FIFA Ultimate Team takes to the road, EA promises current-gen isn't being left behind
FIFA Ultimate Team was taken on tour by EA with stops at various retail outlets and journalist junkets in order to explain how the system works to the 65% of FIFA players who don't play the mode and why they should dive in cleats first.
According to EA, speaking with MCV, 35% of FIFA video game owners play Ultimate Team, which is a mix between Fantasy Footabll and manager mode and allows the player to spend real-world cash on players.
“FIFA Ultimate Team is quite a complicated thing. Everyone knows what a career mode is, right? But if you want to explain FIFA Ultimate Team in a sentence, it is quite tough,” Ultimate Team producer Marcel Kuhn said.
“We held an event with all the biggest retailers where we spoke about Ultimate Team. This is the first time we have done an Ultimate Team press tour. Two years ago we did nothing, last year I went to Gamescom and demoed it there, and this is the first time we’ve shown Ultimate Team pre-release. That shows how mainstream it has become.
“Nine months after launch, there’s still 1 million people playing FIFA Ultimate Team every day. That shows how deep the mode is and engaged people are. And the more engaged people are, the more likely they are to come back to the next iteration of FIFA.”
If you are still unsure whether to try Ultimate Team out or not, you can re-watch Sam's video here in which lead producer Marcel Kuhn discusses its ins-and-outs.
During its FIFA 14 media blitz, EA also said for current-gen owners not to worry regarding its commitment to the consoles with all this talk of next-gen going on.
FIFA 14 may look lovely with its new engine and impressive mechanics, but next-gen development hasn't had an impact on current-gen versions.
“It’s always a huge challenge making FIFA,” producer Sebastian Enrique told MCV. “We are not resting on our laurels. Just because next-gen is coming, it doesn’t mean current-gen is being left behind. We are doing everything to make the current generation of FIFA fantastic.
“We have everything left to achieve. We are super ambitious. Usually when we build the game, and we decide what we are putting in it, there are three things we try to do – innovate, polish and listen to the community. There is still a lot of things we want to do.
“We don’t think we’ll ever create the greatest football game. Every time we ship, I see the flaws and see how it can be much better. I always want more.”
EA plans to reveal more regarding Ultimate Team at Gamescom next month, where it promises the announcement "will be an event," and the firm is also "heavily discussing" the possibility of implementing "more aggressive moves" into the sports title.
EA will hold its Gamescom press conference on Tuesday, August 20 at 3pm UK / 4pm CET.
Gamescom runs August 21-25.
FIFA 14 will release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in North America on September 24 and in Europe on September 27. Next-gen versions hit PS4 and Xbox One later in the year. It’s also coming to 3DS, DS, PS2, PSP, Vita and Wii, and a mobile version is destined for Android and iOS.