why do people still buy FIFA game?

[shootthebandit]

Im a moderate football fan but i really hate FIFA games. The controls are always awful, unresponsive and have remained almost unchanged since 1998 and the online community makes call of duty look like a gathering of nuns.

These games are just downright terrible and all they do every year is slightly improve graphics and update teams and kits and charge almost £50 for the privelage yet everyone seems to buy it

The only times ive played FIFA is when ive been at a friends house drinking and its pretty fun to have touraments but other than that its not that great. I could understand if we just had a FIFA game and you paid £10 a year for patches to update the squads and kits

Im not an american but i can assume your NFL and NBA games are the same?

 

[tippy2k2]

For the same reason I buy any other game; they're fun.

Now, this might blow the minds of all these "Sport games are just the same game every year!!!" people but...

No, they're not and that's a very silly thing for you to say.

Now I haven't bought the newest edition of FIFA because my financial situation is unhappy so I can't guarantee the changes made between 13 and 14 are worth the money (and frankly, I feel there are years where it's not so I don't buy the editions yearly unless they have things that I feel make it worth it).

FIFA 11 to FIFA 12 introduced the Impact Engine (a similar change was made from Madden 12 to 13). To put it in simple terms, it took the game from having canned animations to psychics based animations. This isn't something you can see in a screenshot however, therefore non-sport fans love to go to their rally cry of "IT'S ALL THE SAME!!!".

If you've ever played FIFA 11 and then switched to 12 (or Madden 12 to 13), you would know EXACTLY how wrong that is. The physics based system completely revolutionized the game. There were so many ways to take advantage of the broken canned animation system that the new system does not let you get away with.

It allows for a MUCH more realistic experience now as well. For example, in FIFA 11, if you were to slide tackle and take the ball away, the ball will generally roll a certain direction based on a pre-determined animation (I called this magnet physics since the ball would generally gravitate toward another player). With the new animation system, that ball is going to react in a different way depending on where the attacker was, where the defender is during the slide, the slickness of the ground for rain/snow, the speed the players were going at, and so on. You don't SEE the differences but you sure as hell FEEL it. To a casual fan, it might not feel like much but to those of us who love the games, it makes a world of difference.

You don't have to like the games but I get a headache from slamming my forehead so hard with my hand due to how utterly wrong people are when they say every year is just a updated roster.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I too have owned a single FIFA in my entire life and that was more than enough. I understand the physics engines keep getting better and everything always feels more realistic than before, but... truth be told I own FIFA to appease the hypothetical co-op hungry friend who will crash my place now and then. I hate the games.

 

[Worgen]

Probably for the same reason anyone buys any sports game. I assume enjoyment, despite not really getting it myself.

 

[sth1729]

Three reasons I can think of, which also apply to several other games as well.
1. They want the game with the best physics and graphics, which is usually the newest rendition of whatever is put out.
2. People want a game that they can find opponents for online, and that is usually easiest with the newest version of whatever game series it may be.
3. Non-split-screen local co-op, which is good for someone who enjoys having something to play with when friends are around but absolutely cannot stand playing with half a screen.

 

[Zetona]

I only own FIFA 10, but I play enough FIFA with friends and watch enough FIFA on Youtube (KSIOlajidebt, WeCanFifaHD, etc) that I think I understand each new FIFA is such a consistent seller.

Think of it not as a game, but as a subscription service. The FIFA series has extensive online offerings?a variety of multiplayer modes, Ultimate Team, Race to Divison 1, that sort of thing. You pay $60 a year to continue being able to access these online modes, since the community will inevitably move to the new FIFA within a few weeks of its launch. If you want to play online or in many of the game's modes, you have to pay for the latest FIFA?which comes with the nice perk of yearly gameplay improvements and roster updates. If you play FIFA more than any other game, and are heavily invested in the community or the online features, I gather that the upgrade fee justifies itself. I also get the sense that after a year or so, people are a bit tired of the flaws in that year's FIFA, and look forward excitedly to the next installment.

Of course, if you just like playing single-player, there's much less reason to switch?and that's one of the reasons why I still play FIFA 10.

 

[Caiphus]

I don't buy the games every year. I try and limit myself to one sports game per year, rotating between Fifa, Madden and rugby (when they release one). Oh, and I got Fight Night Champion too. They don't generally change enough for me to get each of those every time a new one comes out.

They're good local multiplayer games, although I stay away from the online modes. Part of the reason they're so fun with friends is because of the atmosphere they can create, which you don't get online.

So yeah, that's why I buy them. They're decent, you can play them for like 20 minutes at a time if you want, and they're good fun if you have mates over.

 

[Bertylicious]

I guess once you've unlocked all the classic teams and built up a squad in career mode with Maradona, Pele and Eric Cantona in it and been crowned the king of football forever that you may as well start the new version. I mean, I did the same thing with Tekken 1, 2 and 3.

 

[LaoJim]

Im a moderate football fan but i really hate FIFA games. The controls are always awful, unresponsive and have remained almost unchanged since 1998 and the online community makes call of duty look like a gathering of nuns.

Do you have an alternative to recommend? PES?

I don't hate FIFA myself, but the ultimate football game will always be Sensible Soccer.

 

[clippen05]

Why do people still buy Call of Duty Games? Why do people still buy Mario games? Simply, because they like them. It doesn't matter to anyone, myself included, that they don't update much; they like the series so they buy it. Although there is the fact that EA sort-of holds you hostage for your money because the older games stop getting support fairly shortly after a new one launches...

