Watch the FIFA 16 trailer to get a glimpse of the process of adding soccer’s top female stars to the best soccer game on the planet. Adding these clubs to the game is a great start, but EA still has a long way to go to fully recognize the legitimacy of Women's soccer. Speaking with PocketGamer, an EA representative confirmed FIFA 16 wouldn’t launch on handhelds and was noncommittal regarding a mobile release. “With regards to FIFA 16 there isn’t a Vita or 3DS version,” said the representative. “We don’t have any further detail on the mobile version but will be sure to share with you when we hear more.”
In FIFA 15, the last installment of the franchise, there are more than 16,000 players. All of them are male. (Many of them are not as good at football as the women’s World Cup players.) There are 23 players in a World Cup squad. This suggests that approximately 1.7% of the players in Fifa 16 will be female. “Fans have been asking for women to be in the game for awhile and I think it’s the perfect time,” she added. Rutter said the creation of a prototype for female players has been an ongoing process of around two years. The long buildup, he said, was in part a result of attempting to do the women “justice” rather than just “[slap] women heads on to men players and [have them] play exactly the same."
Rather, he claims, three years into this generation of consoles, the team finally has sufficient knowledge of PS4 and Xbox One’s development systems to retool critical elements of the match engine for female players. “The big change we’ve had to make is rebuilding the animation rig, in order that the skeleton underneath each player works with different proportions,” said Rutter. “Our underlying animation system was universally based on height and build. Rather than manipulating the proportions between joint and bone, it was like stretching an elastic band.
"We've even gone so far as to rejig the physics on our hair to make sure that the ponytails are more believable," adds Rutter. "And one of the side effects of that is that it's actually rolled into the men's side of the game as well, so male players with long hair look a lot better now." U.S. football fans will get more for their dollar this year if this rumor turns out to be true. A Brazilian blogger claimed that representatives from football team Indy Eleven of the North American Soccer League (NASL) confirmed talks between the heads at EA and the NASL. The topic of discussion was the inclusion of lower division NASL in FIFA 16 along with Major League Soccer. The story, however, was later updated with statements attributed unnamed reps for the New York Cosmos also of the NASL. They claimed the team was not set to appear in FIFA 16.
But one specific league that could be introduced is situated outside of Europe. The NASL (National American Soccer League) is formed entirely separately from the MLS. They are different entities, with no promotion or relegation taking place in the States. The NASL is unofficially below the MLS, with the latter getting so much of a head start, while teams can apply to become an expansion team to the MLS once they are established in the NASL. The New York Cosmos, spearheaded by the legendary Raul, are currently top of the NASL, and with growing interest in American “soccer,” it would be a huge coup for the league to be involved.
One of the biggest areas that EA are reportedly trying to push is to create even more realistic atmospheres, fiery enough to replicate some of the finest fanbases in the world. Following the rumors of EA going all-out to develop this aspect of the game, others have emerged claiming that banners, displays, and more customized chants could be included. The big man in charge is often every bit as important as a team’s top goalscorer, and the presence of huge personalities like Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger on the touchline adds an extra level to real football matches. We’d love to see that touched on in FIFA 16, with the manager doing more visible actions instead of just standing there like a statue and only occasionally shouting out tactics. Even Wenger’s massive jacket has more character than FIFA’s pitiful gaffers.
However, there are a lot of flaws in Pro Clubs that make people stop playing after 2-3 games, when really people should spend hours playing. For starters, the customisation on Pro Clubs is almost non-existent. As of FIFA 15, you are able to choose the name and abbreviation for your club, as well as the club’s badge and kit that you are represented by. Surely it would be a more personal and unique, being able to create your own badge and kits in FIFA 16? Also, being able to customise the AI players on the team would make the club feel a lot more… like a club. Furthermore, the fact that these players are about as useful as a handbrake on a canoe is very frustrating, and it would be good if they could be upgraded by earning achievements in game, the same as your Virtual Pro.
