September marks the end of summer, back to school, but also the immutable launch of the FIFA video game, the most popular soccer simulator in the world. For years, FIFA has consistently ranked at the top of the podium of the best-selling video games in France. The title also symbolizes the arrival of the video game as the first cultural asset in France, thus doubling the book or even the film.
Sales figures have risen steadily over the years, solidly screwing the title to the top of the podium. In 2021, FIFA 22 sells 1.6 million copies in France, and continues to lead sales. This is even better than its score from the previous year, with 1.3 million copies sold.
An overwhelming domain, built up over the years since the release of the first work in 1993. In almost 30 years, the game developed by Electronic Arts has become a benchmark despite fierce competition.
Winner by knockout
In reality, FIFA has only had one serious rival: Pro Evolution Soccer, better known as PES. Konami’s franchise, rebranded as eFootball PES from 2019, even dominated sales – and the hearts of gamers – during the 2000s. Each new edition saw its share of comparisons between the two soccer simulation giants flourish. , before public favor shifted for good, in the 2010s, to the EA Sports title.
This domination, obviously, FIFA owes to its global license (which allows it to display most of the real names of clubs and players, unlike PES), to its exaggeration but also to increasingly realistic graphics. And this, even if the title hasn’t excited video game critics for a long time…
Now the numbers speak: FIFA reigns alone, eFootball PES has given up. Konami’s 2023 version is now a free upgrade from the previous edition with a generic graphics engine.
FUT, the goose that lays the golden eggs of EA
The other advantage of the EA Sport license is its FIFA: Ultimate Team (FUT) mode, which appeared in Fifa 2009 to take advantage of the generalization of broadband for console gamers. The principle is simple: you open packs of virtual cards, which you can exchange, sell for credits to create the team of your dreams. Of course, it is also possible to buy cards through the online store. A real goose that lays the golden eggs for the editorial.
A new king?
But this 2023 edition could very well be the end of an era for Electronic Arts. Last May, EA announced that its partnership with FIFA, the international soccer federation, was coming to an end. In the absence of an agreement on the renewal of the license, the game will be renamed EA Sports FC and the publisher will have to acquire the licenses of the clubs one by one, and consolidate the existing agreements (for example with the English Premier League or Spanish LaLiga). ).
For its part, FIFA will probably not refrain from selling its rights at a high price. “I can assure you that the only authentic game that bears the FIFA name will be the best available to footballers and fans,” its president, Gianni Infantino, said last May.
But rare are the candidates to replace the historical editor. 2K Games (a subsidiary of the giant Take-Two Interactive) is perhaps one of the most credible because the studio offers, among others, the reference basketball game NBA 2K23. He would have all the cards in hand to take over.
But for the moment, the unknown remains total about a possible buyer of the franchise. If EA doesn’t intend to give up their windfall so easily, this 2023 edition will nonetheless be the last under the FIFA brand. For its part, the future purchaser of the license will have the immense task of offering a simulation capable of seriously competing with that of EA Sports, from its first editions.
Source: BFM TV
