Fifa

FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games or football simulator, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. While there was no major competition when EA released the first titles in their Madden NFL and NHL series, football video games such as Sensible Soccer, Kick Off and Match Day had been developed since the late 1980s and already competitive in the games market when EA Sports announced a football game as the next addition to their EA Sports label.

When the series began in late 1993, it was notable for being the first to have an official licence from FIFA, the world governing body of football. The latest installments in the series contain many exclusively-licensed leagues including leagues and teams from around the world, including the German Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, English Premier League and Football League, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, Portuguese Primeira Liga, French Ligue 1, Dutch Eredivisie, Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Mexican Liga MX, American Major League Soccer, South Korean K-League and Australian A-League, allowing the use of real leagues, clubs, and player names and likenesses within the games. In addition, internationally popular clubs from around the world, including some teams from Greece, Turkey, Argentina and South Africa, without those nations' entire leagues.

The main series has been complemented by additional installments based on single major tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, and UEFA Champions League, as well as a series of football management titles.

As of FIFA 13, Lionel Messi is the face of the franchise, appearing on the front cover of every game released in the series and in promotional campaigns and advertisements. He replaced Wayne Rooney, who appeared on seven straight covers from FIFA 06 to FIFA 12.

While FIFA 95 did not add much other than the ability to play with club teams, FIFA 96 pushed the boundaries. For the first time with real player names by obtaining the FIFProlicense, the PlayStation, PC, 32X and Sega Saturn versions used EA's "Virtual Stadium" engine, with 2D sprite players moving around a real-time 3D stadium. FIFA 97 improved on this with polygonal models for players and added an indoor soccer mode, but an early pinnacle was reached with FIFA: Road to World Cup 98. This version featured much improved graphics, a complete World Cup with qualifying rounds and refined gameplay. Months later, World Cup 98, EA's first officially-licensed tournament game.