“Fancy a game of Fifa?” A question that has been asked by millions of people to friends and family across the world for nearly 30 years.
Later this year, however, that question will have to be rephrased as Electronic Arts (EA), the developer behind one of the most successful franchises in gaming history, moves on to its new football game, EA Sports FC.
Although no gameplay will be available to see until July, the work of trying to encourage Fifa’s estimated 150 million players to switch has started already.
The new game’s logo has been displayed on advertising boards in Premier League grounds and EA has also unveiled its FC Futures programme, which it says will support grassroots football projects across the world.
David Jackson, EA Sports FC’s vice-president of Brand, told the BBC this is “the right time for us to create our own narrative and be able to craft our own future”.
Leaving behind a recognisable brand is a risk in any industry, especially so in gaming where name recognition and brand loyalty are particularly pronounced. The key will be ensuring players realise what is changing but, perhaps most crucially, what is not.
Mr Jackson emphasised that more than 19,000 footballers, 700 teams and 30 leagues will still be represented in the game, despite the split from football’s governing body.
“We have to continue to show people that certain things will also be retained around the realism they know and love from a Fifa series,” he said.
“That will stay with us as we transition from Fifa to FC, but players should also expect for things to change and innovate as well.
“People should expect to see some exciting developments now we have the opportunity to think expansively about the future of interactive football.”
Simon Cardy, senior editorial producer at games website IGN, has reviewed many Fifa games over the years and thinks the challenge will be informing more part-time players.
“For the core player base I think they’ll be fully aware of the rebrand,” he said.
“It’s the more casual video game fan, or let’s say, a less clued-in family member looking to get their family member a new game as a present, that may find themselves confused over the coming months. It will be interesting to see how EA market the game on a broader scale without using the acronym Fifa.” (BBC)