Everything you need to know about FIFA 15.
FIFA 15 (sometimes referred to as FIFA 2015) is an upcoming sports association football simulation video game that is an officially licensed product of FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association which translates to International Federation of Association Football in English.
Developed by Electronic Arts Canada, a developer that has previously worked on the NHL series of Hockey games and the Need for Speed series of racing games, FIFA 15 is set to be published by Electronic Arts Sports, a subsidiary of EA.
The game is set to launch on both last generation and current generation platforms that will include PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii [TBC – Please see the development portion of this wiki], Nintendo 3DS video game consoles and Microsoft Windows.
FIFA 15 is slated to launch on September 23rd in North America, September 25th in Europe and September 26th in the United Kingdom
Development
Given the nature of games like FIFA, that is to say sports simulations where the fundamentals of the game rarely change, development details are always somewhat scarce. With that in mind, here’s what we know.
In keeping with the tradition of the FIFA series of games, the cover is to be graced by a whomever is considered a prominent player in the sports world at the time. Returning to the cover art this time is Lionel Messi (full name, Lionel Andrés “Leo” Messi Cuccittini) as well as a secondary player that will differ depending on the region of release. In New Zealand and Australia, Messi will be seen alongside Tim Cahill whereas North America and Canada will see Messi standing with Clint Dempsey.
The game has been said to be releasing on the Nintendo Wii, this however has proven to be uncertain given that the Wii is a 7th generation console, the game hasn’t been announced on the more recent 8th generation Wii U. The listing was first spotted on multiplayer.com, a French online retailer that lists the title at 29 Euros and 90 cents on Nintendo Wii.
Any build of the game that will be running on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows will be debuting the all new Ignite (IGNITE) engine. Internally developed by EA, the Ignite engine is designed with the goal of making sports video games look and feel “alive”. First announced at the Xbox One reveal event in May 2013, Ignite is already powering last years FIFA 14 and is set to power FIFA 15, EA Sports UFC, Madden NFL 25, and NBA Live 14. 7th Generation and handheld builds of the game will be running on a version of the Impact Engine.
The reveal of FIFA 15 was met with a lot of (very justifiable) criticism due to the inclusion of an unnecessary and unsavoury amount of buzzwords like “authentic”, “dynamic” and most of all, “Emotion”.
Despite this, a lot of the buzzwords are accurately tied to some new elements being featured in the game. One of which is directly tied to the power of the 8th generation of home consoles and the power of personal gaming PC’s.
The power of the 8th Gen, according to EA, will allows them to deliver the next step forward for football video games, a gameplay update reads, “The Next Generation football player is here. Player faces have an incredible level of detail, while character models look and feel powerful and athletic. Kits move realistically and change with the environment, becoming dirty with mud and grass as the match unfolds.”
Gameplay
As with all FIFA video games, gameplay takes place from a third person perspective with the player battling for control over the ball against the opposing team in an effort to score goals against them. Obviously, the player with the most goals is the winning team.
Players can switch between player at will to better allow for team tactics and improved gameplay control. Player control has been further improved to better reflect the abilities of modern day football stars and expectations of the fans, an EA update states that “Players explode into action with improved balance, cuts and closer touches when in possession, giving greater responsiveness and personality to the game’s superstars.”
One feature that’s always noticed is player reaction on the pitch. Given that the on-screen representations of the players are supposed to reflect their real life counterparts, players always take note of reactions on the pitch. EA are claiming that the players on the pitch will actively react appropriately to any given scenario, they’ve said “With over 600 new emotional reactions, players now respond to pivotal moments on the pitch – bad tackles, missed chances, epic goals – as they would in real life.”
The players AI controlled team mates will apparently be able to recognize the strategy that you adapt during the game. If you choose to run down the timer rather than risk loosing control of the ball and offering your opponent a chance to score, your team will adjust to your tactics and make rapid short passes to keep the ball in your possession.
Teams
At time of writing, there are no confirmed teams or released information regarding unlockable teams.
Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.