EA CEO: FIFA License Has Been 'an Impediment' and is '4 Letters on the Box' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 March 2022 / 2,708 Views
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson sent out an internal meeting with employees in November obtained by VideoGamesChronicle explained why he believes the company would be better off ending its license with FIFA.
Wilson said the FIFA license has been "an impediment" for EA's ambitions for the football/soccer series.
FIFA has prevented EA expanding beyond the traditional 11v11 mode or to "broader digital ecosystems." He suggested the only value EA gets in a non-World Cup year was "four letters on the front of the box."
EA last year filed for trademarks for EA Sports FC with UK’s Intellectual Property Office and the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
The reason for the possible name change was reportedly over the licensing fee for the FIFA naming rights as FIFA is looking to charge more than $1 billion per four year World Cup cycle or $2.5 billion per decade.
FIFA in a statement last year did say it is no longer in favor giving out exclusive rights to one party.
"FIFA will adopt a new commercial positioning in gaming and eSports to ensure that it is best placed to make decisions that benefit all football stakeholders," reads the statement. "FIFA is bullish and excited about the future in gaming and eSports for football, and it is clear that this needs to be a space that is occupied by more than one party controlling all rights."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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I always taught that EA was just two letters and an impediment in studios creating great games. But that's just me...
Translation: "FIFA told us to F off when we made our case for maintaining a monopoly on the license"
There are a dozen or so other big soccer/football names that they could license for marketing purposes. It seems that FIFA and EA are not on the same page, so it makes sense for them to part ways.
With all of that said, I still feel like these sides are negotiating in the media. I think there's still a pretty big chance that EA maintains the exclusive FIFA rights for another cycle.
does not sound like flopping here!
Good. Let Konami have the FIFA license. And while you're at it, release the NFL license so that others can compete. EA gets away with the bullshit it gets away with because NFL and FIFA exclusivity guarantees it sales that will cover their expensive failures.
Sooo, the FIFA license is the reason why the last few games in the series have been full of crippling bugs and microtransactions, and new features have been pretty much nonexistent since the time they moved to Frostbite?
Well to be honest he is right. I mean I love the FIFA franchise but the fact that just because they are licensed it is preventing them to add more stuff to the game sucks. So they have to ask themselves if it is really worth it at the end.
It is a fair question.
It also prevents EA from adding more stuff to the game that sucks. You read that right.
Can they now suddenly feel the same way about the NFL?
Two of the scummiest organisations known to man fight over the one single thing they care about, money. What a shit show.
Yes, yes, remove those letters and the licenses that come with it, and then sales can dwindle, and EA with it, will certainly be better.
I know gamers (including myself) don’t take EA at face value but I equally don’t trust Fifa on this sort of thing. I’m not sure what, if any difference, EA Sports FC, FIFA 2K or FIFA eFootball could bring aside to an end to an increasingly stagnant series.
But it's been four letters on the box for almost 30 years.
They didn't drop Madden just because he happened to die.
They picked Tiger Woods back up after only one season.
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