Improvements, game makers rely on improvements to recapture the audiences attention. In franchises such as Madden and Fifa the game makers get to make these improvements annually due to the game being released at the same time each year.
Every year, game makers claim that a new innovation has made a marked improvements over last years and every year the audience debates if this was true or if the latest installment of the series was nothing more then a roster update. It seems EA sports has taken past criticism to its Fifa product to heart and has made a conscious effort to improved its problems. The problems I reference are in the defending actions of the players in the game. In the past the user felt very little control over the defending player and subsequently would feel powerless to stop attackers. The first article cited shows the improvements that Fifa has made in this years version to improve the game play along with a trailer to the 2016 game.
The second cite link is a you tube link to the 2015 game. Visually you can see a slight difference in detail between the 16 and 15 versions. Fifa chose Messi to be an interocular character in the trailers. Probably because he is considered to be one of the best players in the world right now and at his diminutive stature he represents an image of any one could play this game and be successful.
The third cite link talks about improvements EA sports is making in all its major sports games, hockey, basketball, football, and soccer. The football improvements show the most potential to me. The ability to choose one of three ways to make a catch or make a tackle in give the user more control in how they want to play. Some users will tackle aggressively every chance they can for the chance to force a fumble while other will choose a safer higher chance of success tackle.
This research has shown me that there is a balance between game makers making improvements and game makers relying on a successful past formula of their game. The EA sports franchise is successful because of the combination of having a good product and having zero competition. Until there is an alternative the audience can choose, there will be little to no pressure on EA sports to make dramatic innovative improvements.
https://www.easports.com/fifa/features
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnTYVT6lwBc
http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/ea-sports-games-improvements-e3-2015/
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