Sony somehow remains in the headlines around the happenings in the gaming industry. In what might be one of the biggest “What If..?” stories to come out, Sony is said to have had the chance of owning the license to FIFA games in the 1990s, only to walk away. A deal could have seen one of the most famous and oldest franchises remain a PlayStation exclusive.
FIFA games, published by Electronic Arts, recently got rebranded following the ending of the licensing arrangement last year between Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Electronic Arts. From this year on, the series is rebranded EA Sports FC 24 and EA Sports FC Mobile.
Sony Turned Down FIFA’s Exclusive Offer For This Reason
One of the biggest ongoing franchise of gaming series that has spanned decades could have had a very different story, as revealed by Tom Stone, EA’s Former VP of European marketing. In an interview with timeextension, Stone revealed that back in 1997, Chris Deering, the then President of Sony PlayStation Europe had mentioned to Stone about getting an offer behind EA’s back to own the rights to FIFA Soccer.
Related: EA Sports FC 24 Review- A New Champion for EA? (PS5)
Stone mentioned his displeasure at hearing the news, asking Deering,
“ISL has approached you and asked if you would like an exclusive worldwide license for FIFA? After everything we’ve done for them?”
Stone mentioned he was quite agitated at FIFA but that Deering revealed he had no intention of taking up the offer unless the partnership between EA and FIFA ended. Deering was said to have mentioned to Stone how he felt the game was what it was back then due to EA.
Stone went on to say that EA might have reacted quite badly, had the move materialized which would have meant FIFA license switching hands.
EA Sports FC 24 By Electronic Arts Had A Strong Opening
Back in 1996, PlayStation already had its own football gaming series named Adidas Power Soccer, which wasn’t as widely known as the FIFA gaming series. The FIFA gaming franchise on the other hand was already an established brand, and by the time the partnership between FIFA and Electronic Arts ended last year, the franchise sold over 325 million copies since its inception.
Despite the dropping of the FIFA name, the football gaming series under the new brand name, EA Sports FC 24, has got off to a strong start. It was speculated that the gaming series might face impacts in terms of sales, performance, and general engagement. However, post the launch of the game, early reception showed more copies sold by Electronic Arts when compared to the last FIFA title from last year, FIFA 23.
Also Read: EA Sports FC 24 Launches New eSports Opportunity for the Every Man – Want to be Paid to Play?
EA Sports President Cam Weber revealed that EA Sports FC 24 has seen a 20% increase in terms of “new” players.
“In addition to welcoming back millions of our longtime players, new players in FC 24 are up nearly 20% year over year, showing the excitement of football fans everywhere to join the Club.”
Gamers who play the game by the 1st of November will unlock FC Founder benefits, which include in-game items and content for Ultimate Team. On the mobile version of the game, EA Sports FC Mobile, new players who start playing the game by November 30, will unlock a Founders Pack which also includes a plethora of in-game items.
One aspect that has remained with the franchise is the micro-transactional bundles in-game, through which the game makes most of its money. EA Sports FC 24 also has an expensive $30 Ultimate Team loot box, continuing the trend. One lucky player recently acquired two of the highest-rated players in the game in one pack when he landed PSG Striker Kylian Mbappé, followed by Brazil’s legendary player Ronaldo Luís Nazário.
The lucky player scored two ICON players in one pack after grabbing the Jumbo Rare Players Pack which comes with 24 players and is worth 100,000 FC coins or 2,000 FC points.
Also Read: EA Sports FC 24 gets Incredible PlayStation 5 Bundle
As per Steam charts, the game pulls an average of 70,000 gamers playing the game live at any given time. EA Sports FC 24 currently sells at $69.99 for the Standard Edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition on Steam, Epic Games, Xbox Store, and PlayStation Store. The game retails at $59.99 for the Switch Edition.
How different do you think the famous game would have been, had Sony grabbed the offer? Make sure to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
Source: TimeExtension
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