FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games or football simulator, released annually by Electronic Arts under theEA Sports label. While there was no major competition when EA released the first titles in their American football and hockey series, football video games such as Sensible Soccer, Kick Off and Match Day had been developed since the late 1980s and already competitive in the games market when EA Sports announced a football game as the next addition to their EA Sports label.
When the series began in late 1993, it was notable for being the first to have an official licence from FIFA, the world governing body of football. The latest installments in the series contain many exclusively-licensed leagues including leagues and teams from around the world, including the German Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, English Premier League and Football League, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, Portuguese Primeira Liga, French Ligue 1, Dutch Eredivisie, Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (as the Liga do Brasil), Mexican Liga MX, American Major League Soccer, South Korean K-Leagueand Australian A-League, allowing the use of real leagues, clubs, and player names and likenesses within the games. In addition, internationally popular clubs from around the world, including some teams from Greece, Turkey, Argentina and South Africa, without those nations' entire leagues.
The main series has been complemented by additional installments based on single major tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, and UEFA Champions League, as well as a series of football management titles.
As of FIFA 13, Lionel Messi is the face of the franchise, appearing on front cover of every game being released in the series and in promotional campaigns and advertisements in the media. He replaces Wayne Rooney, who appeared on seven straight covers from FIFA 06 to FIFA 12.
As of 2011, the FIFA franchise has been localized into 18 languages and available in 51 countries. The series has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises. Also FIFA 12 holds the record for the "fastest selling sports game ever" with over 3.3 million games sold and over $186 million generated at retail in its first week of release.
The franchise's latest release is FIFA 14, released on 24 September 2013 in North America and 27 September 2013 in Europe for multiple gaming systems.
- Tagline: "All the Clubs, Leagues and Cups"
- Cover Athlete: Dennis Bergkamp (World), Kasey Keller (USA)
- Title song: "The Rockafeller Skank (Remix)" by Fatboy Slim
- Released for: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo 64
- Release date: 10 June 1998
While the indoor mode was no longer featured, the gameplay's fluidity and responsiveness was increased. The increasing number of websites dedicated to the game and a larger number of leagues (the Malaysian league was removed, and on its stead came two new leagues: the Belgian First Division and the Portuguese Liga; this came to be a problem when the owners of the rights to the Primeira Liga tried to pull the game from the shelves locally). Graphically, it is a major improvement over FIFA '98, with the inclusion of basic facial animations and different players' heights as well as certain other cosmetic features such as improved kits and emblems, although they are unlicensed. Gamers may also create their own custom cups and leagues and select the teams they wish to participate.
FIFA 99 also features an elite league called the "European Dream League" in which 20 top teams from across Europe battle it out in a league format. It was also the first game to feature a block containing teams which did not pertain to any of the main leagues (back then, it was known as "Rest of Europe" since all teams were European, the vast majority of them featured either in the 1998-99 season of the UEFA Cup or Champions League).