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Evolution of FIFA Games [1996-2024]
#fifaevolution #fifa96to24
FIFA is a discontinued football video game franchise developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and published by EA Sports. As of 2011, the FIFA franchise has been localized into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. Listed in Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game franchise in the world, the FIFA series has sold over 325 million copies as of 2021.[5] On 10 May 2022, it was announced that EA and FIFA's partnership of 30 years would come to an end upon the termination of their licensing agreement, making FIFA 23 the last entry to the franchise under the FIFA name. As a successor to the FIFA series, EA launched the EA Sports FC franchise, with EA Sports FC 24 being the first installment under the new name.[6]

FIFA 12 holds the record for the "fastest selling sports game ever" with over 3.2 million games sold and over $186 million generated at retail in its first week of release.[10] The franchise's latest release, FIFA 23, was released worldwide on 27 September 2022. It is available for multiple gaming systems, including the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S and Stadia.

History
Release timeline
1993 FIFA International Soccer
1994 FIFA Soccer 95
1995 FIFA Soccer 96
1996 FIFA 97
1997 FIFA: Road to World Cup 98
1998 FIFA World Cup 98
FIFA 99
1999 FIFA 2000
2000 FIFA 2001
2001 FIFA Football 2002
2002 2002 FIFA World Cup
FIFA Football 2003
2003 FIFA Football 2004
2004 FIFA Football 2005
2005 FIFA Street
FIFA 06
2006 FIFA Street 2
2006 FIFA World Cup
FIFA 07
2007 FIFA 08
2008 FIFA Street 3
FIFA 09
2009 FIFA 10
2010 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
FIFA 11
2011 FIFA 12
2012 FIFA Street
FIFA 13
2013 FIFA 14
FIFA World
2014 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
FIFA 15
2015 FIFA 16
2016 FIFA 17
FIFA Mobile
2017 FIFA 18
2018 FIFA 19
2019 FIFA 20
2020 FIFA 21
2021 FIFA 22
2022 FIFA 23
2023 EA FC 24
While FIFA 95 did not add much other than the ability to play with club teams, FIFA 96 pushed the boundaries. For the first time with real player names by obtaining the FIFPro license, the PlayStation, PC, 32X and Sega Saturn versions used EA's "Virtual Stadium" engine, with 2D sprite players moving around a real-time 3D stadium. FIFA 97 improved on this with polygonal models for players and added an indoor soccer mode, but an early pinnacle was reached with FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. This version featured much improved graphics, a complete World Cup with qualifying rounds (including all national teams) and refined gameplay. Months later, World Cup 98 was EA's first officially licensed tournament game.

John Motson was the first commentator for the FIFA series, and has worked alongside Ally McCoist, Andy Gray, Des Lynam, Mark Lawrenson and Chris Waddle. Motson first joined the franchise for FIFA 96; he and McCoist were replaced by Gray and Clive Tyldesley for FIFA 06 but later returned for FIFA Manager 08. Martin Tyler was the default commentator for the FIFA series from 2006 to 2020, alongside Andy Gray between 2006 and 2010 and Alan Smith from 2011 to 2020.[11] Derek Rae and Lee Dixon appear in FIFA 19 as commentators for UEFA competitions, and alternate with Tyler and Smith in all competitions in FIFA 20. Rae and Dixon became the sole English-language commentators in FIFA 21, replacing Tyler and Smith. In FIFA 22 and FIFA 23, Stewart Robson serves as Derek Rae's co-commentator, replacing Dixon. Guy Mowbray and Sue Smith were introduced as a new commentary duo in EA Sports FC 24, alternating with Derek Rae and Stewart Robson.

FIFA games have been met with some minor criticism; such as improvements each game features over its predecessor. As the console market expanded, FIFA was challenged directly by other titles, most notably Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series.[12] The rivalry between both franchises since the 1990s has been considered the "greatest rivalry" in the history of sports video games. While FIFA initially had a more "arcade-style" approach, PES was more of a football simulation video game series with "faster-paced tactical play" and more varied emergent gameplay, which led to PES rivaling FIFA in sales during the 2000s. EA responded by borrowing gameplay elements from PES in order to improve FIFA, which led to FIFA pulling ahead commercially by a significant margin in the early 2010s.[13][14] Both FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer have a large following, but FIFA sales were rising by as much as 23 percent year-on-year in the early 2010s.[10]

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