FIFA as you know it is dead. From autumn 2023 the omnipresent football series will be superseded by EA Sports FC, with an as-yet-unconfirmed developer picking up where the publishing giant left off. It’s been a rollercoaster three decades since FIFA International Soccer arrived on Sega Mega Drive in December 1993 – but perhaps the most incredible detail of all is that bosses at EA initially wanted to call the company’s new footie sim something else entirely.
“IT WOULD GO TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS AND STAY THERE FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR.”
“There was a large discussion about what to call what we were initially referring to as EA Soccer,” says original lead designer Bruce McMillan. “The North American distribution company was lukewarm on ‘Soccer’ for that market and thought the only way it would sell was if it was called Team USA. My boss, Bing Gordon, came to Vancouver to discuss the matter. Bing’s a good guy and believes in people’s passion. He said ‘It’s your product, you created it, you know this sport and this experience, what is your decision?’ I said FIFA. It would go to the top of the UK charts and stay there for an entire year, only to be bumped to number two by its sequel, FIFA 95.”
Indeed, the first FIFA was 1993’s best-selling game, despite it being released a mere 12 days before
