Musing on FIFA Street

With the recent announcement of FIFA Street, EA Sports Big has expanded its roster of arcade sports titles to now include the "beautiful game." While this move is simply a logical extension of EA's current strategy of releasing an arcade sports title to correspond with each of the more serious sports games in its lineup--Madden/NFL Street, NBA Live/NBA Street, and now FIFA/FIFA Street--I have to admit I was a bit surprised at the announcement. After all, the entire niche of the "Street" series is found in its over-the-top gameplay, high scoring, and in-your-face attitude. From an American outsider's perspective, looking in at the game of soccer, this seems to be pretty antithetical to the real game.

Yes the real game of football, as it's known everywhere else but here, is rife with star players (and their selfish, diva-esque personalities), full-contact contests, and spectacular plays, but the essence of soccer, it seems, is more in how plays unfold on the field. The live audiences in attendance at soccer matches find nearly as much to cheer about in a great upfield pass, or solid fair tackle, than in a spectacular header goal. In fact the goals, when they come, are more exciting simply because scoring requires that much more teamwork to accomplish.

How will this translate when FIFA Street hits store shelves next year? Arcade games are typically all about scoring--and that's as it should. Noone picks up a game of NFL Blitz, for example, hoping to enjoy a defensive struggle. One can't help but wonder if, by developing a game for a series that places such a singular focus on big plays and high scores, EA Sports Big isn't distancing themselves a bit too far from the very sport they hope to portray.