There's been a lot of EA Sports FC 24 news in the month of June. We got cover athlete reveals, gameplay features, new technologies, PlayStyles, and improvements to several modes. There's even a beta fans can sign up for and play before the game launches.

EA Sports FC 24 marks the beginning of a new era for Football video games. At least that's what EA and many others will tell you. There's nothing wrong about being excited for FC 24, but is it going to be much different from FIFA? Does changing the title really mean a change in gameplay or quality?

A Past Look at FIFA Games

Let's take a look at the last 10 EA Sports football games by user score on Metacritic (We'll use the Playstation Scores, but note there isn't much difference in ratings no matter which platform you play on):

As you can see, the series hasn't been able to score higher than a 6.3 from users in the last 10 years. Additionally, No FIFA game since 18 was able to reach a user score higher than 3. While Critic Reviews paint a different picture, fans of the game are not pleased with the product. Why is that?

Perhaps critics don't want to “bash” a game that requires an annual release with little time to improve? Or perhaps they didn't have enough time to play the game. Either way, it's obvious that both sides aren't on the same page.

Most user complaints revolve around the same idea: Paying $60-70 for what is essentially a roster update.

The Problem With EA Sports Games

It's not just bugs, glitches, and lack of changes that ruin FIFA games, but a lack of features and presentation overall. Instead, much of the money and focus go towards Ultimate Team, which is the company's biggest money maker.

In all fairness, unlike Madden, EA Sports at least attempts to improve some of these areas. In terms of presentation, we appreciate some of the new improvements to the match day experience. But how do things like Beyond Broadcast audio really improve the presentation, especially if people keep their TV volume low or just on mute?

The new pre-game, mid-game, and post-game visuals are nice, but there's no dialogue in any of the Dynamic Moment sequences. Speaking of Dynamic Moments, how many times will people see the Champions League Parade or Ballon d'Or ceremony before they get bored of seeing the same thing.

We will say though that the insight overlays during the match are an added bonus and we hope to see this expanded upon in the future.

As for gameplay, it's exactly the same. All PlayStyles really does is make good players even more overpowered than they should be. And all the new animations thanks to HyperMotion V are okay, but who's really going to notice all the new animations? Most FIFA players play the game casually rather than delving into it so deeply.

To be fair, it's hard to make drastic gameplay changes to a 3o+ year-old franchise that focuses on the sport of Football. However, there's also no need for gimmicks that only take away from the realism.

EA could instead focus on new modes while adding more depth to current ones. The additions to Player & Manager Career are a good start, but we know more can be done, especially with the power of the next-gen systems. Just look at the NBA 2K series, which gave players on next-gen systems an entire city to explore.

Why Is EA Sports Optimistic About FC 24?

Let's rewind the tape back to 2022, when we all found out about EA and FIFA ending their 30-year lasting partnership. There's multiple reasons as well as plenty of speculation as to why the two companies went different ways, but it's mostly for financial reasons. EA Sports CEO Andrew Wilson supposedly said that the only thing EA receives as part of the partnership is the four letters on the box.

While those four letters are extremely important, EA Sports has cornered the football video game market over the years. They currently don't have any real competition. For three decades fans went to the store to pick up the latest FIFA game, but now they're pre-ordering FC 24.

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So Why is EA so optimistic, despite low user scores and the ditching of the FIFA name? After the split, EA went on to sign exclusive deals with multiple leagues including but not limited to the:

With these exclusive deals alone, EA's secured a major chunk of their fanbase. Now it won't matter if people don't like FC 24, they'll have to buy it if they want to play with their favorite teams. Want to play with Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe on their proper clubs? You're going to need FC 24. Supply and demand at its finest.

If no one else can make a game with the Premier League or Champions League, EA doesn't have any competition. This is where the issue lies.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino did say the best football game is going to be one with the FIFA name on it, but how confident can he really be with that statement? Konami's eFootball, also known as Pro Evolution Soccer (or PES) tried to keep up with the EA Sports' football series but can't do so anymore. Will the new FIFA games (whenever they come out) be any different?

Is EA FC 24 Just FIFA Re-Skinned?

In a lot of ways, EA Sports FC 24 seems like another FIFA game with roster updates. However, unlike Madden, the developers seem to have put more effort in actually improving the game. We appreciate the improvements to presentation and gameplay, but we don't know how much it'll really change up the series. Are fans going to notice the new changes, or will the new features be swept away and long forgotten?

But no matter how much people dislike EA Sports games, they still come back to them for a multitude of reasons. Since EA Sports has the exclusive rights to use many of these clubs and players, there's no competition that would force them to do even better.

Additionally, Ultimate Team rakes in so much money and is obviously the new flagship mode for the franchise. Despite the efforts from EA Sports to add more to their other modes, their main priority is and always will be Ultimate Team, as long as the mode keeps making them money.

So what's the only solution to this? Simple. If you don't like what you see out of EA FC 24, then don't buy the game. There's no need to threaten anyone, start any fights, or get outright violent over a video game. It's easier said than done, but a worthwhile sacrifice if you really believe the series needs to change.

But at least wait for the game to come out, watch some gameplay, and then make your decision. We obviously don't want to tell you what to do, but it's our job to give you all the information we can to help you make better informed decisions.

EA Sports FC 24 Release Date

EA Sports FC 24 releases September 29th for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

For more FC 24 news, visit ClutchPoints Gaming.