Why FC’s Market Dominance Is Becoming Problematic

Introduction

FC 25, or FIFA, as it’s better known historically, is the cornerstone game in the soccer world. It spearheads the digital branch of the world’s most popular sport, but over the last few years, it has felt that the game hasn’t changed enough to warrant these constant annual updates.

EA Sports has produced some of the greatest sports video games ever made, so this is not a negative review of their brand. However, they have become lazy in developing sports games, and FIFA, or FC, in its current model, is becoming problematic of an issue stemming from their market dominance.

Playing Online

Playing FIFA online, or any sports game for that matter, used to be such an exciting time. For years, games like FIFA and Pro Evo were crying out for an online option where you could face off against people worldwide rather than just get your friends around for a game night to see who was the best from your social group.

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, online gaming experienced this enormous change. Home console gaming came online, creating a vast universe of gamers all facing off against each other on the internet. However, this was a microcosm of what was happening in the broader gaming industry.

The Early Golden Years

Some gaming areas, such as casino games and bingo sites, have successfully transitioned to online services since the mid-1990s. Granted, they didn’t get the sort of visibility or exposure they required until around the same time as online gaming on the PlayStation and Xbox, but still, it was a golden age throughout the industry.

In casino gaming, games like bingo faced initial challenges in flourishing online. However, in the modern market, bingo casino gaming platforms have become a pivotal part of the gaming world. Within a few years, bingo casinos spanned across the digital world, with people accessing them on laptops, PCs, and smartphones.

Some gaming companies fused these ideas with other sports, too, including popular American sports. NFL bingo cards, for instance, emerged as an unexpected but popular niche that fused sports and bingo ideas.

This same conundrum that once faced FIFA games and EA Sports was a barrier that no longer existed. Accessibility and connectivity were no longer a problem.  Although this was originally a revelation, it laid the foundations for market saturation. It led us down the path that has now resulted in many gamers believing FC games are on a downward slope.

Problems With Market Dominance

For any gaming company, the idea that they have destroyed their rivals to such an extent that they now dominate the market is usually their ultimate aim. However, competition, wherever it comes from, is healthy, especially in the gaming world. It leads to a situation where dominant games in their field have to one-up their previous titles just to try and instill a drive or level of competition.

The change in the game name from FIFA to FC was an ambitious move; it caused people to sit up and take notice, so it worked from a marketing perspective. However, at a time when the game is not igniting the football gaming world like it did about a decade ago.

Mobile games, such as PUBG Mobile, generate millions of downloads. While their dominance is reasonably new, they compete with other parts of the mobile gaming world. FIFA, which used to have healthy competition with Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer, is now the dominant force in the football gaming world by a landslide.

There is no competition, so ultimately, they can continue churning out the same game, and people will still buy it. No other football game has the same level of realism, hundreds of individual player names, stadiums, and copyrights, nor does it have the audience to ensure that the online competition between players remains viable and heated.

Final Thoughts

Market dominance leads to complacency and laziness. While nobody is saying that FC is unplayable, there are common issues that repeat themselves, and EA Sports doesn’t seem to be in any rush to fix some of these issues because of their sheer market dominance. If they fix it, great. If they don’t fix it, people will buy the same game next year anyway because there’s no genuine alternative that provides stiff competition.

Perfect for a business if your idea is to churn out a profitable annual product, but in the long run, the competition will still be itching to catch up to EA Sports. We could see a similar battle in the late 2000s when Pro Evo was arguably a much better game than FIFA – even without copyright for the teams or stadiums.

However, Konami has been guilty of laziness in its designs, a CEO fallout, and the company’s delisting on the NYSE. This has exacerbated this issue, giving EA Sports a free run to become the best football game. It’s hard to see how this carries on ad infinitum. There needs to be more engaging football games that don’t feel like cheap remakes, but with no competition, EA Sports will not be in any hurry to do this.