EA SPORTS the most recognized sports video game development company today found a way to unite two rivals under a denominator number on June 21, was the date we saw the first preview of two of the most important video game franchises on FIFA and MADDEN, for October we will already see the ball turning and the ball touching the net.
Since the early 2000s, Canadian developers EA SPORTS saw the video game platforms of that time as an opportunity to revolutionize the industry with the development of 3D graphics, for those times the Asian giant KONAMI dominated the segment of sports video games , titles like pro evolution soccer dominated the world scene, however, from Canada visionaries decided to give more strength to an iconic phrase to this day “EA SPORTS, It’s in the game”
That phrase offered them lasting recognition over the years thanks to two licenses that made them industry giants, we are talking about FIFA (released in 1996) and the MADDEN game that is the philosopher’s stone of video game transformation sports and to understand it we will tell a little history:
Electronic Arts (EA) founder Trip Hawkins conceived the series and approached Madden (the game is called MADDEN after John Earl Madden, a former coach who won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, and after retiring from training he became a well-known commentator for NFL broadcasts) in 1984 to gain his endorsement and experience. Due to Madden’s insistence that the game be as realistic as possible, the first version of John Madden Football did not appear until 1988. EA released annual versions since 1990, and the name of the series changed to Madden NFL in 1993 after EA acquired the rights to use NFL teams and players. Madden retired as an announcer in 2009, but continues to lend his name and bring experience to the game franchise.
Already as benchmarks of the most popular sport in the United States Electronics Arts signed the alliance that would give them worldwide recognition, FIFA, the first titles were a failure but they saw it as an opportunity to continue improving, which is why, year year after year the evolution in development suffered significant improvements, it was not until 2004 that this title managed to snatch a large percentage of the market from the PES and KONAMI who made some questionable decisions that led them to lose the leadership but that is another story.
Both MADDEN and FIFA began to use the players of the respective sports to decorate the covers of the games, the use of the official licenses of the teams and the incursion into sports leagues around the world built an interactive and realistic ecosystem. Consequently, many take these video games as a reference when choosing a console, a lifestyle and even a group of friends to jump on the same court.
