
Fans want to see insane crowds falling over in the terraces celebrating a last minute winner over their bitter rivals, they want to see flares being lit up in the elite European stadia, and grand displays unfurled in Dortmund.
Players want to see wild celebrations from the players, whipping their tops off when the time is right, and changeable weather during the game. 90 minutes of a torrential downpour is no fun for anyone. Mix it up a bit with some glimmers of sun. And most importantly… Include the magic spray for set-pieces.
The basic game model will always remain fairly similar, but players want to be wowed when they rip open the box. They don’t just want a few updates that could be fixed in a quick patch, they want a new game. Big changes for the better would be great, but even just intricate details would add to the realism, intensity, and all round excitement of the FIFA experience.
