FIFA games

FIFA is among the most popular games in the world (source: ea.com)

The FIFA series of football simulators (also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer) is the best video game of its kind that you can get for your computers or gaming consoles today. It has been released annually by Electronic Arts (EA Games) and quickly outpaced its competitors. Today, it even holds its honorable place in the Guinness World Records as the best-selling sports video game series, which only proves the quality of this achievement. However, the current form of the game did not start out this way. What was its journey from the first installment? And which other football simulator was its main competitor? And what does its esports scene look like? Don’t worry, we don’t just have questions, but we also offer answers. To fully understand the FIFA series, we must go back to the very beginning…

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History and individual installments of the FIFA series

The entire story of this remarkable series began in 1993 on the occasion of the World Cup, which was held a year later in America. Electronic Arts, based there (hence Soccer and not Football), put “only” national team squads in their game, but it still lacked an official license, so the player names were fictitious. The main competitors were already established football simulators (Kick Off, Match Day, and Sensible Soccer), but FIFA International Soccer brought a breath of fresh air with, for the time, sophisticated game mechanics. Over time, other football games fell away and the only one that seemed competitive at the start of the new millennium was Konami with its game Pro Evolution Soccer (PES). However, EA kept adding new and improved mechanics to its games, which were released annually, unlike the PES series, which opted more for fun arcade gameplay, and this paid off for them. Installment by installment, the selection of club leagues and international teams was expanded (from 2008 to 2011, the complete Czech league was also in the game). Thanks to securing official licenses, enjoyable gameplay, easy connection to online matches against other players, and featuring the faces of the most famous footballers on the cover, FIFA has distanced itself from its competition by miles and today essentially owns a monopoly on football simulators. Below, we provide a list of all the main game installments:

• FIFA International Soccer
• FIFA Soccer 95
• FIFA Soccer 96
• FIFA 97
• FIFA: Road to World Cup 98
• FIFA 99
• FIFA 2000
• FIFA 2001
• FIFA Football 2002
• FIFA Football 2003
• FIFA Football 2004
• FIFA Football 2005
• FIFA 06
• FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
• FIFA 07
• FIFA 08
• FIFA 09
• FIFA 10
• FIFA 11
• FIFA 12
• FIFA 13
• FIFA 14
• FIFA 15
• FIFA 16
• FIFA 17
• FIFA 18
• FIFA 19
• FIFA 20
• FIFA 21
• FIFA 22
• FIFA 23
• EA Sports FC 24

This video game series also includes other FIFA games that elevate the basic concept of the football simulator to the next level. The management simulator FIFA Manager ceased publication in 2014 as it was incorporated as a game mode into the main game, FIFA Street, simulating street football matches, was also integrated into the main game. Other video games such as the FIFA World Cup series transitioned from standalone game titles to DLC for the main game, as did the UEFA Euro series. There are also other versions of the main game that focus either on online matches (FIFA Online) or are adapted for specific countries (the Japanese version FIFA Total Football). A title named FIFA Mobile has been released for mobile devices. However, Electronic Arts decided to unify all expansions and included them in the main game, leaving the less popular ones to their own fate. The latest installment, EA Sports FC 24, thus offers the best possible experience of the entire series. It also hosts cyber football / FIFA esports / eFootball, but with the arrival of the next installment, the whole pro-gaming scene will shift there (the basic game mechanics remain unchanged).

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FIFA series football esports

eFootball is quite popular among bettors who engage in esports betting. It offers very quick matches (usually ending within ten minutes) with popular betting opportunities (winner and number of goals) – similar to the NHL series. In addition to official leagues and tournaments organized by the publisher of the FIFA series, Electronic Arts, numerous regional competitions are held around the world (for example, the Czech e:LIGA, where some players are sponsored by official football clubs). However, coverage at bookmakers varies, and esports-focused bookies primarily target cyber football. Betting on FIFA does not take much time, but it is good to first familiarize oneself with the players and their tactics. An important factor is also the number of minutes for which each half is played (more minutes can mean more possible goals). The arcade nature with a dose of reality in the form of real players and clubs has made the FIFA series the largest football simulator you can find today. It is available on all consoles and computers and over its history, its competitive aspect has broken many a friendship.

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Peter Broz

Article author – esports expert Follow me: LinkedIn | Facebook Email: peter@slothbet.com I came into contact with playing computer games long before a billion-dollar business with professional teams emerged around them. Although I never reached the professional level, I still have many acquaintances among the top esports players today. At SlothBet, I will primarily contribute to the esports section.