EA FC staff welcome competition from rumored FIFA 2K
By Brian Allen
There are all sorts of rumors about new competitors for EA's FC juggernaut, perhaps the biggest centering on 2K Sports. A recent interview from Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick didn't do much to quell them. EA Sports FC developers weighed on soccer gaming's biggest question in an interview with VideoGamer.
Line producer Alex Wilsdorf noted that right now the rumors are just rumors, but said the team welcomes any competition.
"Thinking back years when I was a fan, I would always compare the games," Wilsdorf said. "We're not worried because we know how good the game is, especially with Career Mode this year."
Wilsdorf also knows that the competitor everyone is most concerned about, 2K Sports, could be years away from having anything to show. As I mentioned in a recent piece on Madden, game development is not a fast process.
All that said, FC 25 does have a lot of improvements to tout this year. We saw women included in FC 24's Ultimate Team last year and while the usual knuckleheads grumbled, most saw their inclusion as the positive step that it was.
This year there will be a full-fledged women's career mode and players can manage in the top women's leagues as well. EA said it will have all of the features of men's career mode, plus some unique challenges.
FC IQ is a deeper way to manage squad tactics and positions, and if you're thinking of Football Manager right now you are not alone. While it's not a traditional soccer title, it has earned a dedicated fan following that looks for a deeper understanding of the game. Anything that has its ability to monopolize soccer fans' time is the definition of competition.
EA Sports FC 25 releases Sept. 20, 2024 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.