Once a profitable relationship, FIFA (The Organization) has turned into the unwanted ex of Electronic Arts. As reported by Video Games Chronicle, EA CEO Andrew Wilson has expressed his feelings towards FIFA and the licensing deal to his staff.
“We’ve had a great relationship with FIFA over the past 30-odd years. We’ve created billions in value… it’s just huge. We’ve created one of the biggest entertainment properties on the planet. I would argue – and this may be a little biased – that the FIFA brand has more meaning as a video game than it does a governing body of soccer. We don’t take that for granted and we try not to be arrogant. We’ve worked really hard to try and make FIFA understand what we need for the future.”
Andrew Wilson’s comments are not entirely wrong when you consider how big the EA Sports FIFA series has become over the last 30 years. When football fans hear the acronym FIFA, most of the time they immediately relate it to EA’s football title. This is an example of how huge EA Sports FIFA is as a video game compared to FIFA, the football governing body.
Andrew Wilson Blames FIFA For Lack Of Progression
In the comments of most EA Sports FIFA videos, you will see fans complaining about how the game remains the same every year with minor updates. EA’s CEO has addressed this by throwing FIFA under the bus, claiming it’s the organization’s fault for the game’s lack of progression over the years.
“Our players tell us they want more modes of play, different things beyond 11v11 and different types of gameplay. I would tell you, it’s been a fight to get FIFA to acknowledge the types of things that we want to create because they say our license only covers certain categories.”
Overall, the comments coming from EA and the recent trademark of EA Sports FC suggest that the American publisher is ready to split from FIFA and go a different direction.