 

[takemeouttotheblack]

I agree with some of the above posts, but one shouldn't overlook roster change and update. Especially when you've got an increasingly active transfer market, with new players such as Ozil, Eto'o, Bale, and everyone who City signed this year, and simply just updates to player stats and injuries, it gives fans of individual teams the chance to play through the season the way they'd like to. Now, whether this should be available as a DLC patch as opposed to an entirely new game, then you have to ask EA, but the system brings in a lot of money for them, and why should it change?

 

[LaoJim]

Why do people still buy Call of Duty Games? Why do people still buy Mario games? Simply, because they like them. It doesn't matter to anyone, myself included, that they don't update much; they like the series so they buy it. Although there is the fact that EA sort-of holds you hostage for your money because the older games stop getting support fairly shortly after a new one launches...

Yes, up to a point, but CoD does change a lot more than people give it credit for, and each new version has a different story and locations. Yes Mario is not innovating as much as it once did, but the games do have different combinations of the old elements and some new challenges. It's still money for old rope upto a point, but nowhere near as bad as most sport franchises.

The rules of football don't change, FIFA has basically found a gaming formula that work and a stadium is basically a stadium, so it's difficult to see what real value new versions of the game are bringing.

I personally only buy it every 3-4 years I find Fifa Street much more interesting because it is changing up the game rules and mechanics and has interesting pitches to play on. But then I'm more of a gamer than a football fan.

 

[Puzzlenaut]

Why do people still buy Call of Duty Games? Why do people still buy Mario games? Simply, because they like them. It doesn't matter to anyone, myself included, that they don't update much; they like the series so they buy it. Although there is the fact that EA sort-of holds you hostage for your money because the older games stop getting support fairly shortly after a new one launches...

even Mario and Call of Duty change things significantly more with each instalment than Fifa, though. From a new title in either of those series, you'll actually get something new.

You did hit the nail on the head though with Fifa: people buy them because EA holds people hostage. It's sad that the first or second best selling game every year (in Britain at least) is a big con...

 

[GoaThief]

I'm not sure it is, mechanics are refined for each edition so while it may not be obvious to those on the outside or beginners with little experience, the faithful see it as perfectly worthwhile and welcome. There are god knows how many thousands who spend thousands of pounds every year following their soccer team too, so a £40 game is a comparatively small expenditure.

I can't even remember the last time I played a FIFA title and I'm really not keen on that round ball game (rugby baby) so I'm hardly biased when it comes to it. I expect many will think the same of FPS which I tend to frequently enjoy, after all they all have the same controls and you just only shoot people over and over, right? It's the same with any genre, you don't have to like it but to say it's continuously the same thing over and over isn't right in the vast majority of examples.

 

[N3squ1ck]

They have couch co-op and the controls are simple enough to figure out whilst drunk. So, for me, they are (next to CoD games) one of the best choices when I spend an evening with my friends in my dorm (right now dicking around in GTA V that has established itself in that place for now)

 

[shootthebandit]

I think most people here have the same opinion as me. Its a good co-op drinking game infact its second to none as a drinking game but other than that its kinda dull. Its also good for having a bit of wager with your friends too

I think FIFA and guitar hero have a similar vibe with me. I like football (granted im terrible but its still fun) i also enjoy playing my guitar (which im terrible at too) so instead of playing fifa its just as easy and a lot more fun to go outside and have a kick about and similarly id rather pick up my guitar and learn a song or a new technique (rocksmith is kinda good for this but it is also very flawed although ubisoft seem to be trying to fix alot of the issues for rocksmith 2014) but guitar hero is still fun if you have friends over and youve had a few to drink

So in essence i see these games as "party games" and something to dust off at house parties to keep people busy so they dont trash your flat

Im aware that the community is very large but its a horrible community. Ive played COD up until blackops 1 and found the community to be full of arseholes but FIFA is an entirely new level. I bought FIFA 13 last year (mainly so me and my flat mate could LAN and play our work mates online) and played a few games online and i beat a few people and got a torrent of abuse. The first time ive had people PM me over PSN to send me hate. This was multiple times too, theres only a few people i came across that sent the usually "GG" "goodd game" or "well played" message after a game but the majority just send vitriolic hatred

 

[EHKOS]

Why does anyone buy a sequel? It's fun and it adds stuff. Sure, it might be silly stuff to us, it might not be a lot, but for football/soccer fans, that's enough. I'm sure they would laugh at some of the games we buy, but basically you could say the same thing about CoD and get the same answer...just...just replace football/soccer with shooter.

 

[shootthebandit]

Why does anyone buy a sequel? It's fun and it adds stuff. Sure, it might be silly stuff to us, it might not be a lot, but for football/soccer fans, that's enough. I'm sure they would laugh at some of the games we buy, but basically you could say the same thing about CoD and get the same answer...just...just replace football/soccer with shooter.

I do say the same about COD and thats why i stopped playing them after black ops 1 whicb i played for a week before i realised it was terrible. I say the same about need for speed too and im a huge racing fan.

It just seems to me that developers of these games churn out the same crap year after year because they know people will buy it regardless. Im all for the "it aint broke dont fix it" mentality but more importantly im of the mentality of "if it aint broke dont buy a new one"