The recent news about the inclusion of Ted Lasso in FIFA 23 slipped into the back of most people’s minds. Even then, the video game continues its yearly rise to meteoric proportions in terms of anticipation.
It’s a good thing that FIFA players and fans overlook the addition.
Ted Lasso is a great show. Soccer fans around the world welcomed the tongue-in-cheek behind-the-scenes look at the fictional club at AFC Richmond. This accolade is well deserved. The show has humor, moments of compassion, and of course the beautiful game that we all know and love.
It’s relatable in that soccer fans can apply their knowledge of the sport to the show. However, at the end of the day, despite playing Premier League sides, AFC Richmond is a fictional club.
EA Sports claims that it wants to move in the other direction. You want your video game to be as realistic as possible. So it uses up-to-date stats, updates based on real-life form, and a myriad of clubs, leagues, players, managers, stadiums, and more.
That makes the inclusion of Ted Lasso that much more puzzling.
Adding Ted Lasso to FIFA 23
The main argument for Ted Lasso joining FIFA 23 is clear. EA Sports wants its game to appeal to a larger audience. You can do that using popular culture. However, the FIFA video game series outsells all others year after year in the sports video game market. It has a devoted fan base who buy the game regardless of the cosmetic changes.
The biggest draw is the gameplay and the game modes.
Adding to the sales figures for physical and digital downloads is the game mode that brought EA Sports more than a billion dollars. FIFA Ultimate Team has players spending countless hours (or money) trying to get the best players on their digital team. Users want the Lionel Messis, Cristiano Ronaldos and Kylian Mbappés of the world. They don’t want Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt with artificially created abilities.
Fortunately, these fictitious names are not available in Ultimate Team. However, Ted Lasso himself, as well as Trainer Beard, are available to unlock in game mode. It is a concern considering the direction of the game in the future. EA Sports is losing the FIFA brand license on the game’s 30th anniversary. For all we know, we could include animators in the game. In the same way that Fortnite did with its best players. Does that mean KSI or Castro are next?
Stop, EA. These are cheerleaders, not footballers.
changing paths
Naturally, games need to have some semblance of change, especially titles like FIFA. The annual game has so many iterations that it’s hard to tell them apart. If there are no changes, why would a user be inclined to buy something new?
Bringing in celebrities, fictional or otherwise, is not the direction EA Sports should be going. Other soccer games, namely eFootball and Pro Evolution Soccer, were criticized for their lack of actual licenses. Those games had to use fake clubs or fake names. The loss of the FIFA tag from EA Sports could easily lead to a repeat of Roberto Larcos or Facu, names of the games mentioned above because they couldn’t legally include Roberto Carlos or Cafu in the game. He turned Brazilian legends into parodies in the realm of gaming.
EA Sports should focus on the other aspects of the title that its consumers really want and would definitely appreciate. The Pro clubs mode, which allows players to create their own team together with up to 10 of their friends, is often overlooked. However, it is a thriving environment in which eSports leagues are played around the world. But it’s not just players at home who love the mode because professional clubs like former Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday in England have their own professional club teams and play in leagues against other professional clubs, and the list keeps growing.
So if EA doesn’t want to listen to the lead player, will they take note of the interests of the clubs and organizations they’re trying to create in their title?
There’s no doubt that FIFA 23 will once again be a mainstream hit with football fans and gamers alike, but it won’t be thanks to Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond, that’s for sure.
PHOTO: IMAGO / NurPhoto
