FIFA will be rebranded as EA Sports FC in 2023

And bear in mind this deal doesn't even include player and club likeness and naming rights! May have been rhetoric from EA but it really does seem there is some truth to their assertion that FIFA was just 'four letters on front of the box'.

Not sure how the NFL deal works out in that regard, but it does seem a little more tightly coupled : https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/28/21270647/madden-nfl-ea-ren...

Just give it a little time: "Camp Nou will be rebranded as Spotify Camp Nou" [1]. But, I agree, I was also a little confused when reading the title at first.

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/15/22979943/spotify-camp-nou...

> since most of the value of these games is in the name

People will buy the EA football game, the name does not matter.

Yeah in terms of greed it's really hard to say which of these two parties I detest more.

What do EA get out of the deal though? Made sense when they were launching the series back in the days the Sega Megadrive, now it's just an incredibly expensive albatross round their neck. FIFA are so corrupt the association is negative. Why would you pay for that? In a saner world FIFA would be paying EA for sponsorship to launder their image!

Well, it's my perception that this was a nice little earner for FIFA in that EA did all the work whilst they got a massive pay off. They are obviously thinking about taking up their own financial opportunities more, and that's presumably why they bumped up their valuation. Time will tell on that front, but I think it's a massive error. FIFA don't have the competentcy.

EA are no saints either, of course. FIFA the game has morphed into a microtransaction nightmare. But I think they will still get their $6bn with or without FIFA on the box, Ultimate Team is the brand now. The only thing derailing that train is legislation (increasingly likely given how it targets children)

Sorry if you already know this, but it's literally just the name on the box, not licensing for leagues, player names etc. I see basically no value in that name, it may even be a negative given their poor reputation (corruption etc).

Do you really think that asking a $1B cut from $6B revenue is OK? That's a cut of 17% for what? For licensing a name? As a gamer I'd rather save $10 on the price and have it named something else. We already have to put up with the clubs names BS anyway... because they don't have the licenses for using the real team names in the game.

Not entirely, they have bought exclusive licenses for some clubs like Juventus and Manchester United, which has resulted in said clubs being renamed in other football-relates games like ~FIFA~ EA Sports FC and Football Manager. Juventus is either Piemonte Calcio or Zebre, keeps the same colours and players, and is pretty obvious what it is

The cost savings can't have been that great because PES is no better than FIFA now when it comes to nickel and diming players constantly.

It wouldn't matter, because EA Sports still has the licenses for teams and players. Those rights are provided by UEFA and national football associations.

Only thing EA really loses out on is official licensing for World Cup-related games.

totally agree. Some perspective is needed here. EA is just a shit company with their gambling mechanics and more. FIFA is corrupt and straight up doesn't care about human rights - on Katar construction sites for example. They're playing in a different league.

> IMO the entire leadership of FIFA belongs behind bars.

I don't really follow anything about FIFA the org/leadership. Why do they belong behind bars? I have seen quite a few examples of them being super greedy but I am ignorant past that.

Even in the context of HN, a) we're more likely to be talking about video games than real-life sport b) it's a fairly safe assumption that an international governing body is less likely to rebrand in this way than a video game series.

I disagree personally. As a "young" male from Europe every time I've talked about FIFA with friends we were talking about the game (although we always liked PES more as teenagers as it felt more arcade-like...)

I don't know, weirdly I was today years old when I realised that FIFA [the game] was named after the football governing body. Might just be a me thing.

FIFA is the football videogame brand. Not using that name is a huge marketing change. (Like I know EA own other sports games, know their brand id and slogan, but honestly thought 'FIFA' was it's own company.)

What interests me is what would happen if FIFA the governing body try to lease their trademark to another football videogame maker -- that would be some serious market confusion, but could EA do anything about it legally? Any precedents?

Konami has managed to dabble in every single one of these naming conventions by calling the same game "Pro Evolution Soccer" (US-centric), "eFootball" (US-exclusionary) and "Winning Eleven" (name of the sport completely unmentioned) depending on the market/generation of the game. One year they even had their cake and ate it too with the "eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2020" game.

I don't think it would be misleading, as EA Sports has a long-running NFL franchise game called "Madden [YEAR]", named after football coach John Madden.

Cover art alone is enough to indicate the game being played. There won't ever be person with a helmet on the cover of a soccer game.

Yeah, arguably showing the letters FIFA so often while gaming and having fun was actually massive advertisement for FIFA the org. Perhaps the org should have paid for getting all the ad space.

You know what I mean, man.