EA Sports FC 24: A Brand New IP Or Old Problems Under A New Cover?

As we knew in advance, Electronic Arts has finally changed the name of one of its flagship and lucrative FIFA projects to EA Sports Football Club. By taking this step, will this be the moment when EA finally moves away from such a heavy reliance on microtransactions and stagnant development of the series, in order to unlock the potential of its rebranded gold-bearing football simulation series?

The answer is "yes and no." Although EA Sports FC 24 sees improvements and refinements in various aspects of the game, many problems that have lingered since the last series, such as the rather dull artificial intelligence, remain.

But that doesn't stop it from bringing promising results for EA. Only in the first week of EA Sports FC 24's release were more than 11 million players registered worldwide, which is about a million more than in the previous game of the series (FIFA 23).

The online version of the game in Early Access was an incredible commercial success, being played by more players than last year's installment. Even with physical copy sales in the UK down by as much as 30 percent compared to FIFA 23, digital copy sales are breaking through all ceilings.

It's also worth noting that the mobile analog of the game, called EA Sports FC Mobile 24, is also gaining incredible momentum, racking up the same 11 million downloads in the first 10 days as the older version. EA Sports president Cam Weber expressed delight at the game's reception by users, noting a significant increase in the number of new players compared to last year. This momentum underlines the brand's commitment to building the world's largest and best football community.

Before looking at the game itself, let's examine the history of EA's relationship with the FIFA organization and how it quickly abandoned an established brand and moved to a completely new IP.

Tom Stone, EA's former vice president of European marketing, recalls how, in 1997, ISL, the company responsible for licensing the FIFA brand, considered working with Sony to obtain exclusive rights to distribute it worldwide.

However, then Sony president Chris Deering remained loyal to EA, recognizing the company's significant contribution to the development of the entire PlayStation gaming ecosystem. Marc Aubanel, a former FIFA game producer, said EA had long recognized the asymmetrical branding benefits between the two major companies.

However, fear of losing brand recognition prevented the split earlier. This is the end of the historical retrospective of the world-famous series of football simulators and go directly to the review of the various gaming aspects of the project.

Gameplay

The first hours of playing EA Sports FC 24 seem familiar, both on the positive and negative side. First of all, let's take a look at the advantages that give us those positive emotions when playing. The dual tactile feedback of the Playstation 5 Dualsense controller, coupled with the latest Hypermotion V gaming technology, provides an incredible new immersive gaming experience.

Detailed ball and player physics, highly visible wear and tear on the pitch, and even the vibration of the goalposts when the ball is hit raise the bar for realism in sports simulation. The attention to detail in recreating a real football atmosphere is worthy of special praise.

The new interface provides useful and interesting statistics, and various interviews in the background enhance the atmosphere and sense of presence.

In addition, the game features a first-person perspective from the referee's point of view during penalty kicks, which replicates what the viewer can see live.

However, the game has its disadvantages. The teams' exits and celebratory songs were removed from the game, and instead they show footage of the fans' preparation and players' pre-match training.

The AI component of Hypermotion V technology, which was widely advertised, doesn't quite live up to expectations. Despite the claimed capabilities of "machine learning", goalkeepers still make elementary mistakes, teammates often make wrong decisions, and the interaction between players occasionally does not look quite natural.

Playstyle

Despite the disadvantages described above, such an innovation as "play styles" is a positive thing. This feature allows you to customize each player's style of play according to their strengths and weaknesses. This addition brings a new dimension to the game and adds depth to team management strategies. There are 32 abilities available for the player to customize, spread across six different categories, each with their own unique sub-abilities that allow for fine-tuning the gameplay, expanding the stock of strategies and tactics to a myriad of different options.

Ultimate Team

EA Sports FC 24's popularity relies heavily on the card game's Ultimate Team mode. However, for players who don't spend real money, this mode still presents some difficulties: they may find that progress in the game is much slower than for those who invest money, and not a small one at that.

On a positive note, the evolutions in Ultimate Team allow players to improve various map characteristics by completing various tasks, which makes the game much more interesting and lively.

A significant addition to this mode is the inclusion of players, teams, and leagues from the women's football divisions, which equalises the chances of male and female players, and greatly increases the game's diversity.

Volta

FIFA's Volta mode is still very much a reimagining of the traditional football simulator inspired by street football. Taking place in urban areas around the world, the game emphasizes skillful play, skill, and close-quarters action. In a more casual and vibrant atmosphere, players can customize their avatars, create teams, and immerse themselves in fast-paced matches. Evoking nostalgic memories of 'FIFA Street', Volta is a modern and engaging blend of culture, style and beautiful play.

Career

The single-player career modes leave only much to be desired. Player journeys lack depth, and a more detailed story, and decisions often feel superficial. New features such as player agents and dynamic moments had potential but fell short of expectations due to oddly unrealistic objectives and often repetitive scenes. Manager mode offers a little more depth through the tactical features of coaching styles and remains as interesting as it is without any innovations, but the single-player modes still remain in the shadow of the unattainable Ultimate Team.

Final Thoughts

Those who expect to get a perfect new IP that will significantly redefine football simulators from EA may be disappointed after playing EA Sports FC 24. Yes, there are some improvements to the game, but many of the problems familiar to FIFA from years past remain. Various new features, such as Evolutions, reflect EA's realization of the need for stronger role-playing elements and greater immersion, most notably in Ultimate Team.

At the same time, the career modes still lack the depth and innovation that fans have craved for years. All in all, despite the new name, EA Sports FC 24 is a familiar mix of brilliance and disappointment. But despite all of this, the success of the latest version of the game may indicate that EA's gamble has paid off. Still, the gaming community will be watching closely to see how EA continues to develop the series. The gaming community and non-gamestop sites will be keeping a close eye on the company's next steps in the series' new course.