About FIFA
FIFA is the go to series for soccer fans that has been around since almost the beginning of when video games became mainstream. FIFA International Soccer was the first game in the series in 1993 and a new game has come out almost every single year gaining more fans each time. Each game looked better and gained more features and the latest game FIFA22 is no exception. The core of the game has of course always stayed the same because it’s built around the real world of soccer which doesn’t tend to change its rules. Over the years this has made it a great spectator game in the world of esports thanks to everyone being familiar with the basic goal of the game.
Of course while the basic outline of the game is easy to understand for anyone familiar with soccer, there are plenty of other features and skills to master to become a great FIFA player. Each player (or an AI if playing alone) controls the standard team of 11 real world professional players, each with many different attributes like stamina, passing, dribbling and heaps more. This makes putting together a team just as much a part of the game as when you get on the field. Once in game it’s all about switching control to the right players at the right time and making the correct calls with quick reaction speed. All of this makes FIFA a simple to understand game with plenty of room for mastery.
FIFA in Esports
FIFA has seen a lot of success in the world of esports especially thanks to its backing from the real world FIFA organisation. The series has always had a both a healthy scene at the very top and at the grass roots level organised by passionate fans wanting to compete. As the years went by the big competitions became even more common and many more smaller regional leagues started to happen.
As a sports game the FIFA series has naturally always had competitions and prizes even in the early days with players able to earn thousands of dollars in prizes even way back in 2006. These days FIFA has even more official leagues than ever before with many top leagues offering prize pools in the hundreds of thousands with the 2021 FIFAe World Cup boasting $500,000USD. One of the most watched events teamed up pro players and actual real world world FIFA stars and clocked in a peak of over a quarter million viewers at its peak which is one example of the real world FIFA support being so great.
In New Zealand we have a great love for the sport in real life so it’s no surprise that FIFA is popular here too. It’s been one of the games played through several of the secondary and tertiary school leagues thanks to it being an easy game to adapt for competition.
Information for Parents
Thanks to FIFA simulating something almost everyone understands the core of, it’s very easy even for non gamers to follow along. Just like in the real world, competitive matches will have 2 forty minute halves but thankfully the in-game clock speeds up for us so a game will only last about 15 minutes and unlike many other esports this time should not vary too much. While the game of course tests your knowledge of the sport and its professional scene, players will also develop useful skills like their reactions, strategy and some good hand eye coordination. As a solo game compared to other esports players develop some good discipline in the more serious matches such as when competing in esports.
With the game becoming yet more popular in New Zealand esports and with more opportunities than before, there are plenty of positions to be involved in FIFA esports even without being a player. Players often play for teams or “orgs” and they have their own requirements from social media to coaches to video editing. Esports leagues also take many different roles which can be anything from commentating to lighting or to direct the show from behind the scenes.
FIFA 22 is a game appropriate for any age as it just involves a sport we all know and love. In the esports world the game is played solo so while it has matchmaking like other esports titles, it only needs to find an opponent of appropriate skill for you. This can be great as all they need is themself and it means there’s no real requirement for a microphone to compete compared to other esports where they are a must.
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