But
when you overlook the glorious nostalgia (and it is glorious), today's
market leader knocks the spots off of it. On every level and in every
stretch of the imagination.
For
Sepp Blatter and the executive bods in Zurich, Christmas comes early
every September – after all, it's not too often you hear
overly-complimentary things being said about FIFA (or ever).
So, enter this year's must-have for avid gamers: FIFA 16.
Over 13
billion hours were devoted to its predecessor, FIFA 15, by online gamers
in the past year. A whopping 3.4billion goals were celebrated.
What's
more, there were over 211million Ultimate Team sessions played. And
statistically, Sunday was the most popular day of the week for people to
grab their controllers (not joysticks as Sensible used to have it) and
play - on average, over 232million matches. So much for Sunday being a
day of rest!
This year's eagerly-anticipated offering - available to buy now – received over 500,000 pre-orders in the UK alone.
Sportsmail
understands that on day one of purchase last year, approximately one
million copies were snapped up compared to the 25,000 shifted by its
nearest competitor PES (pro Evolution Soccer). That toll is expected to
increase further this time round.
Whatever
way you look at it numbers are absolutely astounding. The computing
monster that is FIFA continues to grow stronger as the game keeps on
getting better.
This year's version is no exception. It is frighteningly good.
For starters, you can play as women’s national teams for the first time ever in the FIFA franchise.
There
are 12 nations to choose from – including England’s Lionesses and world
champions USA – and available to play in match day, online seasons and
online friendly match mode.
Nine
new stadiums appear from leagues across the world, taking the list of
playable stadia to 50 – featuring all 20 Barclays Premier League clubs
(plus last year’s three relegated teams with Burnley’s Turf Moor, Hull’s
KC Stadium and QPR’s Loftus Road), Portsmouth’s Fratton Park, Wembley,
the Nou Camp and more.
The
new commentary is another pulling power for FIFA. Usual suspects Martin
Tyler and Alan Smith continue to provide their expert in-game analysis.
The addition of Alan McInally reporting on goals going in around the
other grounds during your game adds to the bespoke experience. There’s a
genuine Super Sunday feel about it in which you’d be forgiven for
confusing virtual reality for reality.
The commentary even stretches to transfer rumours and delivering team stats.
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