- Title song: "Bodyrock" by Moby
- Cover Athlete: Edgar Davids; Paul Scholes; Gheorghe Hagi
- Released for: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation
- Release date: 8 November 2000
This title had a new graphics engine which allows each team to have its own detailed kit, and for some players, their own unique faces. Doing away with ordinary coloured pennants as club emblems, the license includes official club emblems for the first time, although certain leagues, like the Dutch league, are unlicensed. Slightly tweakable physics made the game a modding favorite for its fan community. The game also includes the entire Austrian Bundesliga as a playable league for the first time, albeit removing the Portuguese Liga and the Turkish Premier League. A "hack" feature is included, where the player can press R1 to attempt an intentional foul, such a high sliding tackle. This title was the first game of the series with a power bar for shooting (such a feature already existed in the Super NES version of the first game, but it was not in all versions of the game). FIFA 2001 was the first version (for the PC) that could be played online, which was revolutionary.
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, EA's first officially-licensed tournament game.
FIFA games have been met with some criticism ; not that much, such as for the tiny improvements each game features over its predecessor. As the console market is expanding, FIFA is being challenged directly by other titles such as Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series. Both FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer have a large following but FIFA sales is rising as much as 23 percent year-over-year, making FIFA the most profitable EA Sports title, thanks to its global audience and lower license costs compared toMadden NFL series.
In 2012, EA Sports signed Lionel Messi to the FIFA franchise, luring him away from the competitor Pro Evolution Soccer. Messi's likeness was then immediately placed on the cover of FIFA Street. In 2013 the Spanish professional women's footballer Vero Boquete started a petition on Change.org, which called upon Electronic Arts to introduce female players in the FIFA series. The petition attracted 20,000 signatures in 24 hours