EA Sports have a back catalog to make any sports-gamer blush. Which titles should make a comeback?
EA Sports has become synonymous with sports in gaming, with their possession of leading sports IPs such as FIFA, Madden, NFL & UFC.
Not all of their sports franchises have survived the test of time, however, with even cult-favorite titles being abandoned and discontinued.
Despite coming under criticism for their lack of variety in their yearly releases, EA continues to dominate the market space they occupy and in having a share in pretty much all of the mainstream sports, that’s quite a sizeable market space.
It’s natural, however, with the aforementioned lack of variety and spotlight on certain sports for gamers to look across their immense back catalog and pick out titles they would like to see make a triumphant return. So without further ado, here are 3 of their franchises that should make a comeback.
3. NFL Head Coach
Not many know of NFL Head Coach. Why? Because it never received a release outside of the US.
In fact, NFL Head Coach 09 started out as an expansion to the Madden NFL 09 20th Anniversary Edition, before getting its own standalone release on PS3/Xbox 360. NFL Head Coach is an example of a title that came out ahead of its time, placing you in charge of an NFL team on a quest to secure the illustrious Super Bowl.
For those outside of the US, you can see gameplay here. With NFL increasing its popularity in the UK & Europe thanks to their showcasing of fixtures at venues like Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as well as the rise of sports management simulators, it would make sense for NFL Head Coach to return and this time to an international audience in order to deliver the definitive head coach experience for everyone.
2. FIFA Manager
In gaming, two things are certain, EA Sports will release FIFA every year, and they will continue their career mode. Once upon a time, however, it wasn’t too much of an issue, as we had FIFA for playing football, and FIFA Manager for the management experience.
FIFA Manager has not had a chance to rear its head since the 2013/14 season and it would make sense with Football Manager dominating the management-sim market, for EA Sports to revive this classic.
What separated FIFA Manager from Football Manager was the various levels of customization on offer for your club. You had the ability to fully renovate your club’s stadium, customize your club’s kit fully and purchase and set the price of merchandise on offer.
While Football Manager gives the definitive experience of a manager, FIFA Manager made sure to give you the option to operate as a manager, director of football, and/or chief executive of the club. It was the definitive backroom football experience.
On top of this, a feature only introduced to Football Manager part the way through last decade debuted on FIFA Manager, the ability to watch your players play the full game live. FIFA Manager was a management simulator ahead of its time and it makes sense that with the decline of FIFA Career mode, the rise of Football Manager, and the demand for FIFA to up its management mode game, for EA Sports to look to this title for revival.
1. Fight Night
Boxing is booming. Whether it be the technical masterclass of Canelo Alvarez, the heavyweight hitting of AJ & Tyson Fury, or even YouTube boxing.
With boxing being back and so immensely popular at the moment, it would undoubtedly make sense for EA Sports to bring back their Fight Night franchise, formerly known as Knockout Kings.
EA Sports haven’t released a boxing game since Fight Night Champion released on PS3 and Xbox 360. Although Champion was given a new lease of life by Xbox One backwards compatibility, it has been a minute since we have received an up-to-date boxing-sim experience, and have yet to have a chance to step in the squared circle with Queensbury rules on the PS4/Xbox One.
It’s not to say that EA Sports hasn’t shown an interest in boxing and its stars, as names like Mike Tyson, Anthony Joshua, and Tyson Fury have all been featured as playable fighters in their UFC series.
But as of yet, Fight Night remains a franchise inexplicably left in purgatory. At least Steel City Interactive is making an attempt to satiate boxing fans/gamers’ appetites with their upcoming eSports Boxing Club.
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